Today we’d like to introduce you to Habitat For Horses (Michelle Stolte).
Hi Habitat for Horses, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Habitat for Horses was started in 1998 by Jerry Finch as an equine rescue and sanctuary. Today, we have over 250 equines on 434 acres and a small but dedicated team of staff who care for them alongside our volunteers. We aim to be a safe haven for those horses who need a soft landing and recognize how much they give to us as humans. As both a rescue and a sanctuary, we house horses and donkeys of all sizes in all life stages and provide a home for rescued, abandoned, and unwanted equines. We provide equine rescue services to law enforcement agencies, and we aim to educate the public on equine care and behavior. We have wonderful volunteers who help us keep our horses cared for, work with them on relationship building, and assist in so many other ways. We have an adoption program where people can come and adopt horses to ride or equines to keep as companions (we have donkeys and mules, too!). We are also lucky enough to be able to promise our horses a home for life so if anything in their circumstances change, they can always come back to us. Many of our horses are over the age of 18 and receiving specialized feed and care to support them as they age. We also work with state officials during natural disasters (like hurricanes) to serve the equine population and help return horses to their humans.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Animal rescue is never a smooth road. We have to be ready to respond to a request for assistance from law enforcement at any given moment (we took in 40 horses last year in one seizure, alone), know the capacity we have to keep our herd well cared for, and balance all that with the fact we run solely on private donations and the wonderful kindness of our community (and we could not be more grateful!). We see horses come in unbearably skinny, injured, abused, or neglected. But we also see most of them return to health! It’s an emotional investment every day and we couldn’t be more grateful to be able to do it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Habitat for Horses, Inc.?
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit we are very proud of the work we do rescuing, rehabilitating, rehoming, and providing sanctuary for our 250+ equine residents. Our ranch is a peaceful haven for horses and donkeys to get the care and love they’ve often never had, and for humans to spend peaceful time in nature with horses that have the ability to choose to spend time with them or not. While we’re a working ranch, we are very proud of the natural environment we provide for our equines with as much freedom and choice as we can give them, which in turn creates a peaceful place for humans as well.
If you want to come see for yourself, we do offer tours – they are by appointment only and we do ask for a small donation. Just call or email us to set one up.
Our purpose is:
a) To promote and secure the safety, well being and health of horses.
b) To encourage education concerning the physical and mental health of horses.
c) To utilize horses in the growth and mental health of humans, either adult or children, through education, demonstration and connection.
d) To study, promote, and enhance the proper training of horses through positive training techniques.
e) To provide a home for those horses who are no longer able to be productive.
f) To return to health, if possible, those owned horses that are deemed sick or injured.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
(Michelle’s personal take – this does not represent the views of Habitat for Horses): I love the people I have met (many from all over the world!) in this city, the many varied languages you can hear on a day to day basis, the rich history of agriculture and ranching outside of the city, and the museums, the food, and the parks in Houston. It’s also really neat seeing the wildlife (alligators, spoonbills and other birds, etc.).
I really dislike the months of heat and humidity and threat of hurricanes. Also how long it takes to get anywhere with traffic!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.habitatforhorses.org
- Instagram: habitat_for_horses
- Facebook: habitat for horses
- LinkedIn: Habitat for Horses, Inc.
