Before I purchased Fira, my quest for a finding a new horse was a long and exhausting journey. I remember having a complete meltdown one day in the car while trying to fight the LA traffic. I was trying to get out of the city, it took an hour to go five miles before I gave up and turned around. That horse ended up having some confirmation flaws, so it wasn’t meant to be. Another disappointing day that stuck with me was a Sunday morning when I received a canned rejection letter from a horse rescue. I’m not calling out the rescue by name, but if you would like to inquire about the organization I’ll happily share it via email.
The rejection took me by surprise and I remember feeling so angry. I tried to hold back tears when I explained to my husband that they told me “no”. It wasn’t just the no that upset me, it was the way the rescue conducted their business.
Before I go into more details, I’ll lay down the foundation first. If you know me (or have followed the blog for a while), you might be aware that I grew up on a farm and horses have been a part of my entire life. I had only been horseless for a few years since moving to New York City and then here to Los Angles. I was finally in a financial position where I could own a horse again and was ready to be a horse owner in California.
When I first spotted the mare that I wanted to adopt online, I felt so excited. I eagerly filled out a lengthy application and submitted it. I finally found an adorable mare that met the criteria that I was searching for. I was excited about the idea of getting to meet her and potentially adopt her.
A couple of days later I received my answer. The email that I received back went like this:
Dear Raquel,
Thank you for your interest in rehoming a previously unwanted horse. Completing the application can be a lengthy process. It is an important tool to help our team to match a potential adopter with a (insert rescue name) horse.
Due to the tremendous success of our program and the great number of horses recently adopted into loving forever homes, we do not currently have a horse meeting your requirements. Thank you for your interest and support and thinking of (rescue name) as a potential rescue to adopt a horse.
Our Ranch is an exciting place to visit. We have open visiting hours between 1:00 and 4:00pm on Sunday’s and on Monday by appointment only. Feel free to come for an hour or the afternoon. Tours are given by our volunteers and adoptions are not discussed at this time. Please sign in at the Visitor’s Center and meet your host for a tour.
The Visitor’s Center is in the first barn, directly ahead of the entrance. Please do not wander the property on your own.
We do not charge for our tours. It is customary for attendee’s to make a small donation of $10 per person or join our campaign.
I immediately realized this was just a form response. There was also no information as to why I was rejected. They hadn’t even met me – I could understand if the horse and I met and we weren’t a good fit. If I spent an hour filling out an application, couldn’t they give me a simple answer?
Later that day I emailed the the rescue back asking why I was rejected, hoping for some insight. No response was ever given. I did start receiving newsletter emails asking for donations which immediately made me scoff. Sure, I really wanted to give money to an organization that didn’t have time to give me a five minute response about why I wasn’t fit for adoption.
Ps. in case you are wondering, the mare that I wanted to adopt is still up on this rescue’s website with the status of “available for adoption” nearly two years later.
I considered writing this blog post for a while, but it’s a sensitive subject that I wasn’t sure I felt like covering. Now that I own Fira none of this really matters. I found my dream horse. However, when I shared my rescue experience with close friends, some of them had similar stories – they were great candidates that were not approved to adopt. This brings me to my question for you, have you ever tried to adopt a horse before and where left unapproved or did you have a bad experience with a rescue? Leave your story in the comments or feel free to email me.
The purpose of this post isn’t to bash rescues, it’s a place for me to share my story and you as well. I want to get the dialog going.
Kristy says
I feel your pain. After an hour filling in a VERY detailed profile, we were rejected from a dog rescue. We were looking for an older dog, owned our own home, fully fenced, had a dog already that wanted a friend, there was NOTHING that they could have found unfavourable, yet they did. I was absolutely boggled. We ended up getting our second dog from a friend of a friend when she needed to be rehomed. We won’t try to adopt from a rescue again.
Raquel says
That’s horrible! I’ve had a lot of people telling me on Instagram that they’ve had bad luck getting a dog. There are so many that need homes and it’s sad when good people get denied!
Susan says
Unbelievable? Fira was truly meant to be! That breaks my heart that a horse is still on the adoption page 2yrs later! Wow! Always love your stories…. Ruby & I love you both.
Raquel says
Thanks Susan, I always say it worked out in the end – but this was so disappointing during the time of my search.
Karen Jacobson says
I worked with a rescue from Utah. They were awesome. They had a pony that was adopted out, and the people changed there minds at the last minute. So the adoption fee was paid. The horse was staying at a friend’s farm on her way back to Utah. I spotted the horse and inquired. Usually they want an on-site visit, but we are several states apart so I took pictures of my farm and sent them to the rescue. My friend vouched for me as a good home and she’s been here about 1 1/2 years. I send them updates so you they nknow things are going well.
Raquel says
That’s wonderful! I’m glad it worked out for you. I have a feeling my particular “rescue” was more about keeping the horses instead of adopting them out.
