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Horse Haven of
Tennessee
Equine Advocates, Rescue & Investigations
This holiday season please help us
“Deck the Stalls”
“Rainaway” and
“Riddle Star”, can you guess who their grandfather was?
Dear Caring Friend:
As 2007 comes to a close
and we start our ninth year serving as equine advocates in Tennessee, we
just wanted to share a little
of this
past year with you. By the time you are finished with this letter you
will understand why your continued support
is so
critical this Holiday Season.
2007 started out no
slower then years past. With the help of all our volunteers our West
Knoxville Facility always is buzzing of excitement around the barn. HHT
volunteers maintain a twice a day feeding and cleaning schedule. On the second Saturday of
every
month we hold our “Neigh & Bray Adoption Day. Volunteers are available
to meet with the general public and
show them
all the animals looking for a new home. The animals also get a
little extra special attention on this day, and the public sure enjoys
giving it to them. We hope all our HHT friends take some time out of their busy schedules
to stop by and visit one Saturday.
2007 has been a hard
time for farmers because of the severe drought. Hay availability was
low last year, but this year it is at an
all
time low. In anticipation of this we thought we had our winter supply of
square bales put up early, and our round bales on
order. Since making our original order though, we find out we will not
even be getting half the amount we ordered
because of
the sparse cuttings. Then to make matters worse a 20 horse
case we became involved in used up half
of our square bale
inventory. Because of the drought our pastures did
not come in plentiful, and we have been supplementing with hay all
summer.
With winter quickly approaching we have been trying to get our hay supply restocked
for the winter months ahead, but this
hasn’t been easy. Last year we
were paying twice as much for hay and this year it is twice as much
again, along with being hard
to find. This will also mean more horse
owners not being able to financially care for their horses and I don’t
need to tell you what
that means for our organization.
On June 28, 2007 HHT was
called in to assist with a 20 horse case in Sullivan County. Since that
time we have been caring for
some real
celebrities. The two horses pictured above are the great grandson and
grandson of the famous Triple Crown winner
“Secretariat”. The grandson of “Affirmed”, the last Triple Crown winner,
was also in this group. You can read more
about this
case and view before and after pictures on our website. I
want to encourage you to read about them and
others we have helped
this year. Our website address is
www.horsehavenoftn.com. What a shame it was to see them in such
deplorable condition when they first came to us. What a joy it is now to
see the life return to these horses that had lost the glitter in their
eye and almost the will to
live. As I write this we are awaiting a final
judgment from the courts to determine their futures. The owner pleaded
guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail and no animal ownership of
any kind for 7 years besides the family pets she has in her possession.
This doesn’t seem harsh enough I know, but with the current equine laws
on the books we felt this was quite a victory.
In other cases we have
not been as lucky to get a speedy trial and release of the horses from
abuse/neglect cases. We are still
caring for
five horses from a case in McMinn County since December 1, 2006. This
county has allowed the owner to play with
the court system instead of
pushing for a speedy resolution. Cumberland county called us in to house four babies from a
case in
February and has since left us to fend for ourselves when a plea
bargain was reached with the owner, but the ownership of the
animals in
question was never resolved when the owner said they were not his. Once again the
powers to be have allowed an
owner to play the court system without
considering the effects on the animals in question.
These babies remain within our care
while we seek avenues to free them
from the system.
It is because of these
types of injustice that the Tennessee Equine Protection Bill was
written. Won’t you please contact your State
Representatives and ask them to please support Senate Bill 1290 and
House Bill 1180. Be sure to ask them to support
it after
“Section 3” gets removed. Someone along the way added
this section we believe to get it thrown out before
it would even have a chance. This bill needs to pass if the equine in
Tennessee will ever have the protection they
so deserve. We can’t do it alone, so
please let your voice be heard.
Help us speak for those that can not speak for
themselves.
Nina L. Margetson
Executive Director
We hope you find us a
worthy organization to support either with your financial contributions,
in kind donations, or just with your prayers.
We welcome any and all support we receive to enable us to continue our
mission to help the horses in need So our plea
to you this
Holiday Season is to join Horse Haven of Tennessee in making a
difference in the life of horses in need. Your
donation, no matter how big or small, is greatly appreciated. We are
seeing great strides being made to benefit the equine within our state,
and
are proud to know it was Horse Haven of Tennessee that started
making these changes a reality.
But the harsh reality is
Horse Haven of Tennessee needs funds to continue fighting for these
majestic creatures that have served us
so well
over the years. They have carried our troops in battles, transported
families across this great country we live in, and
provided for our needs while asking for so little in return.
I know that we are all
busy with Christmas shopping and family gatherings this time of year.
But I hope that this Holiday Season
you don’t
forget our equine friends who bring us so much joy throughout the year.
We have enclosed a gift sheet that you
might
find of interest for those special people that are hard to buy
for. Winter months are the
most difficult for horses. Cases of neglect increase, and that is why it
is so important to help in whatever way you can.
Please say “Neigh” to horse
abuse/neglect by
sending your tax-deductible donation today.
********************************************************
Your support is vital because all Horse
Haven of Tennessee programs and activities are supported solely through
private contributions. HHT is a 501(c)(3) organization and all donations
are tax deductible.
Name:___________________________________________________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________________________________________
City: _____________________________________
State: ________________Zip:____________________
Phone: _____________________
Email:_______________________________________________________
_____
$25 will pay for a farrier visit to get a horses feet trimmed
_____
$50 will supply the grain a horse needs for one month
_____
$100 will buy 15 bales of hay
_____
Other – no donation is too small to help a horse in need
Please
make your checks payable to HHT. And remember
HHT doesn’t get
financial support from the government, United Way or any national humane
organization.
(Donations
made to the Humane Society of the United States, AHA, SPCA, etc., are
not distributed to local organizations and shelters.)
Mail To: H.H.T. - P.O.
Box 22841 - Knoxville, TN 37933
Other
ways you can help the horses at HHT:
__
Adopt a horse __ Foster a
horse __ Sponsor a horse
__ Become a barn volunteer __ Help with horse
evaluation __ Help with facility building projects
__ Host a fundraiser __ Become a member of
the Board
__ Remember HHT in your Charitable Trust planning
Please send me more information on the above checked ways I might be
interested in helping Horse Haven of Tennessee in the future.
Donation can be made by credit card through
or
Mail To:
H.H.T.
P.O. Box 22841
Knoxville, TN 37933
 
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