Days End Farm, a horse rescue and rehabilitation facility in Woodbine, Maryland, is a new Social Action site for the 2011-2012 school year. Established in 1989, as a small non-profit shelter with the mission “to ensure quality care and treatment of horse thorough intervention, education and outreach”, it has now become a national rescue and rehabilitation facility that can house up to 70 horses.
The horses at Days End Farm come from animal control and humane agencies all over Maryland and nearby counties. Some are willingly given up while others are taken away from life threatening situations, such as neglect and abuse, which then turn into court cases. A special service that they provide for court cases is horse advocacy. Days End Farm documents the status of every horse that comes under their care, by taking pictures and collecting health information par arrival, throughout the rehabilitation process, and afterwards. This service has helped many rescued horses and improved horse protection laws.
When a horse is being impounded, Days End staff and volunteers will go and help transport the horse to a safe facility. Upon arrival the horse will be taken to their Critical Care Unit and Extended Care Program. The horses could have suffered anything from starvation and malnutrition to untended wounds and deformities. After the horses have been rehabilitated and the court cases are finished, the horses will then be evaluated and trained with the hope of becoming adopted. Once they’ve completed this task, the staff and volunteers work to find them a permanent home. Days End has been extremely successful in their search for homes with a 94% adaptation rate.
Of course, Days End Farm does a lot to help horses in need, but they also receive a lot of help from the community. A few of their programs that are open to the community include an internship program with hands on experience, cruelty investigator training, large animal rescue training, basic horse care clinic and more. Another service that Days End Farm offers is a disaster and emergency service. After a natural disaster or in any emergency situation they will go and rescue any large animal for no cost at all. In order to do this education is important. They also offer educational opportunities to familiarize the community with the farm and the horse, with farm tours, classes and clinic programs, lots of volunteer opportunities, and something called “Share a Heart” Lecture, in which they’ll go to schools and talk about Days End, their horses, and the type of work they do.
One of our very own Stone Ridge sisters, Rachel Enger ’12, is a volunteer every Social Action Wednesday.
Want to help Days End Farm? Here are some ways you can help: organize a fundraiser, donate horse feed, hay, or straw, become a volunteer, or donate office and building supplies. For more information please visit the Days End Farm website.
