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>>When Maya and I first 
started doing this

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we had one little 
pony named Sassafras,

3
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and now we're at the point 
where we have 47 horses,

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and it's kind of an amazing 
thing to see this journey

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and to see what 
it looks like now.

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>>Today we're going to learn 
about a non-profit organization

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dedicated to serving 
horses in need

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00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:26,233
and giving them a 
second chance at life.

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00:00:26,233 --> 00:00:28,433
Join us as we visit 
with Maya Proulx,

10
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Executive Director of 
Hope's Legacy Equine Rescue.

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Come on!

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>>From my very first horse

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I had always had one 
rescue at a time,

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and at a certain point 
I just decided that

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I wanted to be able to help 
more horses on a larger scale.

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>>Okay, so what is the story

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behind the name of this rescue?

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>>So Hope is actually the 
barn name for an off-the-track

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thoroughbred that I owned,

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and she wasn't actually a 
rescue but she was on the track

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to end up in a bad situation.

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She had only stopped 
racing about six months

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before I got her and she 
had already gone through

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five different 
homes at that point.

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Since that's what we're 
trying to do for these horses,

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it really fit.

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>>Well talk about the 
horses that you take in.

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What kinds of horses are these?

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>>So we take in all 
breeds of horses

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as well as mules and donkeys.

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We take owner surrenders 
we also take in

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animal control seizure cases.

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They will frequently 
call us and ask us

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to house the horses during 
the case and then help

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place the horses after 
the case is over.

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>>So give us examples of,

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when you're talking about 
animal control cases,

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what's going on?

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>>So, the biggest one that 
we've been involved with

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of course is the 
Peacable Farm case

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up in Orange County, Virginia,

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and, in that case 
there were 101 horses

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on the property 
that were in various

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different stages of 
starvation and many of them

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also had injuries that 
had not been treated.

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Of those 101 horses our 
rescue took in 29 of them.

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At this point we 
had to euthanize six

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and one had a heart attack.

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>>They were just too sick.

50
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>>They were just either too sick

51
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or had injuries that had 
not been treated properly

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and because they had not 
been dealt with at the time,

53
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they reached a point 
where the horse

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was no longer able to 
be saved, unfortunately.

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They would not have had any 
good quality of life after that.

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>>So tell me what happens 
once they come here?

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What happens?

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>>So, we bring them in 
and then we assess them

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for just their very basic 
health needs at that point.

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Depending on their condition

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00:02:40,466 --> 00:02:44,300
we don't do vaccinations and 
stuff like that immediately,

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that's because their 
systems are just so depleted

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that their bodies can't 
really handle them.

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>>You have to move really slowly

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with everything you do.

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>>Yeah, and with re-feeding 
you know you start with

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just a little bit 
of hay at a time

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and slowly increase 
them, and then you start

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adding in various 
different feeds

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but you do that literally 
a cup at a time.

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That's one of the 
hardest things.

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These horses come in and they're

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pretty much walking skeletons.

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The natural instinct is to 
want to just throw food at them

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but their bodies actually 
will start shutting down.

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Their internal organs 
will start shutting down

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and you have to kind of 
restart them very slowly.

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00:03:23,533 --> 00:03:27,600
(horse whinnies insistently)

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00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,233
>>Their stomach knows, 
their ears knows,

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their noses know and 
they pace and they whinny

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and they wait for their food

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00:03:34,066 --> 00:03:36,333
and they're a little 
demanding about it now.

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It's awesome to see because 
it means that they're healthy.

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They can understand their 
surroundings and whats going on.

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Yeah, its coming, Daphne.

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00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:49,500
>>After they come 
from a bad situation,

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they can be brought 
somewhere like this

88
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and can be given the love 
and attention they deserve

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and really just be cared for.

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>>Yeah, its sad but you 
can't think of it like that,

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00:04:00,166 --> 00:04:02,666
you got to think of it 
like we're here to help,

92
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there's no more sadness, 
leave that behind

93
00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:08,566
and lets deal with being happy

94
00:04:08,566 --> 00:04:11,800
and getting them big and 
strong for their future life.

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00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:14,766
(horse whinnies 
enthusiastically)

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00:04:14,766 --> 00:04:16,600
And he is even very happy, too!

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00:04:17,933 --> 00:04:19,133
>>You had a horse come 
in that was pregnant.

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00:04:19,133 --> 00:04:20,800
You didn't even know 
she was pregnant, Rainy.

99
00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,866
>>We did, yes, 
Rainy surprised us

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00:04:23,866 --> 00:04:26,933
back a couple of 
weeks ago with a baby,

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00:04:26,933 --> 00:04:29,800
and my husband 
actually found it.

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He walked into the barn and

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there was this foal 
standing in the aisle way

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which was, I won't 
repeat what he said

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because it's not really 
suitable for television.

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We had just started looking 
at her and thinking,

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boy she's getting a little round

108
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and yet her spine and her 
hips were still protruding.

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So she was still 
basically very underweight

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but the belly was getting big.

