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The ability to power a car is called horsepower and that is something BMW automobiles have plenty of. But Mike Boras, a car salesman by day also appreciates horse power of a different sort as president of Equine Rescue Inc., a nonprofit that provides rehabilitation and care for abused horses.
“Not only does abuse occur with dogs and cats, but also with large animals,” said Boras. He said besides physical cruelty, horses need lots of space and feed and specialized care such as farrier care for their hooves. So horses are abundant through overbreeding and thus cheap to buy, but they are still very expensive to care for properly, leading to abuse in ways that go beyond physical abuse.
Even in an economy on the slide, BMW sales, “are not too bad,” said Boras, at the BMW of the Hudson Valley in Poughkeepsie where he works. “I think the economic climate for cars overall is down quite a bit, but not so much here. We are a little more recession proof because of the quality and the warranty and the service.” He said, in effect, the only thing customers need to take care of is replacing wiper fluid and gasoline.
In 1996, about a year after he got married, Boras”™ wife Lynda, a lifelong horse rider with degree in equestrian studies and another in business administration, called his attention to a situation where law enforcement personnel had rescued abused horses but had no place to bring them. “There was really no rescue facility to help out in that case,” said Boras. “Spurred on by that, we decided we would create a large animal sanctuary.”
From that was born Equine Rescue Inc., which works with law enforcement agencies to provide stabling and rehabilitation services to equines that are confiscated because of cruelty and/or neglect. The organization also works closely with multiple district attorney offices to prosecute such cases and with equine organizations to move the animals to safe homes. Most animals spend about a year and a half at the Equine Rescue facility being rehabilitated and nursed back to health, said Boras.
Equine Rescue Inc. is a tax-exempt, nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization. It was the first and still remains the only equine rescue organization to be certified by the New York State Horse Health Assurance Program (NYSHHAP), which recognizes exceptionally managed equine farms. Equine Rescue does not receive state or federal funding and raises all operating funds from private donations.
Equine Rescue currently cares for 32 horses and ponies. Its facility is located on Dunthorne Drive in Bloomingburg, with a 17-stall horse barn, five run-in sheds and six paddocks. Lynda Boras is the executive director, and the couple lives at the facility, which they built with their own funds separately from the Equine Rescue.
“I guess you can credit myself and Lynda with that. When we set out on the venture of finding a farm, I had this notion I wasn”™t going to fund raise and buy us a farm and a home,” said Boras.
But the operations of Equine Rescue dominate life on the farm, with Lynda and one helper caring for the animals and the upkeep of the barn and stables. Mike helps with the mucking, but also writes the grants and performs other fundraising chores for the group, which has an annual budget of about $225,000.
The group sponsors two charity fundraising horse shows annually. Boras said that the economic downturn has not affected the operation because fundraising was complete for the current year before the problems intensified in recent months. He said the Equine Rescue efforts have been particularly supported by The Moritz Foundation, the Winley Foundation, the Ahimsa Foundation and the William H. Donner Foundation.
Boras said that rehabbing abused horses can be challenging, but is aided by the horses themselves. “They will tell you what”™s wrong with them if you know how to listen,
they are just speaking horse and you have to listen in horse,” said Boras. “After a while they see their surroundings, they are cared for, no abuse, no yelling or beating. It becomes a more serene atmosphere and they become comfortable with that.”
The Web site is www.equine-rescue.org.