Ashley Hall says
Heartbreaking that she is still looking for a forever home two years later. Their system sounds very flawed, thanks for sharing your journey, and I hope that sweet mare gets adopted out very soon and finds her person. ♥️
Raquel says
I hope so too. I’m sure I’m not the only home that they’ve passed on for her.
Sandi says
I am so very sad to read your story and I totally understand your frustration. We also tried to adopt a dog from a local shelter and ran into the same problem as others have had. We weren’t “acceptable” even though we had a small ranchette, fenced yard, other animals and most of all, worked out of our home so we were there each and every day with all our animals. I am so sad that these “rescues” do this and it makes me wonder what their agenda really is? Do they ever really want to adopt out the animals? I understand their using discretion but to not even give you the courtesy of a reply or reason, that’s just awful and then to add you to their mailing list and expect that you would donate!! Am glad that your story did have a happy ending though with you finding Kira.
Sandi Roberts says
I’m sorry I said Kira, I meant Fira.
Raquel says
Auto correct or fast typing ; ) I knew what you meant : )
Raquel says
I’m sorry you had a similar story, it’s so frustrating when you just want to open your home to an unwanted animal. That was the most frustrating part – the lack of response of effort on their part. They never contacted any of my references either!
Pam in texas says
Like Sandi above…what is their agenda? Perhaps they aren’t interested in rehoming but want others to support their animals.
Raquel says
I agree. I actually just received a message from a reader who guessed the rescue I tried… they had the same story as mine.
Nicki says
I too considered adopting and after filling out the application ( one of the requirements was to have my vet send a letter affirming that I was a good pet owner) I through it all in the trash. It was their attitude. I felt like a criminal trying to get a job.
Raquel says
It’s a lot to go through! I often talk about this with my friends and I think sometimes it deters people from the process. I understand their reasons, but still.
JennZeller says
This irks me to no end. Literally, I cannot tell you the number of “horse rescues” that have had beautifully bred mares that I’ve been interested in, that I couldn’t adopt because I wanted to breed them at some point. It would be different if I were a back yard horse owner, but I’m not. I’m a seasoned professional with the means to care for the horse, and make a carefully calculated decision when the time comes to breed or sell. People are so fired up about what happens to a horse when it’s no longer wanted, or at the end of its life that they forget about the quality of life the horse should have while it’s in the prime of its life.
Furthermore, I’d have probably been really snarky to the rescue and pointed out every last grammatical error in their form letter and told them that if they wanted donations the least they could do was learn to write properly. But that’s just me. I’m glad you have Fira.
Raquel says
That’s so frustrating! I never thought about the breeding part for you. One place I looked into would not release the horse’s papers to you. That turned me away instantly… papers were very important and I couldn’t believe that they would hold them.
You are right though, sometimes they care way more about the “unwanted” horse to a point where it’s extreme.
Alyssa Joyce says
What a disappointment! I was baffled years back when I was rejected by a dog rescue. At the time I was a veterinary assistant so had stellar veterinary references. I was also a live in stable hand at a horse farm. While I had a private fenced yard, it was tiny. The rescue said that because my fenced area didn’t meet their minimum size requirement I wouldn’t be able to provide for the dog’s off leash exercise needs.
I pointed out that I had private access every day to a secure indoor riding arena which is MUCH bigger than even the largest suburban fenced yard. Not only that, I was an active runner and owned a very happy border collie already. Honestly, if I can meet a border collie’s exercise needs, any other breed will be trying to keep up. They just wouldn’t budge though!
Moral of the story – rescue’s can be a little ‘funny’ sometimes. I understand the reason for having a minimum yard size, but it still seems silly to me that they wouldn’t even consider making an exception.
Cheryl says
The form letter is weird. Maybe it had to do with distance? Some rescues only place animals within a certain mileage.
I’ve adopted a horse from a rescue and a few weeks later they called to see if I wanted two mini donkeys for free. Eventually turned into 4 mini donkeys because they were both pregnant! I’ve gone to an auction and rescued a starved Standardbred who turned out to have once been a top racehorse bred in Ohio who broke 3 track records during his career.
I volunteered with a dog rescue and fostered dogs at my place. I saw many homes that would be suitable for a dog and met people who were experienced dog owners and should have received a dog. For one reason or another the rescue would reject them. So annoying.
Whether its a dog rescue or a horse rescue, if someone looking to adopt can’t get past adoption requirements, they’re just going to go somewhere else.
Raquel says
They were a SoCal rescue close by me so that shouldn’t have been it. I’m glad you’ve had some good experiences though. It’s interesting how some make their decisions.
Isabelle Smith says
Not saying this is always the case, but I’ve heard similar stories from friends around the country, and almost every single one of these “rescues” ended up being scams. I totally encourage adopting rescue horses, but I’d thoroughly vet any potential farms before inquiring about their animals.
