H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary at Do Over Acres celebrates one year with Open House Sept. 6
Khia, an eight-year old Saddlebred horse, is not a fan of other horses, but she loves people and has made that obvious as Jocelyn Giarratano gets her ready for a ride. “When I walk by her in the field she winks at me,” said the 15-year old who works as a volunteer at H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary at Do Over Acres in Spencerport.
Khia has come a long way since she was taken in by the rescue organization about two months ago. One of 10 rescue horses currently living on the farm, Khia had never been ridden before. While most horses take about a year to rehabilitate, Khia is ready to adopt after just two months. “She loves having a job to do,” said Marial Ophardt, president of the H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary Board of Directors.
“Our rescue goal is to take troubled/challenging horses, rehabilitate them and place them in forever homes,” said Ophardt. “This year, we wanted to place one horse a month and that’s just what we’ve been able to do – so far we have placed eight horses.”
Some of the rescues come from appalling situations where they were abused or not cared for properly, others come from homes where the owners have lost a job, had health issues or passed away. Yet others were abandoned at boarding facilities or were headed to auction. “More often than not, the owner didn’t do enough research before buying the horse,” said Ophardt.
The Rescue and Sanctuary carefully screens potential adopters, but does not require the person to have owned a horse before. “We help educate them on the particular horse they’re interested in and teach them about the animal’s limitations and areas of difficulty,” she said. “For example, if a horse’s ears were abused, that horse’s ears will always be sensitive.” Ophardt calls that response a “trauma flashback.” Financial responsibility, including having an emergency fund for veterinary expenses, having a proper place for the horse to live and the importance of record keeping are all topics that Ophardt covers before a horse is handed over.
Staffed solely by volunteers and funded solely by donations, H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary’s resources are limited. But last year’s open house went a long way to create awareness about their programs, bring in donations and recruit volunteers. “We had approximately 1,000 people walk around our farm last year … raised $5,000 in just one day and showcased our horses all to the delight of our neighbors, families and friends,” said Ophardt.
This year’s open house is set for Saturday, September 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will include a petting zoo, pony rides, farm tours, a barn sale, concessions and some vendors. Demonstrations will include a parade of breeds with the horses on the farm, the do’s and don’ts of horse show attire, bridle-less riding and a demonstration by Shane Ogden riding his horse Scarlet. Ogden and Scarlet have been selected to participate in the Equine Comeback Challenge at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show on October 14. The 10 participants each have 90 days to train a rescue horse and then compete in a challenging obstacle course. The competition highlights rescue horses and their capabilities and is sponsored by A Home for Every Horse, which partners with horse rescues across the country.
Local businesses and individuals have donated many items for the raffle, including furniture, 100 porcelain dolls, four golf packages, restaurant gift certificates, a month lease for a horse, a wine basket and many other items. Winners will be drawn at 3:30 p.m. and must be present to win.
Volunteers invited
Ophardt is hoping that the event will encourage more people to volunteer as well. “We roughly have 50 active volunteers right now,” she said. “There are no criteria to volunteer and you don’t need to devote a lot of time. If you want to work with us, we’d love to work with you.” Volunteers are needed for the day-to-day care of the horses, but that’s just the beginning. Jobs such as office work, record keeping, fund-raising, fence repair, hay stacking, returning bottles and managing the organization’s EBay account are just a few of the other volunteer opportunities.
“We’ve been trying to turn the Rescue into a community organization,” said Ophardt. “I believe that by helping someone else, you’re helping yourself.” Freshmen at The College at Brockport have been volunteering at Do Over Acres to fulfill their community service requirement. Heritage Christian Services clients do everything from making horse treats, signage and fence markers to repairing the holes in horse blankets. At-risk teens from Monroe 2 – Orleans BOCES have also volunteered at the farm. Ophardt says that the volunteers walk away with more patience, leadership skills and confidence from working with the animals.
“Everyone who works here is like a family,” said Ophardt. “You really get to know each other when you’re shoveling ‘you know what’ together!”
The H.O.R.S.E. Rescue and Sanctuary at Do Over Acres is located at 785 Whittier Road, Spencerport, just west of Hubbell Road. For more information, visit www.HRSNY.orgor their Facebook page.
Photos by G. Griffee
