What do you get when you combine the thrill of a horse training challenge with the heartwarming cause of helping rescue horses? The premier of The Equine Comeback Challenge, that’s what, sponsored by A Home For Every Horse and held March 9 in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo.
Feeling great with a rescued horse
What do you get when you combine the thrill of a horse training challenge with the heartwarming cause of helping rescue horses? The premier of The Equine Comeback Challenge, that’s what.
Horse trainers Debbie Bibb, Mike Brashear, Chance Adam, Kim Leonard, Dominique Jones, Alex Schoen, Tiffany Doverspike and Susan Shields took on the project of training a rescue horse for 60 days to see which equine team could get the furthest, and Shields won with a gelding named Mack from Triple Acres Horse Rescue.
“To become a part of this new excursion with the rescue horses has been enlightening and rewarding,” Shields said after the event. “Finding out the quality of horses these rescues get amazes me—there are such good quality horses out there.”
The other equine contenders included April and Dusty came from Denkai Animal Sanctuary; Odessa came from Far View Horse Rescue; Sweat pea, Jet Eye, and Miss Dena from Triple Acres, and Grace and Rawley from Mountain Valley Horse Rescue.
To help the contestants get ready in the two months prior to the competition, Tractor Supply donated $300 to each trainer to supply hay for the 60 days of training, and Purina donated three bags of feed.
Every equine team did amazingly well, and all of the horses were available for adoption at the completion of the event. Toward that end, WeatherBeeta donated a blanket to each horse and their new adoptive family, and Zoetis provided educational material and Strongid paste for each new owner.
If you want more information on rescue horses or you want to locate a rescue near you, please check out AHomeForEveryHorse.com. Equine.com and the Active Interest Media Equine Network have joined forces with the American Horse Council’s Unwanted Horse Coalition to launch A Home for Every Horse Project.
This project helps find homes for America’s 170,000 to 200,000 horses in need of care and shelter. Here’s how it works
Begin the search for your next equine partner at AHomeForEveryHorse.com. You can search horses waiting for homes at nonprofit shelters across the country. Browse by rescue horse, or find rescue organizations in your area.
- Visit the site’s “Services” section to learn about your local rescue organizations. Find out how you can volunteer, donate, or simply spread the word.
- Look for upcoming stories on EquiSearch.com related to horse rescue.
If your 501(c)(3) rescue organization would like to join the Home For Every Horse Project, call (866) 467-7323, ext. 100. Equine.com is a part of Active Interest Media Equine Network.