Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animals

Mission: The Dorset Equine Rescue's mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and re-home abused, neglected and slaughter bound horses of all breeds and sizes. Since 2012 most of our rescues have been local owner-surrenders and law enforcement seizures. We also, when time and space allow, rescue slaughter-bound horses from auction kill pens. Due to space constraints, we are often only able to help horses in the direst conditions. We believe every horse’s life matters, no matter their age, breed, size, or where they need to be rescued from.

Results: 2021 rescues and highlights:35 horses rescues and 19 horses re-homed in 2021.The Vermont Hay Bank launched in 2021, a safety net to provide feed assistance to horse owners in temporary hardship with application form on our web site. We became the first rescue in Vermont to be accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, which sets standards of care, accountability, and transparency for rescue organizations worldwide. This accreditation documents high standards of care and operations and our commitment to those standards.

Target demographics: abused, neglected, and slaughter-bound horses of all breeds and sizes

Direct beneficiaries per year: 35 horses rescued and 19 re-homed in 2021.

Geographic areas served: Vermont

Programs: rescue, rehabilitation, and re-homing.