KENTUCKY EQUINE HUMANE CENTER

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KyEHC
P.O. Box 910124
Lexington, KY 40591
859-881-5849
info@KyEHC.org

IN THE NEWS

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Blood-Horse
http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=44624
Keeneland and Toyota Give Grant to KyEHC

Kentucky’s at-risk horses are set to receive a gift from the Keeneland Foundation and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky in the form of a $20,000 grant to the Kentucky Equine Humane Center.

Located on a 72-acre farm near Lexington, the KyEHC was established with the specific goal of providing owners with a humane option when they need to give up their horses.

As part of the annual celebration of the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, the Keeneland Foundation and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky select a charitable organization they collectively feel is worthy of support, is doing good work, and where a joint donation could significantly help address a particular project or need.

Fran Taylor, executive director of the Keeneland Foundation said, “We recommended KyEHC after talking to Toyota and finding out that they were interested in pursuing a partnership related to an equine charity. The fact KyEHC had identified a true need in Kentucky and were actively and successfully addressing that need was impressive to both Keeneland and Toyota.”

“Community partnerships are very important to Toyota,” said Nila Wells, community relations specialist for Toyota. “It seemed a perfect fit for Toyota to team up with Keeneland to support the KyEHC in its work to advocate the humane treatment of all equine.”

Staci Hancock, president and a founder of the KyEHC said, “This month we’re celebrating our one-year anniversary of assisting the horses of Kentucky, so this exceptional grant from Keeneland and Toyota is a timely gift. To have the support of two of Kentucky’s most prominent, philanthropic businesses is a great encouragement to us, but most important, it will allow us to assist many more horses who are currently in need of safe refuge. We are deeply grateful for their decision to come alongside us.”

Photo: Steve St. Angelo, Senior Vice President of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America, Inc. (left),
Staci Hancock, President, Kentucky Equine Humane Center (center), and Nick Nicholson,
Keeneland President and CEO (right), shown at the presentation of the donation check.

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Friday, February 1, 2008
Daily Racing Form
Humane Center To Hold Horse Show in March
Glenye Cain Oakford

The Kentucky Equine Humane Center will host an all-breed charity horse show on March 29 at the Shelbyville Fairgrounds in Shelbyville, Ky. Proceeds from the show will benefit the humane center, which provides shelter and adoption services for unwanted horses in Kentucky, regardless of breed, at its Nicholasville, Ky., facility. Show sponsors include John Deere and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The show will feature dressage, jumping, in-hand, and performance classes as well as competitions for adopted horses and an egg-and-spoon class. More information, including a complete class list and volunteer information, is available at www.kyehc.org.

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Friday, January 18, 2008
http://www.courier-journal.com
Horse owners can do little as crisis grows
Byron Crawford

The Kentucky Horse Council is hurriedly gathering information from the state veterinarian and various horse interests across the state to assess what it says is a growing crisis in horse care in a state famous for its horses.

"I don't have hesitation about using the word crisis," said Ginny Grulke, executive director of the council. "It's a multicaused situation … where you get to a tipping point and all of a sudden all the causes come together in a perfect storm."

Among the factors are last summer's devastating drought, which seriously depleted the hay crop, and the recent ban on the domestic slaughter of horses, which has dramatically affected horse prices and may have increased horse numbers on many Kentucky farms.

"You practically can't give away a horse, unless it's a really high-level show horse or race horse with a lot of champions in its lineage, because nobody else wants to feed it, either, right now," said Grulke.

Unable to sell their horses, or feed them, and in some cases even give them away, many owners are neglecting them.

Lori Neagle of the Kentucky Equine Humane Center in Nicholasville said the center is virtually filled to its 50-horse capacity, and more horses are coming in daily. Although no horses are turned away, some eventually may have to be euthanized, just as unwanted dogs and cats are at other humane shelters.

