This is Bree and Milo. Both were rescued by VEWS and rehabilitated and have recently been adopted to their "forever homes". Bree came to VEWS last December after being found tied to a tree just skin and bones. She was full of rain rot and her feet were in need of serious attention. Milo came from the New Holland Auctions and was bought from a "kill buyer" to prevent him from being taken to slaughter. VEWS has only two other horses that are ready for adoption...please visit their web site @ www.vewshorses.org for details.

                                    Bree                                                                     Milo
              
            

This is Watson! He is our newly adopted English Bull Dog. Watson came from Monty's Mates Bull Dog Rescue in Pennsylvania. He is quite a character and fits in well with all of us other rescues here on our farm.

This is Bree! She came into the VEWS Program on December 20, 2012. Bree is a two year old Filly that was turned over to VEWS after being surrendered to a local ACO. Bree came in at only 515 pounds (very emaciated) and full of rain rot! She stayed here at Preference Farm for her 30 days of quarantine and went to the VEWS Rescue Barn on January 20, 2013. She is doing well with the other horses at the barn and has grown over two inched since her arrival making it hard to see her weight gain but it is happening. She is much stronger and happier and we expect a full recovery and rehabilitation for her.

VEWS Update

WOW! I have neglected my own Blog what with all the happenings at the VEWS Barn! To date VEWS has rescued 6 Horses and has had 3 of them adopted. Duke, Finnegan and Sierra have gone to their new "forever homes". We currently have 3 horses at the barn is various stages of rehabilitation. This is BREE. She is our most recent rescue. She is a 2 year old Filly that was surrendered to a local ACO who call VEWS for assistance. As you can see, BREE is very very thin and is covered in rain rot. BREE weighs only 515 pounds and is a body score of only 1.5! Please visit the website at www. vewshorses.org or friend us on Facebook for more information. Oh well! blog spot won't let me upload her picture so go to the website to see her.

Two horses coming to our new barn

VEWS is taking 2 horses into their new barn on Sunday the 16th. It has been a long time coming but we are all excited to have these two horses coming into our program. One is a 13 year old Mare and the other is a 24 year old Gelding. Both horses are in relatively good shape but are in need of some Farrier work on their feet. More details and pictures of these horse will be coming soon

Vews new Barn and Web Address

A most generous couple in Powhatan County, Virginia has donated the use of their barn and pastures to VEWS for their work in rescuing and rehabilitating horses in need. It is a very nice facility and is a great place for VEWS to continue with their mission. Supplies are needed to ready the barn for the first horse(s). Anyone wishing to donate either supplies or money should go to the new VEWS website address at www.vewshorses.org and go to the donate page for a list of much needed supplies. You can donate money through Pay Pal from a link on their site.Thanks in advance for your help.

J.J. at the Farm Day Event

Here are a couple of pictures of J.J. at the Farm Day Fundraiser Event. Sarah and McKenzie  were a big help with her that day. The weather wasn't the best but it turned out OK. Thanks Terry for the great shots.

VEWS Director's Meeting and other VEWS events

The next VEWS Director's Meeting will be April 1, 2012 @ 6:30pm. Ideas and suggestions to complete and improve the web site will be on the agenda.
Other upcoming events are April 15th a meeting for the volunteers will be held at the Quarterfield Stables @1pm. All Current and new volunteers are encouraged to attend to be updated on our expected timeline and discuss fund raising, a most important and necessary topic. Also, we have been offered around 200 bales of hay and we  will need to co-ordinate picking up this hay and moving it to the barn.
On April16, 2012 Susan White and I are going to a conference of Commonwealth Attorneys being held in Norfolk,VA to set up and information booth.
On April 28, 2012 Hertzlers will be holding their annual Farm Day with lots of vendors and specials. VEWS will have a presence at the stable with an information booth. JJ is coming (with tack) for pictures with the children
The Preference Farm Blog can now be accessed through the VEWS website at WWW.vaews.org  Look for the link on the right side of the Home Page just under that "most important" Donate Button.

www.vaews.org

Virginia Equine Welfare Society published their new website to the web yesterday evening. Please visit www.vaews.org and learn more about our new organization. Check back often for updates and newly added information. Hey and don't forget that little button on the right side of the page.

