RE-INTRODUCING HORSE RESCUE TEAMS
“The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart” ~Maryanne Williamson
This holiday season, Equamore Foundation invites its donors to create or join a Virtual Horse Rescue Team, using the power of the Internet’s social networking sites to provide sanctuary for one of the aged, neglected, or abused horses at the Equamore Sancruary. The best way to introduce this concept is to tell the story of how Equamore’s first virtual team worked to save one horse.
Blind at birth and abandoned by his fast-moving herd, “General” was brought to the Equamore Sanctuary in 1999 at just a few weeks of age. Volunteers quickly had the foal’s condition diagnosed by local veterinarians and began the process of seeking funding to correct the bilateral cataracts that obscured his eyesight. The veterinary program at U. C. Davis offered the surgery at a reduced cost; funding was procured; and the tiny equid was transported in the back of an SUV to California, where his eyesight was partially restored. He returned to the Equamore Sanctuary newly named “General U. C. Davis” in honor of the university’s generous gift, “General” for short. Now, for the rest of the story . . .
General U. C. Davis:
Ever alert, guarding his ponies.
When a horse rescue organization accepts an unadoptable horse, as Equamore did when it took in a blind foal, it makes a commitment to care for that animal for its lifetime. The problem is how to sustain funding over the four decades a healthy horse might live. To solve this dilemma, ten Equamore volunteers, who could not afford to care for a partially blind horse by themselves, created the first Equamore Rescue Team. Each member of the team agreed to contribute part of the cost of caring for General.
Calling themselves “G Troop,” these donors changed the world for General U. C. Davis, who protects our rescued ponies as he was protected by geldings when he was a foal. You can do the same for another horse by joining an existing team or organizing a new team for any of Equamore’s 54 horses or ponies. It’s a wonderful way to use your creativity to make others aware of the needs of horses like General and to encourage them to join our fight for “lost causes.” To get some idea of what G Troop has done, see General U. C. Davis’ Facebook page.
