CORVALLIS — Retirement for work horses can often have a sad ending, but a Corvallis non-profit is working to change that.
One Horse at a Time was started by Jasmin Shinn and a few of her friends in 2018. Their goal is to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome draft horses. To help raise money, they will host a fundraising event on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.
Since its inception, One Horse at a Time has rescued over 250 draft horses, many of which would have been euthanized. There are currently over 100 of these horses in adoptive homes.
Local ranchers with old work horses and horse owners who can’t care for their animals donate their horses to Shinn. She also attends auctions to look for horses who could use her help.
“We look for the ones that have health issues, that are possibly older, that might have a hard time finding a home,” Shinn says. "And that's what we're trying to find for them, a forever home where they can live out their lives.”
The horses are sometimes emancipated to the point that they need a special feeding program to regain their strength. Other times the animal has trauma and won’t allow human touch.
Because the goal is to relocate the horses to a forever home, Shinn pays extra attention to training and assimilating. She typically spends at least $900 on each horse’s training.
The expenses stretch further than the initial purchase and training of the horse. Shinn says their annual hay cost is $50,000, and veterinarian bills can run almost just as high. They rely on public donations to keep the rescue open.
“It’s a really great cost, and we want to continue but we need the public's help to continue,” Shinn says.
The Sept. 30 fundraising event will run from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. at 326 Popham Lane in Corvallis. It is a beer and brats event that will also feature live music, carriage rides and a silent auction.
Shinn also posts requests for donations on the organization’s Facebook page as needed.
Despite enduring sleepless nights over the rescue’s expenses, Shinn does everything she can to ensure her animals have the best life.
She even invests in acupuncture, chiropractors and herbal remedies, saying the practices have seriously helped some horses.
“Some people might call me crazy, but I believe in that stuff,” she says.
The organization keeps track of every horse that has been adopted to make sure they stay healthy. Each adoptive family signs a contract with Shinn, promising to take great care of the animal. An adoption application can be found here.
One Horse at a Time partners with foster ranches in Montana, Texas and Colorado to hold horses if there is no space at Shinn’s 20-acre ranch.
Some horses stay with Shinn for only a few months before they are adopted, others need years before they are healthy enough for a new home.
Some horses that Shinn receives are near the end of their lifespan, but that doesn’t stop her from bringing them to the rescue.
“I'm looking for the horse that nobody wants. I'm looking for the horse that has an obvious issue, a horse that's older, a horse that's deserving– even if it's just a few months and God knows I've had those.”
For each horse that has passed, Shinn keeps a tuft of their hair in remembrance.
“Yeah, not everybody has that rescue heart, and honestly I can't tell you why I have it. I just have it,” she says. “I don't know, I didn't grow up thinking one day I was gonna have a horse rescue.”
Shinn grew up around horses in Germany and moved to Montana in 2014 with her husband.
“When I moved here to Montana in 2014 and attended my first auction and started to do some research into these auctions, the auction pipeline and the horse slaughter business. Also, I realized that there was a big need out there, especially for the draft horses that have been workhorses all their lives and then get discarded when they can't work anymore,” Shinn says.
One Horse at a Time currently houses 23 horses. All of the animals can be found on their website, and they host an open house every first Saturday of the month for people who want to meet the animals.
Shinn does almost all the ranch work herself, but she is always looking for volunteers, whether just to keep the horses company or to clean the stalls.
