Week 13 - Mitchell Farm Equine Retirement

The Retirees of Mitchell Farm (from www.mitchellfarm.org)

Week 13 brings me back to my original passion: horses. I have been making small donations to Mitchell Farm for quite a few years now. I believe they are filling a critical need in a caring and loving manner. According to the Mitchell Farm website, the mission is "Providing a safe and comfortable retirement alternative to geriatric and infirm horses to live out their lives and offering educational opportunities to the public on aged equine care and management."

All of my horse friends have experienced the heartache of deciding what to do with an aged horse. Especially in this harsh New England climate, it is expensive monetarily and time wise to care for older horses. They need special dental care, regular hoof care, and often special feed. If they are in poor condition, they may need to be blanketed or kept inside. All of these things take time and money.

Most of us who have the horse "disease" would give up our own luxuries in life in order to spend this time and money, but there are some who simply can't afford it. Then what are the options? Have your companion euthanized? Sent to slaughter? Or simply keep them but not be able to care for them properly? None of these options are good and each one has heart wrenching consequences.

I have a friend who rescued a horse many years ago. A big Dutch Warmblood who was a lot of horse for anyone to handle. He made it his mission to care for this horse that no one else could handle or wanted to handle. And after years of expensive care and love, the horse jumped a fence and sustained a hock injury. Thousands of dollars in medical procedures later, he is sound but not fit for much more than light riding. He did the right and compassionate thing and paid for his horse to go to a retirement farm in Vermont with lush pastures and live his life in peace. To sell him would have meant certain lameness if he was ridden too roughly. This is just one example of where equine retirement facilities provide such a vital service for our beloved older or infirm horses.

Mitchell Farm currently cares for 26 horses and has a waiting list of over 70! I am very impressed by their clever fundraising strategies and overall farm management. They sell aged manure to local hobby farmers and gardeners, sell beautiful art prints of their horses and farm, hold fundraising concerts and charity rides all to pay for the operating expenses of the farm. But most of all they rely on generous horse-loving donors to keep afloat.

For more information check out Mitchell Farm's website or find them on Facebook.

My donation to Mitchell Farm will be matched 100% by my company.