Equine Advocates

Horse Sanctuary

Our Mission

The mission of Equine Advocates is to rescue, protect and prevent the abuse of equines through education, investigation, rescue operations, the dissemination of information to the public and the operation of a horse sanctuary for slaughter-bound, abused and neglected horses. We are dedicated to the rescue and protection of horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.

About us

President’s Message

To our friends, supporters and those who want to learn more about us:

Equine Advocates is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) equine protection organization that I founded in 1996 after rescuing my first horse from slaughter. His name was Gandalf. Since that time, we have rescued thousands of equines, including horses, ponies, donkeys and mules from slaughter, abuse and neglect. We have grown significantly over the years with our small but energetic and compassionate staff. We have done a great deal, but there is still much to be accomplished.

In 2004, we established Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary, a 140-acre facility in upstate New York from which we now operate. The opening of this wonderful sanctuary was bittersweet, as Gandalf died one year earlier. While he did not make it to the sanctuary, he is here with us every day in spirit and continues to inspire all of us, along with the other wonderful equines we have gotten to know over the years.

Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary has truly become a haven for horses. It is an equine village where horses get to live out their lives in a natural environment that allows them to socialize with each other. The 80+ equines who reside here receive lots of TLC. Most were slaughter-bound and/or came from abusive situations and have surely earned their retirement here at the sanctuary.

In 2006, we proudly opened the doors to our Humane Education Center where we welcome groups and individuals of all ages. Visitors come from many different parts of the country to learn about equine issues, responsible horse guardianship, humane horse handling, natural horsemanship, and many other important subjects that affect the welfare of our equine friends.

We welcome students into our Ed Center for our freshly crafted Humane Education program where students learn how to compassionately care for horses and all animals. We always stress the importance of people taking responsibility for the equines under their care and that they ensure a safe and kind existence during their lives and a peaceful, dignified experience in death. Slaughter is simply not an option.

Our Humane Education Programs are continually expanding. We offer tours and present lectures and classes on a variety of equine-related subjects and issues. We have held Symposiums on Equine Cruelty for law enforcement where experts discussed how to recognize abuse/neglect cases and how to effectively enforce the cruelty laws. We produced our first children’s book for young children, entitled, Do Horses Sleep Standing Up? Written by our Development Director, Karen Wagner, this book features many of the horses who live at the sanctuary.

In our outdoor arena right outside the Education Center, we hold lecture demonstrations and also allow visitors, especially young children, to meet some of our more gentle horses. Dolly and Queen often get to greet our visitors. Photo at right is Dolly with some members of a Girl Scout troop.

In 2013, The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), the only globally-recognized organization providing standards for identifying legitimate animal sanctuaries, awarded Accredited status to Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary. In 2014, Equine Advocates was one of only 42 organizations to be awarded Accredited status by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). Equine Advocates was also accredited by the American Sanctuary Association (ASA) in 2019. We were very honored to receive these important recognitions.

Equine Advocates is also an award-winning organization, honored by the New York State Humane Association and the Thoroughbred Charities of America for excellence in equine protection and rescue work, including numerous multi-horse rescue operations. Since our inception, we have focused both on horse rescue and advocacy, exposing the cruel horse slaughter and pregnant mares’ urine (PMU) industries and other forms of equine abuse. Since 2006, Humane Equine Education has become a very important focus of this organization as we target horse owners and young people, in particular, because they are the future horse owners of America.

We have originated and participated in many televised and print undercover investigations that have taken us across the U.S. and to Canada to expose horse slaughter auctions, horse slaughterhouses, the tragic fate of most camp horses, the abusive treatment of many mules, buggy horses and work horses by some Amish farmers, the miserable lives of PMU mares who are continually impregnated and turned into 4-legged drug machines to produce the drugs, Premarin, PremPro and Premphase, the cruel urban carriage horse trade and other informative reports exposing equine abuse and other forms of exploitation.

Please explore our website for a more complete understanding of who we are and why we are committed to the work that we feel so passionately about doing. If you are not yet a supporter of Equine Advocates, we hope you will consider becoming one. There are many ways that you can contribute and make tax-deductible donations. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions and/or if you are interested and want more information about any of our programs, including horse sponsorship, education, visitors open days and tours.

Please visit Who We Are for more information about our our staff, our Board of Directors and our financials.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our site. We hope that you, too, will become an equine advocate and become pro-active in opposing horse slaughter and reporting incidents of equine abuse and neglect to your local authorities. For those of you who have the privilege of having a horse, being a kind and responsible guardian and caretaker is one of the best things you can do.

Sincerely,

Susan Wagner
President

Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary is a Field of Dreams for Horses

Equine Advocates was founded in 1996. Eight years later, our dream came true when we opened our horse sanctuary in upstate New York. Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary is a beautiful 140-acre farm and is currently home to over 80+ rescued horses, ponies, donkeys and mules—plus Charlotte, a Pygmy goat and Jakey and Cello, two Nigerian Dwarf goats!

Meet the residents of Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary and read their stories.

We feel that our sanctuary is a wonderful example of how horses should live. Every horse here has a stall, either in the Main Barn or in one of the many 2 or 3-Stall Barn structures located in our paddocks and pastures. The horses in the Main Barn mostly have physical issues or other special needs. Each horse has the ability to enter and leave their stall at will, except at feeding time when we need to be sure they get their own particular meal and supplements and don’t get any help from their pasture mates who would be more than happy to dine on their cuisine!

