Friday Standing Ovation: Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue
Each week HN and Ovation Riding applaud an individual or organization that is doing good work in the horse world. This week we salute Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue.
In addition to its rescue efforts, Gentle Giants promotes the use of draft horses of all breeds as trail, schooling and competition mounts. They are also committed to educating the public on issues of horse slaughter and cruelty, the responsibilities of horse ownership, the over-population and over-breeding of horses, and how over-breeding contributes to the horse slaughter industry.
Gentle Giants explains its process: “Slaughter is a highly profitable market and most of the public is unaware that the buyers for the slaughterhouses frequent public auctions to purchase their horses. We attend the same public auctions, choose the draft horses we feel are the most viable candidates for rescue, and then outbid the meat buyer.
“We transport the horses to our facility, where the horses are quarantined for a minimum of 21 days for illness. During that time, we begin to evaluate each individual horse and learn its personality and training level on the ground and under saddle. We ride the horses under many different circumstances, and evaluate for what level of rider the horse would best be suited. During this time, the horse also receives any necessary veterinary care, farrier care, dental care, and training.
“When the horses have completed their quarantine, they are available to be placed into adoptive homes under a strict contract. The horses are advertised on our website and on the internet to help find suitable adoptive homes. Each horse is evaluated with its prospective adopter, and if we feel the horse and rider are a suitable match for one another, then the adopter may apply to adopt that horse. At that time, GGDHR would perform a background and reference check, and may at times also conduct home visits, if deemed necessary.”
Check out this video:
Learn more about GGDHR, and how you can support their mission, by visiting their website here.
Go GGDHR, Go Ovation, and Go Riding!
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to all of our readers who made donations to last week’s “Standing Ovation” honoree, Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club. With your help and benevolence, the organization has raised $4,500!!!
If you know someone who deserves a Standing Ovation, we would love to recognize them in a future post. Email the name of the person or organization along with a message about the good work they do to [email protected]. Photos/videos are always welcome, and include a link to their website if applicable.
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