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Equine Rescue League looks for new pastures
Cheryl Rogers’ tone grew bitter when she began to talk about the horses brought to her farm.“I have a little yearling that came in with his mother at about 6 weeks,” she said of a pony named Ranger, who lives on the farm. “His mother was seized by Animal Control because of gross starvation.”
Rogers seemed frustrated as she described the overwhelming mistreatment that humans can inflict on animals. In this case, Ranger’s mom was so underfed, riddled with insects and ticks, and subject to all manor of neglect that within a few months, the mare died.
“Midnight,” she continued, “is a little pony who stood in a field for 16 years with no human contact.” The black Shetland pony foundered until his feet curled, resembling elf shoes.
It’s the same story of neglect for most of the four-legged residents of this rescue farm. But the Equine Rescue League is doing something about it.
With a current population of 39 horses and the ability to take in a dozen more, the league accepts tough cases and gives the animals the treatment they need so they can later be adopted.
“My mother says, 'There’s always room for one more,'” said Rogers, whose mother, Pat Rogers, founded the league in 1990.
For the last 16 years, the Rogers family has run the rescue ranch for horses in Leesburg. Growth in the county is bringing about the termination of the league's lease, and it is being asked to vacate its premises.
“The formal notice letter is at the county attorney’s office for approval,” said Jay Snyder, director of Loudoun County's General Services. He said even though the farm would have received notice as early as May 14, the Rogers family has known from the beginning that they eventually would be asked to move. The lease for the 66-acre lot of county land is paid on a month-to-month basis with rent of about $650.
Rogers agreed that her family knew this day would come.
“[The notice] is written to give them essentially six months to move off the property,” Snyder said. After the land is vacated, construction on a landfill extension will begin.
According to Rick Weber, director of the county's Office of Solid Waste Management, the property was purchased in 1989 with landfill expansion in mind. Final approval for the landfill project came in 1994.
“We will be doing the initial infrastructure by March 1, [2008],” he said. “There are a bunch of different things that we have to do between now and March 2008.”
The Equine Rescue League is also finding it has a lot to do before its lease ends at the close of the year.
“I think the most important thing right now is public awareness,” Rogers said. The league kicked off its awareness campaign this past weekend with an open house on Saturday and Sunday.
“We had some great feedback and if everything goes through, we could probably find homes for half a dozen [horses],” she said.
The league does extensive background checks and compatibility sessions, and makes buyers promise they won’t breed or sell the animals they adopt. Rogers said these steps are taken to ensure that the horses don’t end up in the same situation from which they were taken.
“I think [the league is] wonderful,” said Kim Miller, Loudoun’s chief Animal Control officer. “It’s a great resource for Animal Control." The league has testified for Animal Control and often helps with the removal and transportation of abused horses.
“I think it’s sad for any organization to have to make that transition," she said. "But I hope they find a new place.”
Middleburg Humane Foundation President Hilleary Bogley agreed with Miller.
"People don't realize that there is a severe overpopulation of horses just like cats and dogs," she said. "Organizations like Equine are essential. If there is no slaughter industry and no outlet for controlling the horse population, horses get abandoned."
Rogers said the league is still looking for a new location, but it might not be able to find the same sort of deal they've had with the county up to now.
“We’d be happy to look at any property that would be suitable,” she said. “Unfortunately, we can’t afford a suitable property. We’re between a rock and a hard place.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
The Equine Rescue League is a nonprofit organization. Adoptions are by appointment only, and a fee of about $500 pays for the horse's expenses while at the farm. For information on the league, visit www.equinerescueleague.org .
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
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