Meet Daisy, a Palomino mare who was rescued from an Oklahoma kill lot in February 2021. Daisy was clearly sick and completely emaciated. Although only two years old, Daisy was in foal, and six weeks after her rescue, she foaled a beautiful but small sorrel colt. Her colt, Duke, was born healthy on March 25th of 2021. Without the assistance of a rescue organization like WindyHill Equine Rescue & Rehoming, horses like Daisy and Duke find themselves on kill lots in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana awaiting shipment outside of the U.S. for slaughter.
Becky Shewchuk, Founder and Managing Director of WindyHill Equine Rescue & Rehoming, is a lifelong horsewoman who was exposed to the tragedy of kill lots in 2012. Unable to rest with the knowledge that an estimated 90% of horses headed to slaughter are deemed useable by the USDA, Becky established a non-profit organization dedicated to saving some of these horses and permanently rehoming them with loving, responsible owners. She knew she needed a plan and began to work on her horsemanship skills. She created a program based on training and retraining horses for natural horsemanship. In 2018, she graduated from the Parelli Natural Horsemanship program through Level 4, their highest recognized level. Through her rescue program, she recognized that there were many horses with soundness issues that were not good for riding, yet they had much to offer. Always interested in how the horse relates to people and equine therapy, she became certified in EAGALA in June 2020 as an Equine Specialist. She formed 4 Hooves for Hearts, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation, to offer equine therapy to the community using WindyHill Equine Rescue & Rehoming horses as therapy horses.
Once rescued horses arrive at WindyHill, they are quarantined from the rest of the animals, evaluated by medical professionals, administered any necessary antibiotics, vaccinated, dewormed, and have their feet trimmed. Once the horses are able, and if they are sound, Becky and her trainers begin training or restart them as needed. The horses are then classified as “adoptable” and/or “sponsorship”. Adoptable horses can be matched with an appropriate owner where extensive discussions and evaluations are part of the adoption process ensuring the horse matches the owner’s needs and expectations. WindyHill will have five horses available for adoption in Spring 2025.
Horses marked as “sponsorship” are often not sound for riding and are, therefore, less likely to be adopted. WindyHill Rescue & Rehoming began the Sponsor A Horse program to help alleviate the $300-$400 per month per horse, food, and housing expenses of horses unavailable for adoption. A donor’s $100 per month gift contributes to the expenses and allows the donor to spend time with “their” sponsored horse. Once becoming a donor, the donor can schedule an appointment to spend time with a specific horse without the responsibility of ownership. WindyHill can help match Sponsor A Horse donors with a specific horse to fit the age and personality of the donor. For more information, email WindyHillEquineRescue@gmail.com or visit windyhillequinerescue.org.
“A big part of my mission is raising awareness of the abuse surrounding horses. Over 90% of horses sent through an average auction are purchased by kill buyers. I’ve had horses my entire life and was not aware of the tragic end many horses suffer. Awareness is number 1. Animal welfare lovers should be interested in supporting a no-kill rescue and we need compassionate partners to support the care and welfare of our rescues."