Equine Advocates

Happy Thanksgiving from Janie, Swiftie, and all of us at Equine Advocates! We're thankful for all our wonderful supporters and friends. We hope everyone has a safe and joyful holiday weekend!

Giving Tuesday is just ONE WEEK away! We'd be honored to receive your support on this day of generosity. Donations made on Giving Tuesday and during our weeklong fundraiser will go toward efforts to house more rescued equines at our 173-acre sanctuary. After eight years of operating without an official home, Equine Advocates established its sanctuary in Chatham, New York in 2004. Over the last two decades, many equines have called our sanctuary home. Now, it's time to expand. Last fall, we acquired additional property, which allows us to care for even more rescued equines and develop equine-related programs on our grounds. Before we can welcome new rescues though, we need places to house them. Your generous donations will go toward building barn structures to give equines a safe and comfortable living space to enjoy, in addition to their pasture space. Please help support our goal on Giving Tuesday next week! Your help makes a huge difference in the lives of these equines, like miniature horse Daffodil featured here.

What a wonderful way to honor all veterans! Yesterday, we were joined by the Columbia County Veterans Service Agency and veterans from across the state and beyond to pay tribute to the six retired Caisson Horses at our sanctuary - Tyler, Sergeant York, Luke, King, Randy, and Amos. These horses served with the Caisson Platoon, a unit of the U.S. Army, and performed different roles during military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. We see the connection veterans make with these horses and it lets us know how important it is to recognize what they've given to this country. It's a privilege to give them a safe, loving retirement home. To all veterans - Thank you for your service! #VeteransDay

Happy #VeteransDay! Today, we honor those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, both human and equine. In addition to rescued equines, our sanctuary is home to six retired Military Working Horses who served with the Caisson Platoon, a unit of the U.S. Army - Tyler, Sergeant York, Luke, Randy, King, and Amos. They performed different roles during military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery and have a combined nine decades of military service. Featured here is Sergeant York, who served 25 years with the Caisson Platoon and was the Riderless Horse at the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan in 2004. You can learn all about these incredible horses on our website: https://lnkd.in/eBwKtJGv Photo by Terry Hawthorne

We ended our 2024 Public Open Days season on a very high note 🐴 We had 350 visitors at the sanctuary on our final Open Day this past weekend - Our record day for the year! In total, more than 1,300 visitors came out during our seven Open Days this year. It means a lot to us to share our work, inform the public about the issues we advocate for, and introduce our equines to so many people. We want to thank everyone for their support and look forward to seeing you again next spring! If you can't wait though and want to visit sooner, consider becoming an Equine Sponsor today: https://lnkd.in/eDcV6xnm

Happy #NationalMuleDay from Henry and all our sweet mules! Fun facts about these equines: 🐴 A mule is the offspring of a male donkey (jack) and a female horse (mare) ➕ The mule is the oldest known hybrid animal ✋ The phrase "stubborn as a mule" isn't exactly true. Mules aren't stubborn out of spite. They have a strong sense of self-preservation and respond well to kindness and patience from humans 🍼 Mules can't reproduce offspring because they have an odd number of chromosomes 1️⃣ George Washington was the first American mule breeder and considered the "father of the American mule"

A fresh coat of paint makes a huge difference 🎨 Thank you to an amazing group of volunteers from Regeneron who painted fences and stalls at our sanctuary for their Day for Doing Good. We're so grateful for their help and support! Our equines are thankful for the snuggles they got from everyone after their hard work was done #RegeneronD4DG If you're interested in corporate and group volunteering opportunities, you can learn more on our website: https://lnkd.in/dnQfuwpY

We love fall at the sanctuary 🍁 You can see these beautiful views in person during our Public Open Days. There are two more left this year: This Saturday, Oct. 12, and Sunday, Nov. 3. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/dBMrVBsV Or you can visit our sanctuary in Chatham, NY any time of the year by becoming an Equine Sponsor: https://lnkd.in/eDcV6xnm

Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary is a haven for horses, donkeys, mules, and other equines saved from neglect, abuse, and slaughter. Please enjoy this incredible video to learn about how our organization began, the impact we've made in nearly three decades of operation, and our hopes for the future. Your support makes all we do possible! Thank you to SLS Media Productions for producing a wonderful video.

Our hearts are still warm from witnessing this moment - When Press Exclusive and her daughter Swiftie, two former racehorses, were reunited here at the sanctuary. Press Exclusive, a Kentucky-bred Thoroughbred who raced in Canada, was rescued in 2012 by Mindy Lovell of the Ontario-based rescue organization Transitions Thoroughbreds. Her story was so horrifying and compelling that it went viral, which is how it came to the attention of Equine Advocates President Susan Wagner. Press had raced 48 times and won hundreds of thousands of dollars for her owner, after which time she gave birth to nine foals before ending up on the Canadian version of Craigslist where she was purchased by a killer buyer. On her way to slaughter, she was trampled nearly to death on the truck. Thanks to Mindy, she defied the odds and in 2013, Press traveled to Equine Advocates to be permanently retired here. But her amazing story does not end there! Swiftie, who raced under the name “X-Squared,” was born in 2010 and was one of Press Exclusive’s last foals. Mindy learned she was racing at Woodbine in Ontario and then was sold to someone in Texas in 2018 to be raced and bred. Susan contacted that person to say if X Squared ever needed a forever home, we would like to retire her at the sanctuary. Years passed and this past June, Susan received an unexpected call asking if she was still interested in giving X Squared a home. It was an easy answer - “Yes!” With X Squared’s new life came a new musically-inspired name – Swiftie! She arrived here in July. Due to a chronic health issue that prevents us from turning Press out on wet ground, she and Swiftie cannot be turned out together. Press enjoys her quiet life with supervised turnout at the Main Barn and has Sergeant York to keep her company. Swiftie made fast friends with a group of mares who all love to run together in their pasture. Miraculously, our 11-year quest to give Swiftie a forever home became a reality.