VEWS ( Virginia Equine Welfare Society)

The next scheduled Board of Director's Meeting is scheduled for March 6, 2012.This meeting will determine the next important steps to be taken concerning the direction of our new rescue. We expect our first horse(s) to arrive around April 1st. Our website should also be up and running by that time, including the Pay Pal options for those who care to donate. The web site will also include information on volunteering, fostering and adopting horses and contact information. Check back here to see our progress and to learn how you can help us help these horses in need.

Virginia Equine Welfare Society

On January 25, 2012 The State Corporation Commission of the Commonwealth of Virginia approved incorporation papers for "The Virginia Equine Welfare Society" (VEWS ) and authorized them to do business in the State of Virginia. This Society was organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, more specifically to rescue abused, neglected and abandoned horses.
 Kathy and I are excited to be among the founders of this dedicated group of equine lovers and professionals and we look forward to getting our first rescue(s). Our leased barn is open, staffed with volunteers and ready for business. Over this weekend it was stocked with grain, tack, accessories and 100 bales of donated hay. Watch our blog for upcoming news about our progress. The new website is under construction and should be ready soon. Lots of fun new things will be happening quickly from this point on.

USERL-VARD in Turmoil

It is with a very sad heart that we have resigned from the USERL!
The Richmond Chapter (VARD)  grew under the leadership of it's former Regional Director, Susan White, to be the biggest and best Region in the entire League. The inception of the training barns was a step forward and towards readying the rehabilitated horses for adoption. It allowed for all the adoptable horses to be seen in one place by potential adopters. The recent increase in adoptions has proved this to be a fact.  Had they been managed correctly they would have generated the much needed income to allow future expansion and help perpetuate the care of other horses in need, which is the main mission of the group. Horses left to languish in Foster care are a drain on the financial resources of the League and in some cases have been returned to the league in worst shape than when they went into the Foster Program. The financial mismanagement of one of these training barns has caused the current upheaval within the group. After an  investigation by the Board Members of USERL it was determined that "no such mismanagement" had occurred??? A determination that cannot or will not be explained or justified to the group siting their "Whistle Blower Policy".  Unfortunately a determination with which not everyone in the Region was in agreement. It has cost VARD the lost of several devoted volunteers including the Regional Director and Board Member, the Assistant Regional Director, Webmaster and Fund Raising Coordinator, a Rehab Barn Manager, an Assistant Rehab Barn Manager, a Training Barn Manager, several Cruelty Investigators and many others, that have given untold hours and monies to the cause of helping horses in need through the USERL-VARD. The Board is in the process of reorganizing VARD and appointing it's new leadership. We wish them well in their future efforts. We, in the meantime, will look for other organizations that need volunteers. There are 39 other Horse Rescue Organizations in the State of Virginia.

Hershey's Kisses Has Arrived

Kisses was born yesterday at  Quarterfield Stables! When Kathy and Karen arrived for barn duty yesterday morning they were surprised to find the new Filly all cleaned up and standing beside her mother in the Exercise Ring where Hershey had been turned out for the night. Hershey did a wonderful job, completely unassisted, during labor and delivery. Mother and Baby are doing well and have caused much excitement for our group of volunteers. The pictures are now pouring in. In the ones below we are moving Hershey and the Filly Kisses from the Exercise Ring, where she was born. to their Stall. Kisses is approximately 6 hours old in these pictures.

Stori's video

In the post below is a video made by one of the volunteers about the plight of Stori and her Mother. There are approximately 32 horses on this property eleven of which were judged to be in immenent danger from neglect and starvation by a licensed Vet., including Stori and her Mother. Stori's Mother had to put down only two days after surrender because she was down and couldn't get back up even with assistance.
Law enforcement officials in this county have done little to nothing to help in our efforts to help these horses. It has been one delay after another... another opinion...another test result...another couple of days. 
A full necropsy was done on Stori's Mother at a College of Veterinary Medicine by a PHD DVM and the results are summarized as: depleted fat stores and serious atrophy of fat that is a result of  long-term inadequate nutrition...the stomach was small and tightly contracted...gastric ulcers...poor dental care and poor hoof care. What will it take for Sheriff Dan to enforce the law...maybe he will be more agreeable after the election??
Neighbors have pictures of buzzards feeding on the carcasses of dead foals in the fields. Therefore, I am calling this county Buzzard County, Virginia.

