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updated July 22, 2006
Volunteering
Most equine welfare organizations depend very heavily on the kindness of volunteers. Some facilities hire paid employees to help with daily chores, but volunteers remain the backbone of most non-profit rescue operations and sanctuaries.
Many times, horse experience is not required to volunteer at a rescue facility. There are more than a few jobs in which people do not deal directly with horses. Non-horsey tasks are a good way to be involved while learning basic horsemanship and barn safety, and often lead to more interaction with the horses as the volunteer's knowledge and confidence increase. Volunteer responsibilities vary from one organization to the next, but may include things like:
Cleaning tack
Feeding
Grooming
Designing educational materials
Staffing information or fund-raising booths at local events
Providing foster care (not all organizations have a foster program)
Photographing horses for PR materials, adoption campaigns and websites
Mucking stalls
Repair/maintain fences, fields, barns, plumbing, equipment, etc.
Bookkeeping
Helping with pre-adoption site inspections or post-adoption follow-up visits
Filing paperwork and maintaining records
Evaluating and training horses
Organizing fund-raising or awareness events
Writing grant proposals
Call a horse welfare organization near you and ask how you can help. You never know how your special skills may be of use until you offer your time.
Post offers of help or projects you need help with. When there is a need, special sections for natural disasters or other large scale local/regional needs will be added.
"The Horse-Love Virus" - A Volunteer's Essay
by Cristina S.
I've been a volunteer at the Equine Rescue League for at least six years now - maybe even as long as seven or eight. The passage of time has kind of blurred the memory of when I started. It has not, however, faded my first impressions of the ERL. I remember it very clearly; I was attending the Washington International Horse Show, and while walking among the vendor's booths, I found the ERL information stand.
If you were to ask me, I would not be able to tell you who was there - maybe it was Pat, or Cheryl, or one of the volunteers. What I do recall is the pathetically skinny horse named Bitsy, her sad eyes regarding me from the front of the brochure. My membership check was in the mail a few weeks later.
That was in October. It was January before I made my first visit to Churchland Farm. Strangely enough, my mother and I made the trip up there to adopt a dog, not a horse. Pat gave us the grand tour, which included an introduction to some of their newest arrivals; two very thin appaloosas (Apache Rose and Looking Glass) and an older buckskin mare (Mary). I believe that was the day I decided I wanted to come back to the ERL as a volunteer.
Unfortunately, wanting to come back, and being able to come back were two completely different matters. I was a retail jewelry store manager at the time, and I worked all days, and all hours. My schedule was extremely sporadic - my life as a volunteer started with coming out for the Open Houses only. It was a couple of years later that I found a 9-5 government job, which freed up my weekends and allowed me to get to the farm on a regular basis.
What an experience it has been! I have seen so much over the years… I've been to horse auctions and horse shows. I have walked countless miles in a circle, giving pony rides at the fairs. I've sold T-shirts, baked goods, and used tack at the Open Houses. I've helped staff the information booth at equine events. I've tossed hay bales, filled water buckets, and mucked out stalls. I've swatted flies, and detached ticks. I've been to the farm on summer days so hot it felt like my eyes were melting. I've been there on days so cold that long underwear, jeans, two pairs of socks, insulated boots, two extra shirts, a turtleneck, gloves with liners, and a heavy coat still weren't enough to keep out the chill. I've rejoiced watching neglected animals become fat, shiny and happy again. I've cried after saying good-bye to those brave hearts whose broken and battered bodies just didn't have enough strength left to make a comeback.
People I know always ask me - why do you go through all this? I have a theory about that. I have always said that the true Love of horses is a virus. It is something undeniable in your blood, that won't go away with the onset of puberty, the purchase of a car, the start of a new job, marriage, pregnancy, or any other "life altering" event. What other reason could there be that causes normal, sane people to make such an intense physical, mental, monetary, and emotional commitment to their hooved friends?
Throughout my many years at ERL, I've showed several new volunteers around the place. They all ask pretty much the same questions. Is life as a volunteer glamorous? Maybe once in a while, at a show, but the rest of the time, no. Is it easy? Not hardly. Is it a lot of hard work? Oh, my aching back, is it ever! Is it fun? Yes, it really is. Is it rewarding? If you have the horse-love virus, it is incredibly rewarding.
Inevitably, they ask, "When do we get to ride?" The answer is, we don't ride. Their reactions always tell me if they are infected with the horse-love virus or not. Sure, it would be great if we could saddle up the horses and take all the volunteers on a trail ride, but the ERL simply is not that type of place. It has always been a rescue and rehab organization, not a weekend pleasure farm. I've seen a lot of people leave in a huff because they think they deserve to ride. When that happens I always wonder two things: 1) Do they truly have the horse-love virus and 2) Do they truly understand what the definition of "being a volunteer" is.
Then there are the REAL volunteers, the people who are there every free day they get. They use their sick leave when they catch ERL-itis, and show up when it's hot, cold, muggy, buggy, rainy, muddy, or whatever. These folks show up at the farm and beg for something to do, no matter how dirty, stinky, or filled with donkey poop the task may be. This core group is so infected with the horse-love virus they are terminal. It's to this group I dedicate my essay and my best wishes. I've been where you are; I've dragged the manure skip through the same stalls you have.
Finally, my best wishes and my love to Pat and Cheryl Rogers. If ever people could be a carrier of the horse-love virus, it is these two. God Bless the ERL - long may it continue to make a difference.