Friday Standing Ovation, Presented by Ovation Riding: International Rescue Horse Registry

Each week we recognize an organization that is doing good work in the horse world. Today we salute IRHR.

Presented by:

This week’s Standing Ovation honoree:

The International Rescue Horse Registry was nominated by Noelle Maxwell, whose own horse, Some Might Say (“Whiskey”), is registered with the IRHR. “I wrote this because I thought there needed to be more awareness of the fact that there’s a registry for rescue horses,” she explains.

Noelle says she has “sort of always been around rescue horses.” She started riding at age 10 and rides and boards at a farm that officially became a rescue in 2008 but had always taken in horses in need of a home.

Noelle and her rescue horse.

From Noelle:

Over the last few years, there’s been more awareness of rescue horses and more effort has been made to find these horses a good, loving home. But, did you know there’s now a registry that recognizes these horses and those who save them?

The International Rescue Horse Registry, or IRHR, was formed in 2012 by Anna Schreibl. Anna has been involved in rescue for about four years, and is involved with a local rescue via fundraisers and training clinics. She first became involved with rescue through a friend who was always saving and rehoming neglected horses. Once, her friend brought home a pony who’d been tied to a lawnmower and had to drag it around to graze. The pony ended up with severely deformed limbs but was rescued, survived, and lived out a happy life. After that case, her friend started an official rescue and Anna offered to do dressage clinics as a fundraiser.

Anna formed the IRHR because she wanted to encourage people to consider adopting a rescue. She thought those who adopted rescue horses would love to have a registry where their horse could belong and gain recognition, the registry now accepts horses both in the U.S. and worldwide. The IRHR offers year-end awards for both schooling shows and recognized shows, they also offer three scholarships, and are recognized by the USDF. The end goal is make rescues a more valid choice for horse owners.

To be eligible for registration a horse can be adopted through a rescue, or they can be a personally rescued horse/mercy buy. The IRHR accepts personal rescues/mercy buys because sometimes that’s the only way a horse can be rescued. There are also membership options for rescue organizations, volunteers, and foster homes. Currently just over 100 horses are registered but no one has registered as a volunteer or foster.

The IRHR recognizes a wide variety of riding disciplines along with categories for therapy horses and pasture buddies. They are open to more suggestions for what to recognize, so if you think they’ve missed something, feel free to let them know. Currently they recognize:

• Competitive trail riding

• Dressage

• English pleasure

• Hunter/jumper

• Eventing

• Endurance

• Driving

• Western pleasure

• Saddleseat

• Team roping

• Reining

• Western dressage

• Cattle horse events

• Barrel racing

• Para-equestrian

• Showing in-hand/halter

• Therapy horse

• Pasture pal/companion animal

Also, Anna would like everyone to know that the IRHR is not meant to be a big-business registry. All she wants is to break even and give everyone involved in rescue a chance to be recognized. There are so many rescue horses out there and many, if given a chance can be just as good as any other horse.

Click here to find out how to become a member and keep up with all the latest IRHR news by “liking” them on Facebook.

Rescue success stories:

Gilligan arrived at a horse rescue in 2012 — he was a stallion found loose in a field. What they think happened was that someone had taken him to an auction and
when he didn’t sell they just turned him loose. He was called Gilligan, as in Gilligan’s Island, because he was found as a “castaway.” The rescue raised money to geld him and Gilligan was adopted in 2013. He now lives a happy life as a trail horse and his favorite treat is a peanut butter cookie. His owner is planning to register him sometime in the next few months.

Lucky arrived at a horse rescue when she was a few weeks old with her mother, who was too malnourished to produce enough milk for her. They’d been found abandoned in a field. Lucky was weak but had a fighting spirit and was determined. She’s now been adopted and is thriving in her new home.

Whiskey arrived ata horse rescue in 2011 with a donkey named George. He and George were basically owner surrenders; Whiskey’s initial owner didn’t have the time for him and so he was sold to some people at a rescue for $200. He found his person, Noelle, three years after arrival and has since been adopted. He was registered with the IRHR earlier in 2014, under the name Some Might Say — the registered name comes from the title of an Oasis song, the song seemed to fit his personality. Right now Whiskey is being ridden English with the eventual goal of trying eventing, but if he doesn’t like eventing then Noelle plans to figure out what he does like and do that.

Go International Rescue Horse Registry, and Go Riding!

Many thanks thanks to Ovation Riding for their support of both Horse Nation and individuals and organizations that are doing good work in the horse world. 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.