The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Another Chance For Horses

1 reading
16K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  reiningfan  
#1 ·
Last night I posted some questions on AC4Hs facebook page, they were deleted within minutes.

So I thought that I would bring the conversation here, to see your thoughts on the subject.

For those who don't know AC4Hs are a horse rescue in PA. They also arrange for the sale of broker horses who are due to be shipped for slaughter. They do a lot of fund raising on many messages boards to raise money to send broker horses to approved homes.

Many of the broker horses still have the auction sticker on them, and they often show the pics early in the week. So I assume they follow the broker home after New Holland auction on Mondays.


These horses are going to slaughter if AC4Hs doesn't help them, but isn't this helping the broker make a massive profit?



The broker prices are excessive for an unknown horse with unknown issues. He is at the price of a horse that you can go see and then ride yourself.

So doesn't that mean he can buy more horses for slaughter the following week?

I wonder if they are increasing the number of slaughters as they are giving him more money to buy more horses.

Also I wonder about the fund raising they do for willing owners, should those owners not be able to pay for the horse themselves if they want it? How would they manage the vets bills for the unknown horse if they can't afford to buy it?




What are your thoughts about this?
 
#2 ·
I think I've seen them on youtube =/
In all honestly I think they are just taking advantage of peoples emotions to make a quick buck. Not caring
what happens after that.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Save
#3 ·
They have this statement on their website:

We have taken a pro-active, preventative approach by listing these horses in hopes of assisting them out of the auction/slaughter arena and into a private home. Dangers of auctions are injury, death, illness and the possibility of being purchased for slaughter. We will include all levels of horses available at the broker lots or slaughter pens. We take possession of the horses on Monday vetting is available at a lab a short distance from the barn we rent to take possession of the horses and vetting is done within hours.
The statement in red doesn't make sense to me, as they post threads all over the internet saying save this horse from slaughter, they fund raised to get the broker price to save the horse from slaughter. And yet here they are making a difference between a broker and a kill buyer.

So they rent a facility and take possession of the horses, does that not make the horses their own, and no longer the brokers?
 
#4 ·
Alex, I know the rescue you are talking about. I looked in it while back when I was looking for the horse. Personally I find it very awkward to help the broker to sell horses. I also find it ridiculous to ask $2500(!) for the rescue horses (and that was a main reason, which turned me away back then). Yes, I understand it's not cheap to "rescue", still this price is just not right (as an example horses from DEFHR are all $1000 and under).
 
Save
#5 ·
I feel the same way Kitten.

As they are so active with their fund raising on other boards, I was hoping someone would enlighten me to the benefit of it (other than the obvious, of helping that one horse).
 
#6 ·
A lot of other rescues dislike them, I know. They receive quite a bit of bashing from a lot of different places, partially for all that forcing-it-down-your-throat "fundraising", and many, many, rescue groups have said they will absolutely not deal with them EVER, as they are underhanded and in it for all the wrong reasons. I don't know how much is true, and how much is the typical catty behavior you see in the horse world though. I haven't ever really looked into them personally, because they are not that close to me, that I would ever really look there for a horse.
 
Save
#8 ·
A quick 5 minute google search found me all this. Granted, they are all still personal opinion, and I don't know if any of it's true, but I keep seeing it pop up that they are "under investigation". Makes for interesting reading, at any rate.
ANOTHER CHANCE 4 HORSES INC - Read volunteer and donor reviews and ratings of charity, non profit organizations, NGOs on GreatNonprofits
UNETHICAL - Another Chance 4 Horses aka AC4H - PA
Fake Rescues! I am totally disquested! | Facebook
Another Chance to Avoid Actually Working! Fugly Horse of the Day
 
Save
#9 · (Edited)
Google the rescue's name and you'll find all sorts of stories. They do not have a good reputation in PA, and honestly, I wouldn't trust them or give them a dime. I know a few people who went to look at their horses. Several were quite sickly, and most had severe behavioral issues. They tried to talk a beginner & first time horse owner into a horse that was a severe bucker and would need serious professional help to make him a solid citizen again. They have no interest in where the horse is going, as long as someone writes them a check. They are in no way a rescue that matches horses with a good home.
 
