Mel Maschmeyer and his friends Lloyd and Carol Ray have worried for 10 years about the fate of horses nobody wants.
They were able to do something about it this fall when the Rays moved to a farm south of Calgary.
The move allowed them to set up the Pegasus Canada Foundation Equine Shelter, which can house up to 50 horses at a time.
Maschmeyer’s main concern was for racehorses that could end up at the slaughter plant for $1 a pound.
“That’s the kind of horse somebody should try and find a home for it,” he said.
The plan is to rescue, retrain and find new homes for these animals. Horses that can’t be retrained will be put out to pasture.
Maschmeyer and the Rays are willing to rescue any horse suffering from neglect or requiring a home.
However, they cannot take horses with incurable illnesses or with injuries from which there is no reasonable recovery.
The friends have registered their foundation as a non-profit organization operating under the trade name Horse Haven Farms.
Their website is www.horsehaven.org.
