UHC seeks to document needs of equine care facilities

The Unwanted Horse Coalition has released an online survey intended for horse rescue, retirement, adoption, and rehabilitation facilities. The UHC hopes to find out what these organizations need to survive in today's economy in an attempt to better assist them with the growing number of unwanted horses.

The UHC's mission is to reduce the number of unwanted horses and improve their welfare through education and the efforts of organizations, people and facilities to provide responsible care for these horses. In an effort to enhance this mission, the UHC has formed a Facilities Committee, which includes five rescue organizations involved in the day-to-day care of horses. This committee will help the coalition move into another phase to help facilities be more efficient in caring for the horses they have, while learning better business skills in the process. "In going along with the UHC's mission in education and protecting the welfare of the horse, we are optimistic that this survey will help us reach out to many equine facilities and in turn give them the tools necessary to assist more horses in need," says Tom Lenz, chairman of the UHC.

The UHC Facilities Committee drafted the survey to include questions concerning each organization's needs in areas such as volunteers, boards of directors, tax exempt status, grants, unwanted horse programs/clinics, and "how to" webinars and handbooks. The responses will give the UHC insight on how to better assist these facilities care for unwanted horses. With the results, the UHC's ultimate plan is to help facilities excel in important areas of their businesses through instructional resources and programs, more outreach, matchmaking, and better funding ideas. The expansion or opening of additional facilities to accommodate our nation's unwanted horses is something the UHC hopes to foster, along with finding supplementary ways to help facilities in need.

The survey can be found by going to the direct survey link at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/UHCEquineFacilitiesSurvey or on the UHC website at: www.unwantedhorsecoalition.org and will be available through Feb. 28. The UHC is asking equine rescue, retirement, adoption and rehabilitation facilities to take part in this survey. Any questions regarding the survey or the UHC can be directed to the UHC Director, Ericka Caslin, at ecaslin@horsecouncil.org or by calling 202-296-4031.

Date: 2/15/10