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>>But she just decided she 
didn't attach to the baby.

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>>She rejected the foal. yeah.

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>>And so now, who, 
who's with the foal?

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>>So, the donkey 
from Orange County

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is actually the 
babysitter right now.

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I think he's a little 
resentful of the fact.

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>>But they're together 
all the time, right?

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>>They are, they're 
together 24/7

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and when the baby 
gets too rambunctious,

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the donkey just very gently 
puts him in his place

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and reminds him of his manners.

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It's really wonderful.

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>>And then you had another 
horse that came through

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that actually had 
chemical burns.

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Talk about that and 
what you had to do.

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>>Yes, so a number of 
the horses from the case

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that Rainy came from actually 
had chemical burns on them.

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The owner of these horses 
poured pyrethrum on them,

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which is a cattle wormer, 
very concentrated,

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so we bathed them with 
Dawn, but then many of them

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lost huge amounts of hair 
because of the chemical burns,

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and we didn't know 
if they would be able

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to regrow that hair or 
not and none of the vets

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that we spoke to had ever 
dealt with anything like it,

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but they have all regrown hair.

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Some of them it is 
a different color

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from the rest of their hair

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and you can see 
the drip patterns

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on their sides from 
where it was poured.

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>>Well once the animals are 
starting to feel better,

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the horses are starting 
to feel better,

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then talk about their care 
everyday, they go walking.

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>>So yeah, many of our 
farms have daily turnout

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so they can be out in the 
field pretty much full time.

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00:06:21,933 --> 00:06:25,066
We do have one 
location currently

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where they don't 
have any turnout,

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so I have amazing volunteers 
who come every day

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and they take the horses out

149
00:06:31,633 --> 00:06:34,066
and let them hand 
graze in the grass.

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And we've got a couple 
of small round pens

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00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:37,300
where they can go out

152
00:06:38,733 --> 00:06:40,866
and they really enjoy the 
interaction with the people

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and it's great for 
my volunteers too;

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they like getting 
to know horses, and,

155
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see their personalities 
start to show up.

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00:06:49,100 --> 00:06:50,800
>>It gives me a sense 
of accomplishment

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00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,466
and a reason for being here 
and a reason for existing,

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its something that 
I can help with,

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its something that 
seems so insignificant

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but then to these horses 
its just the difference

161
00:07:01,966 --> 00:07:03,500
between life and 
death in some cases,

162
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its really just giving them 
the love that they deserved.

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>>My favorite part 
is running around,

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it gets a lot of 
their energy out

165
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and seeing them very happy 
when they go out to graze.

166
00:07:18,466 --> 00:07:20,800
>>She's doing really well, 
one of the biggest changes

167
00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,033
I've seen in Daphne and 
all of the other horses

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is their energy level, you know,

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when you first got them here,

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they kind of were lackluster 
and very low energy

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(horse whinnies energetically)

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and now, as you 
can hear and see,

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they want to go outside 
and they have energy,

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they have muscle tone

175
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and that's something they didn't 
have prior to getting here

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and getting some good care.

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00:07:41,766 --> 00:07:44,300
>>How, how long do most of 
the horses stay with you?

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00:07:44,300 --> 00:07:46,166
>>It really varies.

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00:07:46,166 --> 00:07:50,333
Some horses are in and out in 
a matter of a month or two.

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00:07:50,333 --> 00:07:53,633
Other horses will be with 
us for a couple of years.

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Usually if they're with us 
for a long time it's because

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they're not able to be ridden.

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00:07:58,466 --> 00:08:00,833
They're just a companion 
horse, and finding people

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who want to adopt companion 
horses is really difficult.

185
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We love it when we get 
an email or a phone call

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00:08:07,900 --> 00:08:09,466
from someone saying 
we just want a horse

187
00:08:09,466 --> 00:08:11,000
to come sit in my field.

188
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>>And so how do you assess 
when they're ready to go?

189
00:08:12,966 --> 00:08:16,133
>>There's no exact 
science to it.

190
00:08:16,133 --> 00:08:18,700
Some of it's knowing 
the horse's personality.

191
00:08:18,700 --> 00:08:20,400
Depending on the horse,

192
00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,633
we'll send them to a 
professional trainer 
for an assessment

193
00:08:22,633 --> 00:08:25,500
to see what they know, 
what they need to work on.

194
00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:28,200
Sometimes they'll spend a 
couple of months with a trainer

195
00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:32,300
getting them to the point where 
they are able to be ridden.

196
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Also, it's matching the right 
person and the right horse.

197
00:08:35,966 --> 00:08:38,033
I do have some horses 
that I will send out

198
00:08:38,033 --> 00:08:41,600
without doing training 
because I know the person

199
00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,433
or the person who 
contacts me is a trainer

200
00:08:44,433 --> 00:08:46,900
or has a huge amount 
of experience.

201
00:08:46,900 --> 00:08:49,666
So it's a really 
individualized thing

202
00:08:49,666 --> 00:08:52,433
based on the horse 
and the situation.