Susan Friedland-Smith of Saddle Seeks Horse says
I read this post when it came out, but forgot to comment. I had a very similar experience with a “rescue” that specialized in rehoming Thoroughbreds off the track. I thought it was weird that their “rescue fee” was $10,000 for a couple of the horses. They also did not have the decency to respond to me after I lost my previous horse, had just moved and wanted to spend time at a barn somewhere. I thought I could go groom a few horses or fill water buckets–at least be near horses. I spent a looong time filling out a a volunteer application that was never met with a response. Oh, and then there was that time I was interested in a horse at this same rescue of which you speak and they ignored me. UNTIL, they wanted me to donate and I magically got put on their email list. I have zero respect for either organization. The sad part is they make a bad name for other solid, lovely rescue groups. Thanks for sharing your heart.
Raquel says
There are a lot of dishonest places out there : (
Jessica Nuttall says
My experience has to do with a dog rescue, not a horse rescue. We were applying for a puppy, owned our home, both had steady jobs, etc….and were rejected because I could not have someone come in at lunch time to let the puppy go outside on the off chance I couldn’t make it home that day. We ended up adopting elsewhere, and in the 1.5 years we’ve had the dog, I’ve only been tied up at work 3 times, unable to get home over my 30 minute lunch break. We were also rejected from another rescue, for a puppy, because apparently at 23/24, owning your home, graduating from college, owning your vehicles, etc. does not make you a responsible adult. That was infuriating. I have really been turned off to a lot of ‘rescues’ because I really think people enjoy the power-rush that comes from turning good people away. There are plenty of good dogs in my local shelters that I will go to first next time, instead of wasting 5 hours filling out various applications, only to be turned away for ridiculous reasons.
April Lee says
This is a great look at horse adoption. I wish more “rescues” focused more on adoptions than they do on donations. We know they need money to function but every time they find a horse a home they can, theoretically, take in another. I personally support the “adoption” model and not the “sanctuary” model.
Raquel says
I agree with that! It might be just because I’m in California, but it does seem like a lot more rescues are taking on the sanctuary role lately – they focus more on the fundraising than taking in the horses.
Katie @ Country Bellas says
I can relate too! I have applied for a few small ponies for my children, explicitly stating that I would be training them professionally with a well-known trainer and eventually they would be family ponies for my children. The response I got was “They are not ready for children, so no.” If they took the time to read even the first few sentences of my application, they would have seen I was well aware of this – it seemed like they didn’t actually want any life for these horses, just the social media interaction… Am I meant to adopt a pony and then let it rot in a paddock with no social interaction? It seemed appalling! And the same story – 6 months later, they were still up for adoption.
Raquel says
Oh no, that’s sad. It seems like they dismissed you right away and didn’t even give you a chance to meet them. When a rescue is so dismissive like that it really makes you question their motives.
Kate Bales says
Many years ago when my first service dog was approaching retirement, I attempted to adopt a German shepherd from a rescue, telling them that I was an experienced trainer and wanted a dog that would be able to work alongside my current dog and learn from him. I was refused because they did not believe that a working breed dog should be trained to have a job, despite the fact that both my husband and I were retired, owned a small, fenced acreage, and that the new dog would eventually be accompanying me everywhere.
An acquaintance brought me a starving, nearly frozen pit bull puppy and asked me to try to save her. At the age of 4 months she appointed herself my new service dog and started learning tasks faster than I could teach them to her. She was amazing, and I used her for over 12 years until she suddenly had a massive seizure and died in my arms. Despite having been a pit bull owner for most of my life, I had never considered training one as a service dog until I had Bonnie. After her death I was forced to go back to using my canes and walker.
I contacted a pit bull rescue in Oregon, approximately 900 miles from my home, and was able to adopt a “recycled” service dog who had been reclaimed by the rescue as a cruelty case. My current dog is very well trained in the basics, and works well for me even though she does not do a lot of the extras that my last dog did. They are presently training another dog for me to use when Roxy needs to retire. She is now 12 and my SUV is too high for her to climb into on the days when I must make several stops to complete my errands in town. All their dogs are rescues, mostly from kill shelters, that they train as service dogs. The dogs that do not make the grade as service dogs are adopted out as very well trained pets.
I would like to put in a plug for Luv-A-Pit Rescue in Aurora, Oregon, where destitue dogs really are rescued and adopted into loving homes where they not only assist their new owners, but help to overcome the negative publicity that pit bulls receive from the uneducated public. My “killer dog” even goes with me to rabbit shows and her manners are impeccible. She knows instinctively how to move around the room without scaring any rabbits that, unlike mine, are not used to being near dogs.
Raquel says
Wow Kate, thanks for sharing your story. It’s good to know there are wonderful rescues out there that do help. Bonnie sounds like she really was a special dog as well. You definitely don’t see pits as service dogs, thanks for shedding the light.