Donating a Horse
How does it work?
Right now, Sadie's Place operates on a volunteer foster basis. We believe that fostering offers a more personal touch and better care socially for the horse, where each horse gets handled and interacted with every day. Because our fosters are volunteers, we take care to assess each horse before finding an appropriate place for them to go, so that the horse is going into a situation that is agreeable to him or her and the foster is not given a horse that does not suit their situation or lifestyle. Eventually, we hope to have a dedicated intake centre, with enough room that horses can stay until they find a foster. Until then, owners planning to donate a horse to Sadie's Place need to be aware that finding a suitable foster can take several weeks, particularly during peak demand months (September to January).
The following are the steps that generally occur during an uncomplicated horse donation:
The owner fills out the Release of Ownership form and the Web Information form, signs them (if handwritten) and sends them to Sadie's Place. The owner includes as many photos as possible with these forms. (If you have lots of photos, pick the ones that show the horse at it's best and in as many different situations as possible i.e. pasture, stall, on a lead rope, under saddle, racing, etc.)
Sadie's Place generally arranges an unannounced visit to assess the horse for any medical or temperment issues. Intake photos (documenting the condition of the horse and recording any identifying markings)may or may not be taken at this point.
Once the horse has been assessed, Sadie's Place starts to look at existing foster homes or looking for a new one to suit the horse. An appropriate placement for a horse may require 'shuffling' our current placements or waiting for a horse in transition to adoption to move to it's adoptive home, so owners must be prepared to continue caring for their horses during this period. We are careful not to 'overhorse' our foster homes, so a horse requiring more experienced handlers often takes longer to place, as it usually requires a bit more 'jiggling' of placements. A detailed Release of Ownership form is essential to this process, in addition to our own assessment. A telephone interview may also be necessary.
While this is happening, the owner is still free to try to place the horse themselves. Sadie's Place will choose the most attractive of the photos to place on the Ready to Adopt page and a write up is created showcasing the horse's personality, training, attitude and potential. If video is available, video is often put up on this page as well. Other pictures are used in the blog, which goes into more detail about the horse and is generally considered our real advertising. A detailed Web Information form, or being willing to be interviewed over the phone, is essential to this process. Once a suitable foster is found, owners have the choice of transporting the animal to foster themselves or can ask Sadie's Place to arrange transportation. We do ask that owners requesting transportation make a donation (we'll give you a receipt) to cover costs for gas and trailer use.
Horses are updated regularly on the website. Once a horse moves to foster, their listing is changed to indicate that. They also become eligible for our sponsorship program at this point in time.
Don't forget! The release form actually transfers the horse into our care and provides us with the information necessary to find the best placement possible for it. The Web Information Form is more subjective. It helps us advertise your horse, on our adoption page and on our blog. For the blog, the more pictures and video the better, so go snap happy!
Please keep in mind that our staff are entirely volunteer. The time we spend finding and talking to foster families, creating advertising materials for horses and fundraising to support our service comes directly from time with our own families and our own animals. We love what we do, but please be patient with us if things don't seem to be moving as quickly as you would hope. We are doing our best.