Published: Saturday, February 18, 2012, 11:01 PM Updated: Monday, February 20, 2012, 9:19 AM
"Help! I can't keep this horse anymore."
Sarah Ralston, a
Rutgers University associate professor, is all too
familiar with that cry of distress during a financially difficult era in
which the phrase "unwanted horse" has become an unhappy part of the
equestrian lexicon.
"A lot of horse owners have fallen on hard times and can't afford to
do the right thing for their horses," she said, but there's more to the
unwanted horse problem. Too many people who lack the basics of
horsekeeping take on an equine without knowing what it will cost, both
in terms of money and work, and have no idea how to deal with a large
animal which may be untrained or simply too much for them to handle.
An Unwanted Horse Coalition study that drew more than 27,500
responses showed that indeed, the predominant reason for horses winding
up in the unwanted category was because owners could no longer afford
them.
But there are other problems, too. They include the horse being too
old,injured or unmanageable; the owner's loss of interest, no time to
spend with the horse, divorce and children who had ridden the horse
moving away from home. Ralston, who is also a veterinarian, noted there
is a lot of emotional pressure on the public to rescue horses that
otherwise may be headed for slaughter. If the horse turns out to be
inappropriate for the new owner, that horse winds up being the last the
novice owns, rather than the first of several.
To help find solutions, Ralston is organizing a group promoting
responsible horse ownership, which goes beyond the unwanted horse
problem. It's called WHOHO (pronounced Whoa-Ho); We're Horse Owners
Helping Horse Owners. She sees it as a way "to increase the awareness
and utilization of the extensive resources already available through the
Rutgers Equine Science Center, The N.J. Agricultural Extension Service
and the veterinary community."
Although such resources do a lot aimed at educating the horse owner,
Ralston believes there are those, including adopters who get horses from
rescue organizations, that are "falling through the cracks." Some may
not realize how little they know. Others can be intimidated by experts.
She cited a survey of horse owners that found their most common
source of information was other horse owners, not the extension service
or expert websites. Unfortunately, some of the information disseminated,
whether from a person or a website, may be wrong, or not useful in
solving a problem.
Her idea is to turn that around with "a cadre of well-informed
volunteers who are aware of the resources available" rather than
operating by the seat of their pants. Volunteers would have to be
certified, and Ralston envisions an educational program to get them up
to speed, though there may be other ways of making sure those involved
are qualified.
A core group had its first meeting earlier this month and is getting
together again this weekend to continue laying groundwork for the
project, which Ralston envisions along the lines of the Master Gardeners
program. Karyn Malinowski, the executive director of the Equine Science
Center, also suggested that the Environmental Stewards Program or the
Woodlands Steward Program that is forming may provide helpful models.
Eventually, Ralston sees the concept going regional, and equestrian experts in neighboring states agree with that concept.
In New York, Karin Bump, a professor of equine business management at
Cazenovia College, said a small group has been working for months on
the Equine Welfare Assistance Program, a public/private partnership.
"It has some cross-overs to the kinds of things Sarah is talking
about," said Bump, the president of the National Association of Equine
Affiliated Academics.
"The problems we face with horse welfare and care are national
problems, but are going to be best solved by local and regional
approaches," she believes.
We clearly need more coordination and communication. There's lots of
people doing lots of things, but only in a few instances are there
state vehicles by which things get coordinated and communicated so you
can put everybody's talents together and see where you're crossing over
and where your gaps are."
She noted WHOHO "very much complements the kinds of things we're
working on here in New York State. Unwanted horses are a continuing
concern, but there's always been an issue of horse welfare and what do
horse owners do when they don't have the resources or a horse no longer
fits their needs?"
In Pennsylvania, Donna Foulk, Penn State extension educator/equine
natural resources, said, "I like this idea, it's pro-active." Foulk
recalled that Pennsylvania offered a Crop Master program for farmers,
who were supplied with current information that was designed to be
passed along to other farmers, and said that was quite successful.
Having the informed farmers help out insured that people got good
information, and also had the benefit of letting officials know what
concerned the farmers who were being aided, when the volunteers reported
back to extension employees.
Regionally, she felt it could work and suggested offering short
courses on topics such as hay and nutrition on both sides of the state
line.
"I really think we should have stronger ties," said Foulk, who formerly worked at Rutgers.
Malinowski pledged support from Ralston's colleagues in the animal
science department and the ESC, while suggesting webinars for some of
the programs to make it more convenient and reach out to speakers not
based in New Jersey.
Those interested in becoming involved with WHOHO can contact Ralston at ralston@AESOP.Rutgers.edu.
"From my earliest memories, I have loved horses with a longing beyond words." ~ Robert Vavra
"Help! I can't keep this horse anymore."
