Rescuers offer greener pastures for horses

Reporting from Coconut Creek, Fla. — 

A sweet-natured mare, Butterfly was easy to love.

But her owner apparently found her too hard to feed.

Last month, Butterfly became the first horse rescued by Hearts for Horses Inc., a nonprofit group founded in November by Cindy Lane of Coconut Creek, Fla.

A lifelong equestrian, Lane, 49, and her daughter Savanna, 20, are on a quest to stop horse neglect, abandonment and abuse.

“It’s not just Butterfly,” Lane said. “A lot of horses out there are skin and bones.”

But for Butterfly, a 26-year-old quarter horse, the rescue came too late.

“Love of my life,” Lane said wistfully, recounting Butterfly’s last days. “I was going to keep her. Sweetest horse I have ever met on the planet. We had her for five days.”

With the recession in full swing, horse neglect is on the rise, equine experts say.

No one keeps statistics on how many of the nation’s 10 million horses are abandoned or neglected, but anecdotal reports indicate the number is on the rise, said Scott Beckstead, an Oregon-based equine-protection specialist for the Humane Society of the United States.

“We know that because of the economy, neglect cases are up,” Beckstead said.

Equally alarming is the fact that about 100,000 horses are taken across U.S. borders every year to be slaughtered.

In an effort to help, horse-lovers have formed more than 400 rescue groups nationwide, Beckstead said.

“More people are setting up nonprofit organizations dedicated to horse rescue and welfare to help horse owners take proper care of their animals,” he said. “There are also groups that form to provide a sanctuary for horses and facilities where horses are taken in and cared for and adopted back out to good homes.”

Lane, who got her first horse at age 8, is among those who wants to provide a haven for horses. With help from community donations and volunteers, she hopes to expand her 3-acre property by building another barn so that she can help more horses. She’ll take them in, no questions asked.

Her two latest arrivals are chestnut Thoroughbreds, former racehorses abandoned by their owner.

Both would be free to a good home, and she would like to keep the 7-year-old geldings together, if possible. One cannot be ridden because he was raced too hard, too many times.

Lane’s goal is to fatten them up so their ribs don’t show. It’s hard to plump up a Thoroughbred, Lane said. It’s also difficult to find a home for a horse that can’t be ridden.

But Lane is all about beating the odds.

Matthew Seacrist, who runs Second Chance for Horses Rescue in Parkland, Fla., welcomes the help.

“Horse rescue is a lot of work,” said Seacrist, who formed his nonprofit group two years ago. “If it weren’t for us, these horses wouldn’t have a home.”

Seacrist has 12 horses available for adoption, but his phone’s not ringing. He blames the economy.

“No one is adopting horses,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can afford it. And my adoption fees are $400 and $500.”

Finding good homes is the biggest challenge, said Jennifer Swanson, co-founder of Pure Thoughts, a rescue group in Loxahatchee and Wellington, Fla.

In the last eight years, Swanson’s group has helped rescue more than 1,500 horses, she said.

For now, Lane hopes to spread the word about Hearts for Horses.

“I want the community to know that there is a place that these horses can go where they will be well-fed and cared for,” Lane said.

She doesn’t want to lose another Butterfly.

sebryan@sunsentinel.com