Thank you to the Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF) for a grant that will help us provide a safe landing for some senior horses in need, in honor of Promise and her miraculous recovery.

West Virginia Horse Network, Inc. has noted a substantial increase in the number of horses needing to be surrendered by their owners. In many cases these individuals have older horses who have been with them for most of the horses’ lives and are now in need of a home. The challenge is that rescues like ours have a difficult time finding new homes for aged horses. THAT is the problem that we are hoping to solve through this project.

We have decided to name this project after Promise. She is a senior mare (close to 30 years old) who was in the rescue for close to two years until she found an adopter. We hope that through this project we can make it more feasible and appealing for adopters to offer a place for horses like Promise to live out the remainder of their lives. This will make it easier for our rescue to say “yes” when people come to us wanting to surrender senior horses and it will help to free up space in the rescue for more adoptable horses in the rescue’s main barn.

The Promise Project will provide a small care stipend to adopters who are willing to care for the aged (25 yoa or older) horses that come through West Virginia Horse Network. The financial responsibility of caring for a horse they cannot ride, is the main deterrent for many adopters who would otherwise love to have these sweet senior horses in their life.

Through the Promise Project, West Virginia Horse Network will offer a monthly stipend for qualifying senior horses adopted through our program. We will also offer a yearly vet care stipend to cover some of the cost of routine vaccinations, dental floats and a Coggins test as well as assistance with euthanasia and burial.