The learning curve
When Safe Harbor was initially founded back in 2013, its creation was with the best of intentions. It was also, fundamentally, an experiment. Foster-based horse rescue was nearly unheard-of. The idea came from the co-founders’ involvement in dog rescue and the use of fosters in that setting. In fact, ASPCA used Safe Harbor’s model as an example to guide other upstart rescues and considered us a “success.”
In some ways, that was true. In others, not so much. After about 5 years of the “status quo” and some leadership changes, we had horses coming back. A lot of horses. And when you spend an entire year exclusively re-training and re-adopting previously homed horses, you have to stop and look at what’s right and wrong within your program and processes if you want to continue moving forward.
Adopting a large quantity of horses, as required for some funding and grant programs, is often simply not in the best interest of the horse. When a rescue starts “flipping” horses faster than they can possibly assess true training or personalities - it’s simply setting the horse up to fail. When a rescue approves people based on finances, friendships, or zip code rather than actual equine experience - it’s setting the horse up to fail. When a rescue places horses with fosters who have zero experience and relies on those fosters to accurately judge a horse-adopter match - it’s setting the horse up to fail. When a rescue fails to invest in professional training of green horses and assumes a volunteer can work with a horse once a week to “train” it - it’s setting the horse up to fail. While a large number of horses coming back is frustrating, it also demonstrated that our safety net works when people have the best interest of the horse at heart.
So, if you’ve followed Safe Harbor since its inception - or over the past several years - what you have seen externally has been a very intentional, internal shift.
We have learned that “no” is a necessary word that we can use freely, from a place of experience and with justification.
If available fosters are not experienced enough to house a particular horse, we say “no” rather than accept the horse and hope for the best. If a horse needs to be euthanized rather than surrendered to a rescue, we offer that service - we do not sugar-coat the situation to an owner who wants the best outcome for their horse. We do not accept owner surrendered horses that can be rehomed through our Friends Helping Friends network or by an individual with a solid contract - we are too small and we do not have space for those situations. We will always accept horses from law enforcement cases, no matter the hour; however, our ability to pivot on a moment’s notice is exclusively driven by the availability of our volunteers, the vast majority of whom work full-time jobs. We will not take in horses beyond what our finances at that moment say we can - rather than assuming we will be able to fundraise to cover the difference. We invest in training with professionals with proven track records and credentials. At all times, we strive to set up the horses in our program for successful adoptions and life-long placements.
We collaborate. If we can’t assist in a particular situation, we refer owners to other programs or individuals who have the expertise to help. Likewise, if another organization has a need or an animal in need and we can responsibly and reasonably help, we are going to do so. Rescue isn’t a competition, and all the reputable groups in the area have managed to find our own niche and operate in the way that works best for their people.
Finally, we have made a very deliberate shift to educating our communities. Through our clinics we have a goal - that educated horse owners will be better prepared for ownership, feel supported in their journey, and be less likely to neglect an animal or place it in an irresponsible home if and when they rehome their animals. Through our lifetime safety net, education, and our grants for euthanasia and castration, we strive to keep horses out of the auction cycle and “safe for life.”
