National Equine Resource Network (NERN) Launches, Prepares to Assist Struggling Equine Welfare Organizations

Horse rescues & sanctuaries are struggling with high costs, low donations and a never-ending supply of horses. A new organization brings them hope…

Encinitas, CA (PRWEB) June 8, 2010 — Each year, more than 100,000 American horses cross the borders into Canada and Mexico where they are sold for slaughter. Countless thousands are seized by animal control officers in cases of abandonment, abuse or neglect, while an untold number of horses suffer silently in barns and backyards around the country. It seems an unfair fate for the animal that has, throughout history, given so much to mankind. Fields were plowed, battles were won, new frontiers were discovered and nations were built – all on the back of a horse.

Over the last decade, hope for a brighter future has blossomed in the widespread emergence of equine welfare organizations. While these organizations have begun to provide a safety net for America’s horses, the need for them is increasing exponentially. Rising costs of fuel and hay, coupled with an economic downturn, has thrust more equines than ever into at-risk situations. At the same time, feeling the economic pinch, Americans have decreased their charitable giving and equine welfare organizations are seeing fewer, smaller donations. The result is an industry that is financially struggling and has reached or is nearing capacity, in a climate where the need for these organizations is urgent and continuing to grow. Now, more than ever, the equine welfare industry needs to thrive.

After spending several years in the equine welfare world, Shirley Puga wanted to make a difference beyond the 800+ horses she was able to rescue herself. She aspired to impact the lives’ of horses across the country. Towards that end, Ms Puga is launching National Equine Resource Network (NERN) http://nationalequine.org. NERN has been created specifically to ensure the stability, and nurture the growth, of the rapidly expanding equine welfare industry.

“There are over 400 known equine welfare organizations in the United States. Most of these facilities are young organizations, operating on a shoestring budget, and managed by people with incredible heart and drive, but who generally do not have the time or expertise to make the most effective use of their limited resources” says NERN Founder, Shirley Puga.

Ms. Puga goes on to say that “The mission of NERN is to help these organizations remain stable in an unstable climate, and to provide them with the tools, education and support necessary to achieve growth and sustainability. Cats and dogs have a support structure through the national network of humane societies and SPCAs, but there is little in the way of a comprehensive support network for horses. NERN aims to change that.”

NERN is currently distributing a survey to equine welfare organizations requesting their feedback on the areas where assistance is most critical. Programs that will be activated later this year include a comprehensive resource database, equine welfare grants, as well as collaborative projects, such as castration clinics and educational workshops.

The horse has served mankind for hundreds of years – on the farm and the battlefield, on the track and down long roads. The equine welfare community that works to give back to the horse is dedicated, but struggling. Help is on the way.

For more information about NERN, please visit us online at www.nationalequine.org.

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Connect with them on Facebook too: National Equine Resource Network

List your adoptable horses on Petfinder.com

I belong to a pet rescue group that posts pets on Petfinder.com and I feel that you too should be posting your horses for adoption on Petfinder too. Here is the what Petfinder emailed me on Tue, Jan 27, 2009.

Read it and see why Petfinder.com is the place to list your adoptable horses if you want the most people to see them. And the name of the game is “exposure”. It is the number one reason that your horse will be adopted or not — enough people have to learn that your horse is up for adoption. Listing your horses on petfinder will give them more exposure to people.

Petfinder.com continues to be ranked #1 in the Lifestyles – Pets and Animals industry category of websites, according to Hitwise online monitoring. While that is great news, it makes absolute sense. The combination of all your adoptable pets combined with all the training and information resources we offer new pet parents makes Petfinder the place to go for all things pet.

Even more exciting is our ranking 22nd in the larger overall Lifestyle category (this includes website categories such as Home and Garden; Dating; Women; Religion and much more in addition to the Pets and Animals sites). And finally, we have reached an all-time high ranking of 269th in All Categories of websites. Your adoptable pets on Petfinder have really made a name for themselves!

We are adding more content all the time and will continue to provide more resources for adopters-to-be and current pet parents. While you continue to promote your pets – by adding enticing descriptions, fabulous photos and adorable video – we have plans to continue to increase our marketing and promotion efforts on your behalf.

This past week, we made adoption the topic of discussion on the TODAY Show, not once, but twice. The Friday show (of the TODAY Show) was filmed in a shelter.

The Sunday show (of the TODAY Show) was live, including adoptable dogs in the studio.

And the best part of both of those appearances is that we saw increased traffic on Petfinder both times. That is an increase of potential adopters and nothing pleases me more.

This doesn’t mean that posting your horses for adoption on your rescue website is a bad idea. It means that the first place to post them should always be Petfinder, then if you have the time, post them to your site. BUT make sure you keep a highly visible link to your petfinder horse list on all pages of your website. Petfinder also has made it easy for your to post your listed horses on your website(s) with their new Dogpile Facebok, MySpace, and website Adopt A Pet Widgets like the one below…

Learn more about joining Petfinder to increase your horse adoption rate.

Horse Listing Tips

• Post three good, sharp focused horse photos and a short video clip too! Tip: If the horse is rideable then also show a photo with a rider on!
• Write a good detailed bio with info on , training, usability, health, attitude, perfect owner for this horse, etc…

Equine Adoption Network Adopt your next horse! If you cannot adopt – donate and help homeless horses.

