California: still looking for homes.

In these hard times, horses can't even be given away.

Six horses still in need of homes [link]
By Laura Meyers | Aug 21, 2008

Rehabilitated horses up for adoption

Of 23 horses that were rescued during a raid on a Somerset ranch in April by El Dorado County Animal Control, six are still looking to be adopted.

A complaint from the community animal control to go in and seize 23 horses, 15 sheep, one goat, five llamas and one chow that showed severe signs of neglect and were delivered to the Grace Foundation in El Dorado Hills. The Grace Foundation provides medical attention and care for abused and neglected animals. Over the last few months, the Grace Foundation rehabilitated all of the animals and prepared them for adoption, but the process wasn’t easy.

The animals showed severe signs of malnourishment, kept in small pens, found standing their own feces and in need of medical attention, said chief animal services officer Linda Haller.

“They weren’t in the best living conditions,” Haller said. “Sheep needed to be sheared and the horses’ teeth needed attention and their hooves were in terrible condition.”

Once the county seized the animals, they were brought to the Grace Foundation for rehabilitation. “The animals were definitely in need of food and medical care,” said Tricia Esparza, Director of Operations at the Grace Foundation. “On average, the horses gained 300-400 pounds during rehabilitation.”

Equine training director Robin Stears said the horses were in extreme pain. “Their hooves were over grown and some started to curl backwards,” she said. The horses went through a rigorous rehabilitation including a medical examination from a veterinarian, a visit from the farrier, teeth floating and socialization. Only three horses were in such poor condition that they had to be humanely euthanized.

Despite the rehabilitation, six of the horses are still looking for homes. “You can’t even give away horses right now,” Haller said. “The biggest issue with the horses there are already people in the area who have horses, and it’s extremely costly to take care of them.”

The county has waived the regular adoption process hoping to get more horses adopted. and is considering bids in the $100- $200 range. “We understand the expense people are taking in adopting these horses,” Haller said. “We’re trying to make it easy as possible for people to adopt.”

The Somerset seizure was an unusual case for both animal control and the Grace Foundation. It was the largest large animal seizure either group had encountered. Both parties are working desperately to get the animals adopted.

The Grace Foundation is a non-profit organization ran by volunteers. They currently care for more than 100 rescued horses. It costs nearly $200 per month to care for each horse. The foundation is accepting donations and sponsorships in order to care for the horses. “We keep taking care of the horses until each one of them is adopted,” Esparza said. “We continue to socialize them and use them in our children’s programs.”

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