"It's a very bad situation," said Neagle. "I had a call about 50 pleasure horses from a gentleman who had been breeding for the last 20 years, and he said the market's not there to sell them anymore and he can't afford to feed them. We received nine registered thoroughbreds from a farm in Fayette County the other day … severely malnourished."

On Wednesday, she was contacted by the Army Corps of Engineers in Pikeville regarding nine abandoned horses on Corps property. Yesterday brought a call about some starving donkeys.

A Los Angeles Times story this week reported that similar problems are occurring in North Carolina, Florida and Washington.

Hay in Kentucky is selling for $7 to $8 a bale, and Neagle said she has seen it as high as $13 at some feed companies. In winter, an average horse may eat half a bale a day, or more.

The Kentucky Horse Council, which is dedicated to the protection and development of the equine industry, estimates the state could have as many as 3,500 extra horses this year as a result of the low market prices. Approximately 100,000 horses were estimated to have been slaughtered in the United States in 2006 before the ban took effect. Horse slaughter still is permitted in Canada and Mexico.

"People are going to have to stop breeding big numbers of horses and be more selective," Neagle cautioned. "And number two, before you buy a horse, realize what you're getting into and the cost of it. Are you going to be able to provide for it, and if you can't, what are you going to do?"

Neagle urges those who own horses and are unable to feed them to contact the Kentucky Equine Humane Center at (859) 881-5849 before the animals suffer neglect, or visit the center's Web site at www.kyehc.org.

Byron Crawford's column appears on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him at (502) 582-4791 or bcrawford@courier-journal.com. Comment on this column, and read previous columns, at www.courier-journal.com/byron.

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Equine Advocates on the Martha Stewart Show
http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/martha/2008/01/equine-advocate.html

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Friday, January 11, 2008
ASPCA Awards 57 Equine Grants
Edited Press Release www.drf.com Article #11148

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has released its year-end report of equine grants given to rescue groups and humane organizations across the country during the last year.

In 2007, The ASPCA gave out more than $365,000 in the form of 57 equine grants in 31 states, nearly tripling the $125,000 it granted in 2006. The largest grant awarded in 2007 is a three-year, $300,000 sponsorship of Return to Freedom, the American Wild Horse sanctuary located in Lompoc, Calif., to expand educational and outreach programs supporting their conservation efforts.

"The Equine Fund is a symbol of the ASPCA's strong commitment to equine rescue and welfare efforts, and these efforts were greatly increased, both on a local and national level, in 2007," said ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres. "We are particularly proud to support Return to Freedom, an organization that has blazed a trail in protecting the freedom and natural lifestyle of America's wild horses. These grants are our way of showing these organizations how much we value their tireless efforts. We hope to make 2008 an even greater year through continued public support of the ASPCA Equine Fund."

The latest ASPCA Equine Fund grantees from the fourth quarter of 2007 include: Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary, Inc. of Caledonia, Miss., for emergency care for 18 horses involved in a cruelty case; Blaze's Tribute Equine Rescue, Inc. of Jones, Okla., for emergency care for 44 horses involved in a cruelty case; Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary of Mena, Ark., for building supplies for a hay storage structure; San Diego Humane Society of San Diego, Calif., for emergency assistance in caring for horses impacted by the San Diego County wildfires, CANTER/Michigan of East Lansing, Mich., for support of their equine veterinary student cooperative program with Michigan State University; Horse Play of Exeter, R.I., for lighting for their training area and building supplies for a new run-in shed; Humane Equine Aid & Transport Inc. (HEART) of Madison, Va., for the development of marketing and educational materials; Freedom Hill Horse Rescue, Inc. of Owings, Md., for stall repairs and building supplies for a run-in shed; and Summerwinds Stables of Hartly, Del., for scholarships to train instructors in therapeutic riding for a program utilizing rescued horses.

The ASPCA Equine Fund is devoted to promoting humane care and respect for horses, and is an integral part of the ASPCA's Equine Programs. For more information on the Fund and programs, or to apply for an ASPCA Equine Fund grant, visit www.aspca.org/equine.

