Sky Ranch Sanctuary is a non-profit public service organization which provides a safe, permanent home for horses that have been abused or abandoned. We are a new organization located on a 15 acre ranch in San Luis Obispo County. We have stable facilities and pasture land which we are improving to accommodate more horses.
Rescue horses often require particular diets and greater than usual veterinary care due to their prior deprivations. We provide nutritious food, shelter, medical care, and lots of attention. Although it is our purpose to provide a forever-home to any horse that comes here, we network with other horse welfare and rescue organizations and individuals in finding safe and caring temporary or permanent homes for as many horses as possible. Part of our mission is to educate the public as to the need to support the humane treatment of horses and where to get help in re-homing a horse.
A few years back when the economy was severely stressed, horses were being abandoned in great numbers. Many were dropped off on the side of the road or at the beach and left to survive as best they could. Things have improved slightly as the economy has recovered somewhat, but there are still numbers of unwanted horses. In instances of abandonment, as well as with reportings of cruelty and neglect, the sheriffs are left with taking the horses to the county’s limited equine facilities or to finding a horse sanctuary which will provide care for these horses. The larger sanctuaries are often full due to increased instances of abandonment or other abuse.
Our first rescue horse, “Sheldon,” arrived at Sky Ranch in June 2012. We got news of him through another non-profit horse welfare group (Horse Emergency Evacuation Team: “H.E.E.T.”) which had received a call from the county sheriffs that a horse was found wandering and starving in the Paso Robles area. The larger horse rescue sanctuaries were filled to capacity and “H.E.E.T.” was able to give the horse temporary care and shelter until a permanent placement was found. “Sheldon” now has a forever home here at the Sky Ranch. A second rescue horse,“Zuki,” also referred by “H.E.E.T.”, arrived in early March, 2013, and though Zuki died in 2014 of an advanced cancer, he lived out the last year of his life at Sky Ranch, loved and cared for. Since then, two additional rescue horses, Spirit and Digger, have come to live here. In addition to myself, Kathleen Redmond, founder and director, there will be one paid helper and assorted volunteers caring for the horses.
Although our organization can only provide forever homes to a limited number of horses, we see our vision as including the larger picture of improving the lives of greater numbers of abused and abandoned horses through education and providing resources and support to other like-minded groups and individuals. Ninety percent of the organization’s activities consists of caring for the horses and providing education and support activities related to the humane treatment of horses. Approximately 10% of the time and effort is dedicated to fundraising.
One of the goals of this organization is to become a community resource for persons, who due to financial stresses, are having difficulty caring for their horse or horses. We can provide information regarding sources for discounted feed, hay and creative options for finding alternative less expensive but acceptable care for the horse/horses to enable people who wish to continue providing good care for their horses to do so. We also provide a model for persons who may have facilities which would enable them to care for one rescued horse, or a limited number of rescue horses, but who need help accessing the necessary resources to provide a forever home.
Our organization’s anticipated sources of support include contributions from the community, in the form of dollars or donations in kind of hay, supplements, grain products, and discounted veterinary services. We also will solicit contributions at various horse expos, fairs, and other venues which attract people who care about animals. We will apply for grants from public and private sources that include animal rescue and other humane activities in their criteria for funding. We hope that our website will inform the public of our mission and will present an opportunity for visitors to the website to make a donation and find links to other horse related supports and resources which promote the humane treatment of horses.