Mission Statement
Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue was formed to facilitate the rescue of Draftand Draft Cross horses from slaughter, abuse, and neglect.
The Primary Function of the Rescue
GGDHR promotes the benefits and uses of Draft horses of all breeds as trail mounts, schooling mounts, and competition mounts. We educate the public through the use of brochures, pamphlets, and public presentations on the topics of: horse slaughter and cruelty, the responsibilities of horse ownership, the over-population and over-breeding of horses, and how over-breeding contributes to the horse slaughter industry.
Slaughter is a highly profitable market and
most of the public is unaware that the buyers
for the slaughterhouses frequent public auctions
to purchase their horses. We attend the same
public auctions, choose the Draft horses we feel
are the most viable candidates for rescue, and
then outbid the meat buyer.
We transport the
horses to our facility, where the horses are
quarantined for a minimum of 21 days for
illness. During that time, we begin to evaluate
each individual horse and learn its personality
and training level on the ground and under
saddle. We ride the horses under many different
circumstances, and evaluate for what level of
rider the horse would best be suited. During
this time, the horse also receives any necessary
veterinary care, farrier care, dental care, and
training.
When the horses have completed their
quarantine, they are available to be placed into
adoptive homes under a strict contract. The
horses are advertised on our website and on the
internet to help find suitable adoptive homes.
Each horse is evaluated with its prospective
adopter, and if we feel the horse and rider are
a suitable match for one another, then the
adopter may apply to adopt that horse. At that
time, GGDHR would perform a background and
reference check, and may at times also conduct
home visits, if deemed necessary.
GGDHR is primarily funded by adoption fees, private donations, and sponsorships which facilitate the rescue of future draft horses from slaughter.
