Clear the Shelters: Dove Creek Equine Rescue

CANYON, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Dove Creek Equine Rescue is participating in NBC’s Clear the Shelters initiative to get adoptable pets into their forever homes throughout August.

Dove Creek Equine Rescue’s mission is to restore the dignity, purpose, and wholeness of unwanted horses who need a second chance. The rescue receives horses from many surrounding counties, sheriff’s departments, or owner surrenders, then rehabilitates the horses and helps them find their forever home.

Ali McEwen, Dove Creek’s director of rescue operations and volunteers, said once a horse arrives at the rescue, they give them a safe place to settle, complete an evaluation, and then enroll the horse into the rescue’s training program. During the training program, the rescue evaluates what category would be the best fit for the horse, and then the horse gets listed for adoption and waits to find their forever home.

“All of our horses that are in the training program that are up for adoption are listed on our website with their descriptions,” McEwen said. “Then you would just fill out an application and you come down and we do a meet and greet. We do a few rides and then we would follow through with our adoption process which is an onsite visit and a couple more riding evaluations.”

McEwen said the process of adopting a horse differs from the traditional dog and cat adoption process.

“If you are adopting a companion horse, you wouldn’t need that horse to be rideable,” she said. “But if you are adopting a horse like Bloome that you are going to be riding, it’s very important that you come to the test rides that we ride out in the pasture and the arena. We make sure that it’s a really good fit. For Bloome, she’s a mare so she’s kind of bossy. For her new home, she would need somebody who is a very take-charge person. She will cover a lot of ground. She’s very sweet and has great manners, but she also thinks for herself.”

According to McEwen, rehoming the horses not only opens up a spot for another horse to be rescued and taken care of, but it also gives them a second chance at life.

“We really want to get them into that perfect home,” she said. “We give them as long as they need. Generally, they stay about a year, but we’ve had some that have been here for two to three years. But when they find that forever home, it’s the perfect match. It was meant to be. So they were meant to wait for a while.”

McEwen said the rescue needs more monthly sponsors and donors for its Heart of the Herd program. She said it costs $400 per month to care for a healthy horse, but if the horse or barnyard animal is in a compromised state then the cost can be much higher. According to McEwen, the monthly contributions provide the rescue with a stable and reliable source of funding that allows them to plan long-term initiatives and maintain daily care such as veterinary care, feeding, and more.

“We love our monthly sponsors and donors,” she said. “It can be $5, $10 or $20. Anything that anybody can give the horses a month. We really love our Heart of the Herd.”

To learn more about how to adopt a horse at Dove Creek or its Heart of the Herd program, visit the rescue’s website.

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