Our Feed Room is organized for the specialized meals the horses receive every day. There is water available at all times for the horses with heaters in all the troughs for use during the winter months. Veterinarians, farriers (blacksmiths) and the equine dentist come to the sanctuary on a regular basis to make sure our horses stay healthy.

We are very proud of the way we have designed the paddocks so that many can be connected by opening interlocking gates, giving our horses the opportunity to do what horses love to do …run and socialize with their friends! The herd can be as many as thirty horses on more than 40 acres of open pasture! Not only is this a vision to see and a lovely sound to hear, but you can feel the earth move under your feet as they take off all at once!

We have an Outdoor Arena where our staff and volunteers work with the horses. Most of the horses cannot be ridden due to physical and emotional scars from their prior lives, but being in the arena gets them used to being around people and being handled. The outdoor arena is also used for our Education Program.

In 2006, we opened our Education Center on the sanctuary grounds. Each year, we welcome thousands of visitors of all ages for public open days, classes and seminars which focus on equine protection and equine issues. We also organize and host our American Equine Summit which brings experts from across the country to talk about vital issues facing America’s wild and domestic equines. We hold specialized classes for law enforcement on how to recognize equine abuse and neglect and how to enforce the cruelty laws, as well as educators on humane education for the classroom.

In our outdoor arena, we hold demonstrations on natural horsemanship. All visitors get to meet our remarkable equine residents and learn about where they came from and why they needed to be rescued. The animals here are as much a part of our Education Program as the seminars themselves!

Behind the Education Center and adjacent to some of the paddocks we have a lovely pond and picnic area where visitors can have lunch and just relax. Afterwards, they can walk the entire sanctuary and along the way can read our paddock graphics which have photos of the horses and their stories. This makes for a much more personalized experience.

Equine Advocates Humane Education & Welcome Center

The Humane Education Center on the sanctuary grounds opened its doors in October 2006.

Each year, Equine Advocates welcomes thousands of visitors of all ages including educators, students, law enforcement officials, girl and boy scout troops, horse club members and others for lectures, talks, seminars, work shops and symposiums. Lecture demonstrations have also been presented in the outdoor arena adjacent to the center. Topics range from equine issues, protection and care, the humane treatment of horses, humane law and enforcement, the art of natural horsemanship and responsible horse guardianship.

Afterwards, of course, all visitors get to meet our horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, most of whom where rescued from slaughter, abuse and/or neglect. These animals are as much a part of the Education Program as the classes themselves as visitors get to learn about where they came from and why they needed to be rescued. There are graphics throughout the property with each horse’s story which helps make the visit educational and informative.

Humane Education at Equine Advocates

Children are the future guardians of humanity, animals and our environment

We are excited to launch our “Fun From Home” activities to keep families occupied with fun horse puzzles, quizzes and games while working or schooling from home during these uncertain times. Each day, we will add a new puzzle featuring our equine residents. We will also create new quizzes and word searches. All games can be found on our Kids Corner page! But don’t be fooled, these games are perfect for all ages!

And as always, our Equine Advocates coloring book is available for download. Feel free to share your masterpieces with us on social media – don’t forget to tag us!

EQUINE ADVOCATES COLORING BOOK by Susan Fecteau

Humane Education at Home

With schools closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we unforutnaley cannot host sanctuary visits with local schools. However, we found a way to bring the sanctuary to you! Check out our latest video series: Humane Education at Home. Our Director of Humane Education Colleen Cronin ventures to different parts of the sanctuary to teach kids about the work we do here, as well as the importance of compassion and empathy for all living things.

Episode 1: Pony Hill

Finally, since we sadly had to cancel our 2020 Public Open Days, we wanted to give everyone sanctuary tours to hold us over until we are able to open to the public safely! Check out the videos below:

Sanctuary Tour 1 Sanctuary Tour 2 Sanctuary Tour 3. Eye in the Sky: Drone Tour

We also launched a NEW tour video series that introduces viewers to all of our equine residents at the sanctuary:

Touring Equine Advocates Rescue and Sanctuary Video Series

Equine Advocates Humane Education Program teaches children to develop empathy, compassion and a sense of responsibility towards all living things. We provide them with an understanding of the need to advocate and make necessary changes in our world by getting involved, raising their voices and making a difference.

 

The Humane Education lessons offered at Equine Advocates Sanctuary helps fulfill the requirements of the New York State Humane Education Law (Article 17, Section 809).

The curriculum is developed to include fun, relevant, age-appropriate lessons for Pre-K through Middle School and special education programs. At the sanctuary, students will meet our horses and hear stories of how and why they were rescued as well as understand the need to advocate and protect all animals. The program encourages critical thinking and problem solving to question, make informed decisions and take compassionate action.

Our program is written to align with the NYS Learning Standards incorporating Social Studies, Language Arts, Vocabulary, Civics and Science. Students will learn the history and evolution of equines and their contributions to society past and present. Additionally, they learn what both wild and domestic equines need to survive and society’s responsibility to protect and rescue animals.

Students will gain an understanding of how our sanctuary works to identify animal abuse and the importance of advocating to make and change laws to protect them. Giving students the opportunity to think critically about the information they learn and develop opinions, attitudes and solutions to the plight of horses in our world gives them a sense of responsibility towards improving our society.

This is an excellent opportunity to educate children about the importance of caring for each other, animals and our planet.