203
00:08:52,433 --> 00:08:54,233
>>The hope is that 
they're all adopted,

204
00:08:54,233 --> 00:08:56,366
and so what's that process like?

205
00:08:56,366 --> 00:08:58,300
>>So, we have an 
adoption application,

206
00:08:58,300 --> 00:09:01,233
and anyone who's interested 
in adopting a horse from us

207
00:09:01,233 --> 00:09:04,233
fills that out and that 
includes references,

208
00:09:04,233 --> 00:09:07,133
and we ask for professional 
references, like their vet,

209
00:09:07,133 --> 00:09:10,933
their farrier, anybody 
who is familiar with them

210
00:09:10,933 --> 00:09:13,900
and their experience 
with horses,

211
00:09:13,900 --> 00:09:17,100
and looking and seeing what 
their other horses look like

212
00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:19,433
and how they interact 
with them is actually

213
00:09:19,433 --> 00:09:22,200
one of the most 
reliable I guess,

214
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,633
indicators of what 
the situation will be,

215
00:09:25,633 --> 00:09:27,466
and then they come out 
and they meet the horse.

216
00:09:27,466 --> 00:09:29,900
They ride it if 
it's a rideable one

217
00:09:29,900 --> 00:09:31,900
and we just make 
sure it's a good fit.

218
00:09:31,900 --> 00:09:35,500
We do a trial period, something 
between 30 and 60 days,

219
00:09:35,500 --> 00:09:37,366
and the horse can come 
back to us at any point

220
00:09:37,366 --> 00:09:39,200
during that 
timeframe and they'll

221
00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,433
get their adoption fee back.

222
00:09:41,433 --> 00:09:43,300
Then our horses also 
come with a safety net

223
00:09:43,300 --> 00:09:46,500
where they can come back 
at any time in the future

224
00:09:46,500 --> 00:09:49,066
even if the person that 
we adopt the horse to

225
00:09:49,066 --> 00:09:51,366
ends up moving it 
on to somebody else

226
00:09:51,366 --> 00:09:53,400
that horse can still 
come back to us.

227
00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:56,033
So basically the contract 
goes with the horse

228
00:09:56,033 --> 00:09:58,166
for its entire future.

229
00:09:58,166 --> 00:10:00,900
It doesn't necessarily 
stay with one person.

230
00:10:00,900 --> 00:10:03,366
In fact, I just got 
some photos this morning

231
00:10:03,366 --> 00:10:07,633
from a woman who just 
bought one of our ponies

232
00:10:07,633 --> 00:10:09,800
from the woman who 
adopted it from us,

233
00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:13,166
and she sent me these wonderful 
photos of her daughter

234
00:10:13,166 --> 00:10:16,500
riding this pony with 
this long explanation

235
00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:19,600
of how much they loved the 
pony, how wonderful she was.

236
00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:20,800
>>Oh, that is so great.

237
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:22,066
>>How much they appreciated

238
00:10:22,066 --> 00:10:23,800
that they were able to 
get her and keep her.

239
00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:24,966
>>That's great, and 
I know sometimes

240
00:10:24,966 --> 00:10:27,266
people who have to 
surrender their animals

241
00:10:27,266 --> 00:10:30,233
because they're not 
well, because they 
can't care for them,

242
00:10:30,233 --> 00:10:32,433
they sometimes set 
up Facebook groups

243
00:10:32,433 --> 00:10:35,100
so they can keep touch and 
see how everybody's doing.

244
00:10:35,100 --> 00:10:40,000
So you started this 
organization in 2008

245
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,400
and it's a non-profit 
now and you have

246
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some big goals 
for the future now

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so you don't have to lease land.

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>>We do because we are currently 
leasing or fosTerring horses

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on all of the properties 
that we're using,

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and we are looking 
to purchase land

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and build a barn and 
have one main facility.

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We'll continue to use foster 
homes because for some horses

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it's a better situation.

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They get a little more 
personalized one-on-one.

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But having one 
centralized location and

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having that security 
for the future

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that when horses 
do come back to us

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we have somewhere for them to go

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and somewhere for them 
to live out their lives.

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>>People are gonna want to help,

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I know they're 
gonna want to help.

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So how do people get involved?

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What do you need them to do?

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>>The easiest way is to 
contact us through our website

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which is www.hopeslegacy.com,

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and we need volunteers

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to help with just 
the day to day care,

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the feeding, the stall cleaning,

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the brushing the horses, 
socializing them.

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We need people to help with 
fundraising, of course,

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it takes a huge 
amount of fundraising

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to feed all of these horses.

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We do need foster homes, 
and also just helping

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spread the word that we exist.

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We need folks to 
know that we are here

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and want to help 
as much as we can.

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>>It's sad that its happening.

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You don't ever want 
to see a situation

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where animals are put at risk,

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but the fact that we 
have a person in Maya

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who is so well-educated 
and experienced

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in how to manage 
these situations

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is why we're growing 
the way we are.

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Its pretty amazing to see it.

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>>You're welcome.

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(cheerful music)