For years, I’ve been reporting on colt-starting events and saying to myself:
Amazing stuff, but rescued horses are way more challenging than these untouched two-year olds. They’ve got baggage by the bucketful, troubled pasts, bad habits, and even horsey PTSD sometimes.
Why not work with them? It’d be cheaper, more charitable, more challenging, and help relieve the glut of unwanted horses.
But that’s the sad thing with colt-starting events:
Most have ulterior motives that make them less about horses and more about making money, selling those horses (and horsey accoutrements), and creating a spectacle.
More and more horsemen or women are criticizing The Road to the Horse because its format (three days of high-pressure training in front of bright lights and screaming fans) doesn’t do the horse any favors.
Other events like the Horsemen’s Re-Union take the glitz and competition out of the picture; that’s a huge improvement. But the Re-Union still exists primarily to sell off a breeder’s yearly crop of two-year olds.
Now comes the answer to my thoughts:
The Equine Comeback Challenge, sponsored by A Home for Every Horse (AHFEH), pairs 10 rescued horses with 10 trainers. The trainers have 60 days to work with their horses and will be featured at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in Denver, Colorado.
The horses, ages 5-15, came from several Colorado rescue organizations and will be sold privately by the trainers and adopted after they compete with their trainers in a Ranch Versatility trial at the Expo.
Yahoo!
Best wishes to all involved and hats off to AHFEH for creating and sponsoring the event.
This makes my heart happy…..I have 7 horses from shelters…it sure is more of a challenge…..but so much more rewarding!!
I love this! BUT – Auctioned? These horses, who have likely endured some really awful things, are going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder? I trust that there will be some type of screening for bidders? This just makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!
Andrea, Thank you so much for your comment. I researched it a bit more. The horses will be “sold privately by each trainer.” And, yes, I agree with you completely. Thanks again
Will the money to back to the rescue organizations that provided the horses?
I am a trainer with the Equine Comeback Challenge and several of us trainers have been posting regularly about our horses’ progress on the A Home for Every Horse facebook page, and my 20 year old mare, Grace, is regularly featured on the Bit of Honey Training LLC blog! http://bitofhoneytraining.blogspot.com/search/label/Equine%20Comeback%20Challenge
Sorry, I meant “will the money go back to the rescue organizations?
This is such a great blog! Thank you!
All of the horses will be sold privately by each trainer after the competition.
And each trainer has also adopted the horse from each rescue organization, all of the adoption fee went directly to the rescue for each horse.
Thank you again for all of the awesome coverage on this event!
Wow,
Finally a horse starting event that is solely for the horse.
There is too much bling, too much “over the top” showmanship and commercialism in most of these events.
We have far too many horses out there, We certainly dont need another breeders contest. lets make a good life for the ones that have been abused and abandoned. Here is a population that also calls for good horsemanship and time/patience.
Hoorah for all involved!
We know Grace personally, she is a precious, sweet soul, and we could not have asked for a more gentle, patient trainer than Kim. Grace has truly blossomed with her! Thank you Kim!