In honor of this Thanksgiving season, TheHorse.com is proud to announce it has opened a no-cost listing service for any breed of horse that is free to a good home.
Horses of any age, breed, or sex are eligible to be placed on the new database of free horses.
TheHorse.com launched an online bulletin board listing free Thoroughbreds to good homes in November 2008, in conjunction with sponsor Gainesway Farm. In early June 2009 TheHorse.com and the U.S. Trotting Association teamed up to create a listing of free Standardbreds available to good homes.
Since the inception of the Adoption Services on TheHorse.com, 232 horses have found new homes!
"In these tough economic times there are good horses that need to find other homes and careers," said Kimberly S. Brown, previous Publisher/Editor of The Horse brand. "This database allows owners, breeders, and trainers to place a description of a horse in front of horse industry participants with the objective of finding a good home for that horse.
"I would encourage those placing horses on this listing service to include a link to photos or videos of the horses," continued Brown. "In the spring we will be launching a revised database that will include the ability to have images of these free horses, but we didn't want to wait any longer to use our technology to be a conduit to helping horses. If just one more horse gets a forever home, it's worth all the work and effort."
Any transactions will be the responsibility of the owner of the horse, who will be contacted directly by interested horse owners.
If you--or someone you know--has a horse in need of a new home, please visit TheHorse.com. Links to the database are on the home page, or you can visit TheHorse.com/Horses/Add.aspx to add a horse or TheHorse.com/Horses/Available.aspx to view horses of all breeds seeking new homes.
"Please help spread the word about this free service to find homes for horses at-risk," said Brown.
We recommend anyone giving away a horse, whether to a private individual or a welfare/rescue organization, learn as much as possible about that person or group prior to giving the horse away. There have been unscrupulous individuals and groups who take horses under the pretense of giving them good homes, then sell them for slaughter. (See article "Rescue Highlights Danger of Free Horses.")
The article "Horse Rescue Organizations: Questions to Ask" offers some tips on making sure the person or group who takes your horse will, indeed, have good intentions.
There also are some very good organizations that are recognized throughout the horse industry as being legitimate places to donate your horses, especially the sound horses looking for other careers. For example, the article "Options for Ex-Racehorses" will give you the names and contact information for some of these groups whether you are interested in donating or adopting a Thoroughbred. The Unwanted Horse Coalition also maintains a list of rescue and welfare organizations.
Disclaimer: Seek the advice of a qualified veterinarian before proceeding with any diagnosis, treatment, or therapy.