Past articles on horse rescue…

Learn How to Run A Horse Rescue – The Right Way!

How to Properly Plan, Start and Run a Horse Rescue

Learn How to Run A Horse Rescue

Patricia Reszetylo of EquineTeleseminar.net along with Drew Fitzpatrick are holding the first ever Internet Virtual Class online where you can how to run a solid, dependable, horse rescue.

The lessons in this class will walk you through the pitfalls of running a horse rescue, and give you the skills and the education you need to keep you from making fatal mistakes that so many others have.

In this 4-Week Virtual Class you can learn…

• Finding a niche that works for you – various kinds of rescues
• Avoiding burnout – mental, emotional & physical
• Planning for long-term viability of the facility
• Fundraising
• Placing horses – finding good adoptive homes
• Insurance & Legal Issues
• Rehabilitation Issues
• Retraining
• Working with vets, farriers, law enforcement, and the public
• PR – Getting media coverage, and what to do with it when you get it.
• Setting up your legal and tax status – setting up your 501-c-3

Hey, many of these are helpful to all horse related businesses so even it you don’t plan on starting a horse rescue organization you still might want to take part in this class to help your horse business.

Learn more about this special class at: Horse Rescue Online Class

So That Neither It Nor You Implode, Collapse Or Need Bailing Out

Horse Business Teleseminar on the subject of HORSE RESCUE.

If you are like most horse people I know you have run across more than one horse that needed rescue. So even if you don’t have any plans on starting a horse rescue organization you will gain lifesaving info on how to place that once in the while rescued horse.

Besides that, don’t you want to learn out how rescue groups place horses that other people cannot sell? Might teach you some thing about marketing your horses.

Update note…

This teleseminar was held on February 7, 2006, but you can still learn from it by purchasing the seminar transcripts or audio of it here:
alove4horses.com/links/go.php?urlid=equinerescue

Drew and Patricia will talked for 90 minutes on:

• what kind of person should start a rescue
• how to create a network of volunteers, foster homes, and donors
• some of the challenges and rewards that horse rescues face everyday.
• the importance of treating the rescue in a business-like manner
• why even if it is a NONE-PROFIT that the principles of for-profit business apply to it.
• learn how to decide if you have the right kind of personality to start and run a rescue
• if you should maybe find a rescue to assist.

Also learn:

• how to decide if a rescue is legitimate, or if it’s a scam.

If you already run a horse rescue you will learn:

• the best ways to fundraise
• how to get and keep volunteers and foster homes
• Ever Wonder Why Horse Rescues Fail? Now you can find out!

Discover the challenges of running a horse rescue

• how to delegate responsibilities
• how to find your niche in the industry
• and why and how business planning is important to running your rescue – as well as to keeping your health!

A little about the speakers:

Drew Fitzpatrick

Drew has been in rescue work for fifteen years, is a State of Minnesota Humane Officer, and has run the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue for 5 years. She has been a horse owner, trainer, and showman since she was a teenager.

Patricia Reszetylo

Patricia has also been a horse owner, trainer, and showman since she was a teen. She lived and worked at a rescue in Nebraska for about a year, and both of the horses she currently owns are rescues of one sort or another.

Even before working at the Nebraska rescue, Patricia has been studying business, and since has observed how it applies to rescue work, and came to the conclusion that if rescues are to succeed, they must operate in a business like manner.

Both Drew and Patricia feel that too many horses rescues and horse businesses are started without the proper education. And without the proper understanding of how to keep the money coming in, the horses properly cared for, retrained, and re-homed, as well as how to make some of the hard decisions – like when to put an animal down.

We’ve all seen cases where rescues took on far more than they can handle, and then had to place horses in a hurry because they were stretched too far. They didn’t have the finances, the hay, and the money for the vet, so the rescue turned into a situation where they were now the rescuees.

This presentation answers many questions people submitted beforehand.

Purchase the seminar transcript and audio here…

alove4horses.com/links/go.php?urlid=equinerescue

This is vital information that no equine rescue or rescue volunteer should be without. Your rescue is better able to serve the horses and humans of your community when you listen to this call!

Adopt a Horse – Check out Petfinder for your next horse

If you sell or adopt out horses you will also want to check out…

Selling 101 for Equestrians – How to Quickly and Safely Sell Your Horse

Covers advertising and marketing, about how to write advertisement, adding pictures, pricing, and other things to do to sell your horse, local and offline actions.

alove4horses.com/links/go.php?urlid=sell101

Virtual seminars (Teleseminars) are becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons one of which is the fact that they save you tons of money! Why? Well for one you only have to pick up your phone to join in. You don’t have to spend all the money to travel and attend one in a hotel with all the expenses that go along with that: hotel room, dinning costs, travel costs, attendence fees, child and/or animal care while you are gone, etc…

They also save you so much time because of all the same things mentioned above. They also help you learn faster because you can attend more Internet seminars in a year than you could ever manage to attend hotel seminars even if cost was no factor.

Another reason I think Internet seminars are so wondeful is because you can sit down and pick up your phone at the last moment without brushing the hay from your hair and the dust from your jeans. I am a super busy person, who isn’t, so I love the fact that I can squeeze them into an hour opening in my daily schedule.