If you are chomping at the bit to celebrate spring while supporting a unique nonprofit, volunteers with Equine Voices Rescue & Sanctuary have the ideal venue: the Third Annual Spring Festival to Celebrate the ASPCAโs Help A Horse Day.
The event is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 1624 W. Dove Way in Amado.
โIf we were not here, more than 600 equines that we have saved would have gone to slaughter. Where else would they go if we werenโt here?โ said Karen Pomroy, the founder and executive director of Equine Voices.
Founded in 2004, the nonprofit began as a safe haven for unwanted Premarin mares and foals. Premarin or PMU โ short for pregnant mares urine โ is a drug produced from the conjugated estrogen in maresโ urine. It is commonly prescribed for hormone-replacement therapy in menopausal women and used to treat osteoporosis in men and women.
The urine is obtained from mares who are tethered in stalls throughout six months of their pregnancies to maximize urine collection; after delivering, PMU mares nurse their foals for about six months and are then reimpregnated to begin the process again. Pomroy said many people are unaware of the inhumane treatment the mares and their unwanted foals suffer.
โLots of people donโt know these mares are confined in small stalls for months on end and have water withheld on a regular basis ... it is a horrific industry. They have closed all the PMU farms in the U.S., but now they outsource to countries like China. Women just need to be aware that there are natural alternatives to Premarin, and I want to educate them about the needless suffering of our companion animals,โ she said.
To help in this mission, she has designated Gulliver โ โa gentle giantโ โ as the sanctuaryโs official mascot. Now age 13 and 2,000 pounds, Gulliver was one of four PMU foals slated for slaughter who made the trip from North Dakota to the ranch that Pomroy bought in Amado in 2004.
The property was the realization of her dreams after she left a corporate job in sales and marketing, spent 18 months backpacking around the world and then volunteered at a wild-horse sanctuary in California.
โBackpacking around the world changed my life. I did well in the corporate world, but I was unfulfilled. The time I spent in Third World . and in retreats and Buddhist monasteries made me realize that life was short and we all have a purpose, and I wanted to fulfill that purpose,โ said Pomroy, who has always loved animals, particularly horses.
Horse rescue became that purpose. Over the past decade, the sanctuary has expanded to include neglected, abandoned and abused horses, burros, donkeys and mules. It currently houses 77 animals; food, veterinary and other costs average $40,000 monthly.
โThis is so fulfilling, but it is also difficult and stressful. We see lots of starvation cases that require medical attention. We see the worst of the worst of what people can do to animals, and that is heart-wrenching,โ Pomroy said.
At the other end of the spectrum are the volunteers who assist with daily operations of the working ranch, according to Pomroy.
About 150 volunteers provide assistance with tasks ranging from grooming horses and cleaning stalls to performing administrative tasks and manning the on-site gift shop.
The nonprofit is also starting a thrift shop, which is scheduled to open in September; both volunteers and donations of gently-used and new items are needed.
Volunteers are also key to staging fundraisers such as the upcoming spring festival, which is vital to promoting awareness and raising funds, said Diane Russell, event coordinator.
Russell said the event is planned in conjunction with the ASPCAโs annual Help a Horse Day, in which equine rescues nationwide compete for $100,000 in grant money.
โPart of the criteria will be judged on is community participation. Last year we had more than 700 people attend, and we are hoping for even more this year. We will have other rescues and nonprofits attending, and there will be opportunities to interact with horses, sponsor horses, lots of great horse demonstrations, music, food and other activities,โ Russell said.
Overall, it will be an amazing spring day out for families and people of all ages, Pomroy said.
