Fostering a Horse or Pony
Fostering can be as involved or uninvolved as you like. The only real requirement is a willingness to accept responsibility for the care of a horse or pony which has been donated to Sadie's Place. You do not need to be able to train, or even ride, although basic horse handling knowledge is necessary. We strongly believe that there is a foster family out there for every horse, just as there is a horse for every foster family.
Horses and ponies coming into Sadie's Place need shelter. It doesn't have to be fancy. A three sided shelter with a roof, in good condition, big enough for all horses in the field to be inside during poor weather is acceptable.
Horses and ponies coming into Sadie's Place need access to adequate amounts of clean water. Snow is not considered an acceptable source of water during the winter.
Horses and ponies coming into Sadie's Place need access to adequate amounts of quality hay for weight maintenance and warmth in winter (i.e. not black, or with patches of gray mold) and quality hay or pasture during the summer. Some Sadie's Place horses may require hay to be soaked before feeding or require haylage, instead.
Some horses and ponies coming into Sadie's Place may need specialised feeds/feeding regimens, supplements or shelter requirements. You will always be fully informed before accepting such an animal. You may find that these are the animals that are the most rewarding to foster.
A reliable fence, made of horse safe materials (no barbed wire, please!) is a necessity. Electric fence is perfectly acceptable, if well maintained, visible and high enough for the horse to see and respect it.
By volunteering to foster for Sadie's Place, you will never be asked to do more than you are comfortable with. When we call, you will always have the right to say, "I don't feel comfortable with that."
The time and space you give up to a Sadie's Place foster can be considered a tax deduction. At the end of the year, we will issue you a receipt for an amount based on the number of months you were a foster family, the type of housing (pasture board with run-in/stall in personal barn/boarding stable, etc.) and an amount which would vary depending on the complexity of care involved in fostering the animal. Sadie's Place will pay for all farrier and veterinary costs associated with the animal. For those horses requiring blankets and/or other accessories, Sadie's Place will make every attempt to provide these for the horses while they are in foster. (One of our members loaned one of her own blankets to a foster, because she thought the foster needed it more than her horse did!) For everything else, keep all your receipts and contact us at the end of the year to find out how to receive your tax receipt.
Fostering for Sadie's Place can be very rewarding. Many of our horses are eager to please and are only looking for someone to love.
To be pre-approved as a foster family, please email us or telephone 621-2029. We will send someone out to look at your facilities and to discuss with you just what kinds of horses you would be willing to foster. We make every attempt to ensure that foster families are given horses that suit them and their lifestyles, as we feel this ensures both happy (and repeat!) foster homes and happy, well-adjusted horses.