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December 24 , 2007
TDN Star of the Week Staci Hancock
Click Here to View Page 1
Click Here to View Page 2

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December 18, 2007
Keeneland Contributes $1.2 Million to Charity in 2007
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=11007

Keeneland announced today at its annual holiday luncheon that it gave more than $1.2 million in charitable contributions to more than 100 nonprofit organizations in 2007.

It is the third consecutive year that Keeneland's contributions program has exceeded $1 million. To date, Keeneland has contributed more than $16 million to recipient organizations, focusing in the areas of health and human services, animal welfare, research, education, arts and culture, and historic preservation. Keeneland's charitable grants program is supported by profits generated through the association's Thoroughbred racing, sales, and simulcast operations.

Keeneland contributed $97,525 to help fund organizations within the equine industry. A first-time donation of $10,000 was made to the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, a rescue and adoption program for all breeds of horses.

Other equine programs receiving contributions were:
• the Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy ($21,000);
• the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation ($12,500);
• the Maker's Mark Secretariat Center ($12,500); and
• the Morris Animal Foundation ($10,000).

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December 14, 2007
USHWA President's Award To Jewett Leavitt
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/news/iss1207/jlushwaawrdnote1214.html

The United States Harness Writers Association has announced that Meg Jewett Leavitt, owner of Walnut Hall Ltd. and gift store L.V. Harkness and Company, has been honoured with the 2007 USHWA President's Award.

Meg Jewett Leavitt, owner of the Kentucky-based farm Walnut Hall Ltd. and gift store L.V. Harkness and Company, and known for her tireless and unheralded efforts on behalf of unwanted horses, has been honored with the 2007 U.S. Harness Writers Association's (USHWA) President's Award, bestowed by the organization's president, Judy Davis-Wilson.

L.V. Harkness is renowned for its classic and innovative designs in trophies which are now gracing winner's circles around the country, including the historic Red Mile. The company is the official supplier of the USHWA trophies, and it has also been designated as the official supplier of trophies, awards and medals to the World Equestrian Games, which will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2010.

Meg was also recently instrumental in the founding of the Kentucky Equine Center, which is open to all breeds of horses. Her most passionate cause is her battle against the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Meg is known for her tireless and unheralded efforts on behalf of unwanted horses. With adoption of unwanted horses as one of its priorities, the Kentucky Equine Center was founded as a model for centers all over the country.

"Meg Leavitt uses a word that is bantered around in many ways in today's world and that word is 'responsibility' and how it pertains to owners of racehorses," said USHWA president Judy Davis-Wilson. "Her belief is that responsibility doesn't end when the horse can no longer race. There are not enough owners who will follow through and make sure the animal lives out its final non-racing days in a happy environment. She works tirelessly and unheralded on behalf of thousands of horses to prevent their end in a Mexican or Canadian slaughterhouse.

"In addition, Meg, by way of L.V. Harkness, has brought to the industry trophy designs that are classic and innovative, making them available for races of any stature from the Kentucky Futurity to regional sire stakes events."

In 1993, Meg and her husband, Alan Leavitt, started Walnut Hall Ltd., with one of their first stallions being Cambest, the fastest standardbred of all time, who was soon followed by Hambletonian winner Victory Dream. Then came Garland Lobell, who changed the course of the American trotter forever through his great sons Andover Hall, Angus Hall and Conway Hall, two of whom have already reached the pinnacle of success by siring Hambletonian winners. They have since been joined by leading sires Striking Sahbra, world champion Tom Ridge and Cash Hall, another world champion and the fastest trotter of all time on a half-mile track.

Meg Jewett Leavitt will receive her President's Award from Judy Wilson at USHWA's annual Night of Champions awards dinner, scheduled for Sunday, January 27, at Dover Downs.

For ticket information call Mark Short or Scott Warren at (302) 398-7585. To place an ad in the Dinner Journal, contact Randy Manges at (859) 351-4595. For hotel reservations at Dover Downs, call (302) 674-4600 and use the code GUSHWA.