Give Health & Purpose to a Neglected Horse

                                                                      SPRING 2012 NEWS

• Together we helped 274 horses in 2011 (up from 77 in 2010)
• The 18 horses and one pony seized from White Salmon are all in foster care and doing well.
• Oregon Horse County is making SEO one of the beneficiaries of the 2012 Black Beauty Banquet.
• SEO has taken in two Thoroughbreds from the February 16th Marion County seizure.
• Debby Radakovich has been elected President of SEO. She has been with SEO for a number of years and brings a wide range of knowledge to the presidency.
• 5 SEO fosters found great forever homes in April & May!

                                                                   Letter from the President

Thanksgiving will never be the same for me. It was always a time for family, friends, food and counting my many blessings. Now it has another meaning, the start of the winter horse rescue season. Two years ago I received a call from Officer Pierce of the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department. He had two horses that were dumped on PGE land in Estacada and he needed somewhere to put them. In the middle of making a Pumpkin Pie, I grabbed the phone and started dialing.

My fifth call was the answer I was looking for. Stacey Riggs of Full Circle Equine could put them in a pasture with a shelter and food until a vet could evaluate them. This last year was the same; Thanksgiving brought five horses in need of assistance that could not wait.I have learned two absolutes in horse rescue.

First, no matter the circumstances when the call comes in it needs to be handled soon, preferably that day. Some reasons we can all relate to, loss of job, family medical circumstances, death and some are more difficult to understand, hoarding, neglect, abuse, starvation.

Second, the horse rescue answer is found in caring, compassionate volunteers working within a network system. Sound Equine Options is a network of passionate volunteers. I have found that people can accomplish amazing results when given a task that they believe in. We believe in helping horses and horse owners to the best of our abilities.My personal hero is Mother Theresa of Calcutta, India. She saw so many souls - lost, abandoned, starving but who gets her help? Her answer was “If you cannot help one hundred, than help just one.” She knew that the most important part of aid is taking that first step, answering the call of the One. It is the most difficult for people to achieve. But once you step into the problem you start to see possibilities.

So, I challenge you to join us. We are a proactive group that have saved not one, but hundreds. There are many ways of helping that can fit everyone’s lifestyles and finances. My hope is that by taking this first step with this newsletter we will find more people that can make a difference one horse at a time - well sometimes they come in groups.Next Thanksgiving I hope you are a part of the solution. We would appreciate the help, join Sound Equine Options.~ Debby Radakovich

Links:

• SEO Facebook Page!