The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is expanding its capacity to care for barnyard animals with the purchase of a 21-acre ranch in north central Polk County.
The new facilities include three grazing pastures, a barn with horse stalls, both an indoor and outdoor arena and a smaller structure for goats, chickens and other small barn animals. The purchase cost $2 million, with half the funds coming from the ARL Foundation. A donation campaign will also help raise funds to refurbish the facilities before animals move in.
"We knew that we wanted our horses to be able to graze in open pastures," said KC Routos, director of development and communications. "When we saw this property become available, we at least needed to see what we could do to acquire it."
New facility will let horses be horses, ARL says
The purchase was prompted in part by a marked increase in the number of horses being cared for by the ARL of Iowa. The organization housed and treated nearly 100 horses in 2023, a 114% increase over the previous year, Routos said. Previously horses had been staying at the main ARL Campus, which lacks ideal facilities for their care.
"The biggest thing is that it has grass pastures for the horses," said Angie Worby, a supervisor at the ARL's existing Second Chance Ranch. "They're constantly moving and grazing. Having that pasture in that space will allow those horses to, frankly, be horses which also helps out with eating and behaviors which makes them a lot easier to handle."
The ranch will also increase the amount of storage ARL of Iowa has available. That will allow the organization to accept round bales of hay, which it previously didn't have the space to store.
Another perk of the new facilities is more buildings, allowing ARL of Iowa to have dedicated barns for pigs, cattle, goats and chickens. Worby said that getting all the animals outdoors is great, but it's also important to pay attention to the different fencing each animal needs.
"Sheep and especially goats are a lot more agile, so they require a different type of fencing," she said. "Cattle require much sturdier fencing. Chicken and roosters require a lot of protection." Being able to design for the specific needs was a key reason they wanted the property.
"We're really excited for this opportunity because it means we can help more horses and farm animals," Worby said.
ARL of Iowa plans for on-site veterinarian office, intake facility for large-scale rescues
Future plans for ARL of Iowa include establishing a pole barn that can serve as a dedicated veterinarian office for barn animals and converting the barn where horses had previously been housed on the main campus into a rescue intake facility.
"We've seen a need for large-scale rescues," Routos said. "Last week we took in 46 dogs from a commercial breeder." By having a designated rescue intake center, it's easier to evaluate the animals and quarantine them if necessary.
"It's going to serve the animals better, because they can have that one centralized spot to decompress," she said.
The new property is located at 3296 NE 54th Ave. in Des Moines, just a mile from the main campus at 5452 NE 22nd St.
Ryan Magalhães is a reporter for the Register. Reach them at rmagalhaes@dmreg.com.
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