Animal rescue group asks community for help keeping Hebron horses safe
LAUREL, Del. – It has been over a year since at least a hundred horses were rescued from a Hebron farm. About a dozen of those horses were brought to the Changing Fates Equine Rescue in Laurel where volunteers say some of them still have a long road to recovery.
“We don’t want this to be lost in just everyday that it’s been a year and we’ll just forget about it,” said Volunteer Coordinator, Donna McCready.
“It’s still an ongoing process, training them, getting them used to humans,” said McCready.
The Changing Fates Equine Rescue on Sunday reached out to the public asking for support as they continue to work with the horses rescued from deplorable conditions back in 2018.
“They had no use for people,” said Cassie Rose, a volunteer.
“They didn’t want to be touched, and they didn’t want to be around people, they just wanted to be left at their own devices to go eat grass,” said Rose.
Fortunately, these horses are now much healthier than they were. Volunteers say it’s taken a lot of love and patience to help them recover.
“The ones that have come to the rescue they’re now developing that trust, they know that they’re going to get hay everyday, they get a complete feed everyday,” said Rose.
“They know someone is going to come over and pet their nose and it’s OK, that no one is going to hurt them,” said Rose.
“Their heads are high now,” said McCready, “They’re looking forward to being with you, to being touched, it’s just been amazing to watch all of the volunteers that have taken this to heart.”
Even though these horses have found a new family at the rescue volunteers say it is tough to keep up with the costs.
“It’s quite expensive to feed these horses, and we’re all volunteer and the only way we can do this is to raise money through fundraisers, donations and this winter just the last couple of months it’s been about $10,000 dollars just to keep these guys going,” said McCready.
Despite the challenges, volunteers say taking care of these horses means everything to them and they hope to find them a home that they deserve.
“It seems when you talk about rescued animals, people think they’re damaged or broken or they’re not going to be good for family, but you have to remember that every animal wants a second chance whether it’s a horse or a dog or a cat,” said Rose.
Volunteers at the Changing Fates Equine Rescue will be hosting several fundraising events in the coming years in order to continue supporting these horses. To donate to the animal shelter, click here.
