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	About Second Chance Ranch

Konig’s stall is just below my office and he whinnies every morning when he hears the door close. Dutchess gives the best back rubs ever with her wriggling lips. Daisy, a pony in her mid-20’s, stood shaking and terrified with her mother at a feed lot, just hours away from being slaughtered after a life time of packing a kid around the show ring. She is blind but still the first one to find and greet me in the pasture. This is why I do what I do. This is what I wake up for every morning!

If I had a dime for every time I heard the words, “you’re living my dream...I wish I could do what you do.” The answer is, “you can do what I do. I’ve got the barn and the horses. Roll up your sleeves and join me in the journey to rescue.” The other half of the people say “I don’t know how you can do what you do...I couldn’t stand to see it.” The answer to that is, “I don’t know how you can sit back and not do anything about it.” It is sad to face the reality of how many of these innocent, defenseless animals are mis-treated. I liken it to a doctor that can handle seeing blood and guts. It’s different when you’re on the healing end. When you’re the one providing the goodness and the care. It’s a good feeling to nurture these animals. To right a wrong and find a sense of justice.

The job is 24/7, 365 days. I haven’t left the ranch overnight in 17 years (not even for a honeymoon when I married). It requires a great deal of planning, management and knowledge of training and vetting horses to really be effective in rescue. Most of all, it will consume your life and your checkbook!

Rescue is not always about abuse and neglect. Sometimes it’s a transition or an alternative solution for responsible, loving animal owners who take the time to look for help. In every situation, it is an opportunity to enlighten and educate the community. I’m going to share some bold truths about rescue and the equine community so that you can better understand the limitations of a rescue operation, and what the solution is.

We are bombarded with requests to take in horses every day. Sadly, the number one request is from people who want to “donate” their senior or injured horse immediately because they have bought a new one and can’t afford two. Their lack of retirement planning is now my emergency. Toss emotional blackmail into the mix, “I’m going to send it to slaughter if you don’t take it this weekend.” Welcome to my world! In order to accommodate taking in every retired horse in Washington, and flipping the bill for the care of that horse for the rest of it’s life, we would need Bill Gates’ checkbook and about a thousand acres. I wish I had both!

Second most common request—we receive reports about badly neglected horses, but do not have the authority to do anything about it. As many of you have experienced, the only authority to remove a horse from it’s home or prosecute someone for abuse is a county agency. They are very slow to act on the few laws we have to protect horses. Second Chance Ranch (SCR) does assist the community with these cases when time and funding permits. We evaluate the situation, report abuse, and sometimes offer to buy the horse, or provide feed, vet, farrier, blanets, etc. as a means of community education.

What is a rescue horse? SCR is unique in that we have a number of solutions so that no horse will drop through the cracks: 1) We take in homeless horses from auction and slaughter houses, PMU farms (Premarin babies), BLM Mustangs and many Thoroughbreds off the track. These horses receive therapy and training to be made adoptable. We currently have 11 horses that are permanent residents and deemed not adoptable; 2) We have a consignment program for horses who are adoptable but need physical therapy or training. This stops all cost for the owner as we provide all feed, board, farrier, vet and training. When the horse is sold we recoup our costs (but put a limit on the percentage we are paid) and give the rest to the owner. In most cases, we take a big hit financially, but it’s still a great solution for the horse and owner; 3) For the owner who wants help finding a new home for their horse, but can keep it during the process, we do not charge for our time to post the horse on several websites, field calls, and screen adoptors. This typically applies to senior and injured horses.

What defines rescue from a horse seller or trader? Choosing a sanctuary or rescue organization should be taken very seriously. The majority of equine rescue orgs all across the nation fold within a few years. Many start with good intentions but become overwhelmed due to lack of experience or planning. There are many that pose as rescue but are simply nothing more than horse traders and sellers. Horses that fall victim to these places would be better off dead than a future of being starved, mistreated, or passed around to a number of unqualified homes.

The process of adoption for SCR is a general standard that you can use as a guidline. We “adopt” (not sell) horses on contract. The contract is customized to each horse’s needs and lists reasonable terms and conditions. You must return the horse if the arrangement does not work out. It’s really important that after taking considerable time to match a horse with a person, that it’s not traded, leased or sold to someone else you might not have chosen for the horse. Before adopting we ask that you first watch us work with the horse on the ground and under saddle, and then come back several times to ride and work with the horse at our facility. This is an opportunity for you to know if this horse is going to work for you, and it also allows SCR to determine if we feel it’s a good longterm match. Make sure the rescue org you have chosen as a written program, guidenlines and standards, check references with their vet and farrier, and nost of all – do they have qualified handlers and a record of good results? Websites can be deceiving. Visit in person and watch them work with horses.

Our overhead is far beyond what SCR brings in with adoption and consignment income. This is largely due to the length of time we take to find appropriate adoptors. Sending people our way is greatly helpful. The training business my husband and I operate (Ferreira Farms) donates the facility, operational cost and much of our income to care for the rescue animals. No complaints! However, feel free to visit our wish list and “how you can help” link on our website.

SCR founder, Katie Merwick, is an author, behaviorist and recipient of the American Red Cross “2000, Hero of the Year” award. Katie and her husband Mike have devoted more than 23 years of their lives to animal welfare, training and rehabilitation for both domestic and wildlife. Together, they have pioneered many innovative solutions to helping homeless animals and providing education to the community.