Gunny’s Dancing Hooves Rescue
Everyone sees rescues asking for money, they don’t seem to understand just what it takes to care for these horses. A rescue horse more often than not is somewhat more expensive than your usual pet. They come with special needs. They need to gain weight; they have compromised immune systems; they have trust issues that can adversely effect their health. All of these things require patience and money to overcome. So I am going to try and provide a breakdown of just what a rescue might spend to rehab a horse before adopting it out.
Feed & Supplements
Our rescue pays $9.10 per bag of feed; the rescue horses consume 1 1/2 bags of feed a day. $13.65 a day in feed. We supplement with alfalfa pellets $7.99 per bag and beet pulp $8.99 per bag. 1 bag of beet pulp a day, 1/3 bag of alfalfa pellets. $11.66 a day.
We also provide ProBios, Red Cell, and Wheat Germ Oil. Red Cell $1 per day, Probios $1.50 per day, and Wheat Germ Oil 50₵ per day. $3.00 per day. Hay costs us $40 per round bale or $8 per square bale. We go through three round bales every week and a half. $12 a day. So when all is said and done, we are spending $40.31 a day to feed our current rescues. That is $1,209.30 a month simply to feed our rescues.
Vet & Misc.
Yearly Vaccinations: $107 per horse.
Coggins report: $27 per horse.
Gelding: Average $150 per horse.
Wormer: $15 every 3 months per horse.
Farrier: $35 – $40 per horse every 8 weeks.
This only covers our expenses if no horse gets sick, hurt, or needs special care. This also does not even begin to cover what we spend to build and maintain fences, round pen panels, halters, lead ropes, sheds, lean-tos, and countless other small things here and there. At the moment we have Sister’s Herd that has been through hell and trying to come back. They are currently on antibiotics, $40 a bottle, plus needles, and syringes.
So when you think a horse is safe after you pull it from a bad situation or “bail” it out, you are only half right. It may very well be with a rescue or someone who cares for it, but the expenses do NOT stop with the “bail”. In fact that is the LEAST expensive part of a rescue.
Please consider volunteering or donating to a rescue near you! There are MANY legitimate and hard working rescues out there that need YOUR help.
A lot of people have turned away from the rescues because they have been burned before by greedy and unreliable people claiming to be rescues. For those of you who are concerned about how your money is spent, I highly recommend making your donation in feed or paid directly to a rescue’s vet. Our current feed store and vet info is located below and all donations are appreciated more than you will ever know.
Dr. Kenneth Motl
Bayfront Animal Hospital
Port Lavaca, TX.
361-552-2602
Dr. Sam Williams
3804 Houston Hwy.
Victoria, TX, 77901
361-575-3692
Bayou Feed Barn
Port Lavaca, TX.
361-552-9894 (The account is under Hummel.)
http://bayoufeedbarn.com/
Gunny’s Dancing Hooves Rescue
P.O. Box 761
Port O’Connor, TX 77982
www.dancinghooves.com
