About Us
Our Mission
To promote the safety and welfare of America’s equines locally and nationally through rescue, advocacy, and education while healing humans through horse-to-human connections and supportive programs with our sanctuary horses.
At US Horse Welfare and Rescue, we work to heal our horses and allow them to help heal humans through our equine-assisted learning, therapeutic activities, and wellness programs.
How We Got Our Start
For Susan Mitchell, USHWR's founder, it all started with a story.
Susan read an article about a teen who, when online, saw a post and picture of a horse just rescued from a Pennsylvania kill lot. It looked a lot like her horse she sold several years ago. When communicating with the rescuer, they discovered it was her horse, which had been sold with a Right of First Refusal contract. The Chatham, MA teen and her parents drove many states away to reclaim their girl from the rescue. This teen was so bonded with this horse, which had learned tricks such as bowing, that when she approached the horse saying her name, the horse began to bow to her. Through all those years, horse held on to the memory of her girl and their tricks! "When I read this story, I sat there and just cried for the longest time. To this day, I still can't tell this story without crying," says Susan. "That was the turning point, the moment when I said to myself, this is so wrong."
Out of those tears emerged an undying commitment to fight to protect unwanted and at-risk equines from the horrors of the underground horse slaughter pipeline. Today, with an amazing group of volunteers who share this passion and dedication, USHWR is working to increase awareness and save America’s horses from unthinkably horrific deaths.
Our mantra: “People Don’t Know”
As advocates for horses, USHWR board members and volunteers frequently speak with people they meet about the plight of America’s horses.
These conversations at our advocacy and outreach events have made it apparent that a majority of horse owners, as well as the general public, truly do not know the inherent risks associated with giving away, trading, leasing or selling horses. Even some who have owned horses for many years are unaware of horse slaughter and how easily it can happen. Fewer still are familiar with the existence of the horse slaughter pipeline and the atrocities that await any horse caught up in the auctions and kill buyers' hands.
The Terrible Truth About Horse Auctions
Frequently people sell or give their horses to local barns, horse traders, other horse owners or even friends of friends while believing these beloved steeds will be safe. Too often those horses are sent to auction, sometimes within days of the owner trading or selling the horse. Unfortunately, the best are purchased by kill buyers, taken from auction to stand in a crowded paddock with 30 other horses fighting for water and a scrap of hay, being badly beat by the alphas in the paddock.
The horse's final trip is one where they are crammed in with 30 other horses shipped hundreds of miles to Mexico or Canada without food, water, rest or the ability to get off their tired feet. Horses fight with each other to stay alive, fall in transit and are either trampled to death or end up with a painful broken leg which goes unattended for the entire trip. These horses are fully conscious – yes, fully conscious – when they are slaughtered! This fate happening to even one horse is ONE TOO MANY! Yet, this is the norm for “unwanted” horses – horses who are often young, healthy and vibrant, horses who were great in their discipline and capable of great things but not given a chance to live.
How does this horrific abuse go undetected or unpunished at the auctions, kill lots and through transport? Unfortunately, horses are considered "livestock".
An amazing show horse the owner can no longer afford or care for or the wonderful pony that has been the babysitter for a child in a show ring or at summer camp, is currently provided no safety net by our government to keep it from the slaughter pipeline and the abuse that goes with it. In fact, at the end of every summer the auction lots are full of those sweet companion horses and ponies, because kids outgrow them, teens go to college and camps have no way to keep them over the winter. So, they are surrendered. And people simply don’t know the fate!
It begins with Awareness
Many who have not had close interaction with equines are unaware of their intelligence, the bond to their "family", the loyalty to their person, or their ability to suffer physical pain as well as emotional and mental anguish. Horses have feelings, they think, they are intuitive and suffer just as we do.
At the end of the day, creating awareness about the underground horse slaughter pipeline is paramount to USHWR accomplishing our goals. Too many wonderful horses are ending up in kill lots and being sent to slaughter. Americans can do better. Overall, with the help of dedicated volunteers and donors, we will continue on our mission to reduce and, someday, completely eradicate the sale and transport of America's horses to slaughter.
You can help us by supporting the SAFE Act. Act now!
How to Help
You can help make a difference through individual or corporate donations, volunteering, attending our events, enrolling in our programs and lessons, or simply spreading the word. We would love for you to join our caring community in any way you can.
Our Outreach
US Horse Welfare & Rescue is unique in what we do and the services we provide. Our Community Outreach program is first and foremost meant to help horse owners keep their horses healthy and safe from the horse slaughter pipeline. If you know of horses or owners who can use our help, please contact us.
Awareness & Advocacy
It is the goal of USHWR and USHWR-NC to provide horse owners, horse welfare advocates and the general public with as much educational information as we can in an effort to create the necessary awareness to make systemic changes in the treatment of America’s equines. We believe that our tolerance for abuse, neglect and horse slaughter stems from a basic lack of knowledge. Take the journey with us, get involved, and help us stamp out the unnecessary cruelty and the underground horse slaughter pipeline.
Leadership
Meet the members of our Board of Directors and Advisory Board. We’re proud of the team we have built and enjoy working together to continue to grow our community.
