Humanity for Horses at All About Equine in El Dorado Hills
Jun 28, 2016 04:47PM ● By David Norby
Julie and Rick Willson with horses Tricia and Garth
In July of 2009, mare Sierra, colt Dayton and adopted colt Clayton were starving in an auction yard in Nevada. All About Equine (AAE) had only been open for one month when Wendy Digiorno, the nonprofit’s founder and director, was contacted to take in the trio. The horses made the long trailer ride to the new equine rescue ranch, where they began to heal and rehabilitate.
Today, herd leader Sierra oversees all of the pasture horses and loveable Dayton is used in a
variety of AAE’s community outreach programs, while Clayton stayed in the extended family and was adopted by a volunteer. AAE currently has 34 horses, eight of which have made the rescue their forever home—choosing to do so either because they interact so well with the public or the organization falls in love and can’t let them go. Once an official member of the family, they become rescue ambassadors and familiar faces for visitors.
Any horse at the right level of training regularly socializes with the community. The nonprofit’s “Pony Pals” program allows kids ages 4-11 to learn horsemanship and animal care for a variety of farm animals. Other regular programs include pony and horse birthday parties, summer camps for kids, “Seniors in Touch,” and a veterans program. “We have a basic horsemanship class based on trust—on the veteran gaining the trust of the horse and the horse gaining the trust of the veteran,” says Dave Fulton, volunteer and outreach coordinator.
The fully volunteer-based organization also provides veterinary care, rehabilitation, shelter and training to make the rescued equines ready for adoption. “They come from everywhere—the auction, feedlot, economic hardships, deaths in the family…every conceivable situation,” says Fulton. Because their mission is to send the horses to people who will keep them forever, they rely on an extensive adoption process.
Unadoptable horses are rare. “There’s a place for every horse,” Fulton says. “Not everyone wants or needs to adopt a championship riding horse; many people want a horse out in front of their house [or] in their pasture, and are willing to offer them love and care for the rest of their days.”
Since the organization began, 120 horses of all training levels have found loving homes. “We’ve adopted out horses that can barely be haltered and horses that make wonderful pasture pets and can play with the grandchildren,” says Fulton. Volunteers work shifts, feeding and grooming the horses, giving them medication and mucking their stalls. Despite over 100 active volunteers, there’s still a great need for those in the community who can donate their time (and get that special bond in return).
To better connect the horses and to make room for new rescue animals, the organization markets stunning photographs of the horses on their website. But that doesn’t mean that people are always in charge of making a match. “Sometimes the horse picks them,” says Fulton. “People come in with an idea of what they want, and they leave with something totally different because of the connection.”