Save
#10 ·
i don't know about this particular "rescue", but the more rescues i look in to, the more cases of hoarding i find. that's just my opinion obviously but still. it seems a lot of these rescue groups start out with really great intentions (and probably still do have those great intentions) but they get lost along the way and end up not being helpful in the ways they could/should be. *sigh*
 
#11 ·
AC4H are scammers. There has been many cases of people fundraising for a horse through them and the horse totally disappearing. You will see this rescue referred to AC$H (or something like that) and the CEO referred to as Christy Shady (because she is Shady). I know that Frog Pond Draft Rescue will have nothing to do with them after they pulled a few drafts from them and two died very very shortly after arriving. A LOT of people say that when they get a horse through AC4H it comes homes sick and lame even when described as sound and healthy. I would never ever donate to them or any rescue associated with them. Google the rescue and the person running the rescue before you donate.

I donated $150 to a rescue for a mare that had very similar bloodlines to a gelding I used to own. Turns out that rescue (Peace Of Mind) had over 100 counts of animal cruelty on them and the director runs 2 seperate rescues! I didn't find this out until after I donated, sent the money as a gift and to their business paypal (stupid me) not their rescue paypal (because the business one is the one they gave me) so there was no way I could get my money back. (Google Peace Of Mind Rescue or Rock N Acres Rescue for more information) It turns out that at the time I donated she was saying she was a branch of ARM (Arabian Rescue Mission) which can't even have branches due to their tax status. So when asked for valid non-profit information she scrambled and filed and was telling everyone that she'd "fix" her tax problem in a week and that her information was valid even though she posted an invalid EIN. Her file date was a week after people started questioning her. She also lied repeatedly about her name, referring to herself as Sherry Rickard when come to find out that POM was registered to Sherry Ford, who is listed with Rock N Acres on TN non-profit website. AND surprise surprise, there is no new information on the mare I donated to! It's pretty frustrating! Be careful who you donate to!
 
Save
#13 ·
i'm confused by a portion of this - you say that ARM can't have branches due to their tax status. do you mean like branches outside of their state or branches off the main arabian rescue at all? i know they have a non-arabian division which is Ever After Horse Rescue.

there are just so so many things about rescues and how they run and how they can be set up that's so confusing and hard to wade through to find out what the deal really is. i think that's how/why some of these less than honest people get away with it. very sad for the horses.
 
#12 ·
I went and looked at some of the videos they had posted of broker horses today. Little 30 second videos in which, for example, they claimed a pony was calm and respectful on the ground, yet she was obviously a nervous wreck, and running all over her handler and dragging him around. They pawned it off on her having "excellent movement". Um, no. In several others, the horses had glaring lamenesses, but it was not mentioned in the listing. The more I see of them, the more they scream scammers.
 
Save
#14 ·
I guess we are lucky here! I have 3 horse rescues within 15 miles from me and all have good reputation and offer some nice horses. I also know people who own horses from all 3 and very happy.
 
Save
#15 ·
I am not sure if Terry (the director of ARM) knew that she could not have branches or not. I am also not sure if she has tried to fix her tax status to include her branches. Basically other rescues saying that they are partners with ARM and using ARM's tax information. ARM (when I looked) is a '0' tax bracket which allows 50% of your donation to be considered tax deductible and does not allow umbrellas or branches of the rescue. I do believe that Terry tries to help horses as much as she can and she is a very nice person. I've spoken with her many times.
 
Save
#17 ·
I don't have a clue. I suppose because she is "under investigation" that they are still allowing them to run while they investigate. I'm betting she has connections in very high places. And I'm not even really sure who has the authority to shut them down. (I know obviously there is someone, I'm just not up on that sort of information.)

In all honestly it sounds like they are just running a second rate feedlot, and that's it. The only reason they claim to be a rescue is for that tax exemption, and to pull at people's heartstrings so they will hand over more money. Since it turns out they send the horses right back to the kill buyers if they don't sell, what else COULD you call them?
 
Save
#19 ·
I dealt with AC4H's almost 8 years ago. I talked to a woman who knew Christy and she informed Christy that my bf's father was going to send his PMU colts to public auction.
Christy helped place almost all the foals and some of the mares. I was only involved as far as helping take pics & give descriptions of the horses, so I have no idea what happened on the US side of the deal. I do know that I have heard several stories of bad dealings with them. My experience was mainly positive though.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.