There are several kinds of rescue ranches. The animal ranches could be just for dogs, cats, undomesticated animals, wild horse rescue or just horse rescue ranches.
The kind of ranch I am most interested in is the horse rescue ranches. Some of these ranches are run by a board of directors and they hire an administrator to run the ranch but some are just people who have a love for horses and want to help take care of them. All of the work is done with volunteers who also have a love of horses and just want to be around them.
These horses come from many different places. Some of them have been celebrated race horses that for one reason or another can no longer be used for racing. They may have been hurt or they have gotten too old. So now their owners no longer want them around. Some horses become blind or develop sores from neglect or are born with some type of physical disability and the owners no longer want them. There are some owners that discover that it is not all glamour to have a horse and they don't care for them properly. Others have found the expense to board a horse is just too much for them and they don't take good care of them.
Whatever the reason these magnificent animals that God created, either suffer from neglect, malnutrition, or some may die. The people that have the compassion and the patience to take in these horses should be commended for their work.
These ranches usually have acreage, out buildings and corrals. They come in many sizes and shapes and forms. The head rancher has to know how to care for these animals and usually has a special veterinarian to help administer medicine and to decide what kind of care each horse will need. The mares and the stallions are kept in separate places. If a horse is blind or very ill, again they are separated until the right time comes to put them with the other horses.
Some of the horses continue to live the rest of their lives on the ranch, while others can be sold to good homes after they are well and trained. Some of the ranches use these horses to help children understand the horse and learn to ride.
Most of the ranches need help from donations, or they have many fund raising events throughout the year to help raise money to keep these ranches going.