VOTE AGAINST SHERIFF DAN of BUZZARD COUNTY!!!!!

Prominent SW Virginia Family Foils Rescue Attempt

On July 25th volunteers went to a county in South Western Virginia in an attempt to rescue horses that had been reported to them as starving to death. Confirmation was obtained by a large animal vet that 11 horses on the property should be seized and were in imminent danger. The County Sheriff and Commonwealth Attorney were uncertain as to what to do!!?? Virginia Animal Cruelty Law is pretty clear as to their responsibilities but neither could or wanted to do the duty they took an oath to do.
After waiting at the Sheriff's office for over 6 hours the group of volunteers was taken to the property by a Deputy to seize the horses. Upon arrival the Deputy was advised by the perpetrator that he would shoot anybody that trespassed on his property. Deputy calls the Sheriff... Sheriff comes out to the scene and tells everybody that "he is sorry but the owner has ordered us off his property and that we had to leave". Did I mention that #1 we were on a county road and #2 we asked the County to prepare a search and seizure warrant days before we arrived and #3 both the Sheriff and the Commonwealth Attorney a currently running for re-election??? WOW
The perpetrator did allow that we could take one mare that was in horrendous shape and finally allowed that her 2 month old foal could go too. These two were transported in a rehab barn in N.C. as it was decided that they were too weak to make the 5 hour trip back to the Richmond Region. The Bad news is that yesterday, only two days after being seized, the mare layed down and DIED...damn that family... remember there are now 9 more horses still out there on that property that will suffer the same fate if something is not done.
Eleven volunteers drove an average of 400 miles each, pulling 4 horse trailers, spent nearly $800 in gas total and spent 18 hours each only to have to leave these 9 horses behind to continue their suffering and starvation...What a terrible screwed up mess. I'll post the mare's picture latter

Volunteers in Tidewater rescue Donkeys

Volunteers in the Tidewater area rescued two donkeys after their elderly owner past away. A video from News Channel 3 in Norfolk, Virginia has more details.

http://www.wtkr.com/videobeta/?watchId=5c64a424-981d-496f-ab26-c6bffe74ede4/video=YHI&t=a 

Couple get jail time for animal abuse

King and Queen County, Virginia
Last week Mr. and Mrs. Amos plead quilty after testimony was heard in their case on 10 counts of animal abuse. They were sentenced to 10 years in jail each. All but 6 months were suspended and they will be on probation for 5 years. This case started in 2010 when 33 horses were seized by the county and turned over  for rehabilitation. Our thanks go out to the dedicated volunteers  who were involved in this rescue and rehabilitation and saw this case through to the end.

1st Annual Casino Night Fundraiser

Our 1st Annual Casino Night Fundraiser held last week was a big success! Thanks to all of the volunteers that help organize and set up the event. It was a fun night for all concerned and the food was great. It was held at the Richmond Country Club and attendence was over 100 people. This was by far the largest fund raising event that the league has sponsored and we are very happy with the outcome. Several thousand dollars was raised for the benefit of the horses in our care. Watch for information about next year's event which will be even bigger and better.
One of our  volunteers has posted over 200 pictures of the event on her web site. The pictures may be ordered from the site if you should be interested in doing so.  Click the link to see the pictures.
www.printroom.com/pro/shuttervision

Joey's Story

A while back Powhatan Animal Control Officers were called out to investigate a carcass of a dead horse laying in a field only to discover that while the horse was emaciated and near death he was actually still alive. Representatives from the rescue were contacted and took the horse into their rehabilitation program and nursed him back to health. Latter they learned that Joey was, in his previous life, a champion in the show ring with many ribbons and awards. Joey is now back to full weight and health except he is blind in one eye and has severe cataracts in the other eye rendering him totally blind. He will be evaluated in the near future as a canidate for cataract surgery and we all wish him well. He is currently being fostered by one of the rescue volunteers. Thank you to everyone who has participated in his recovery.

                             

  Joey is amazing                                   

                              A little love for Joey

                              You go girl!

News Release-Hanover County Virginia- Karyn Hale Case

Richmond, VA, October 6, 2010 -  A Hanover County woman, Karyn Hale, was convicted  yesterday on eleven counts of animal cruelty in Hanover County District Court after appealing her original conviction in General District Court on May 17, 2010.

Ten horses were seized on January 12, 2010 by Hanover County Animal Control, assisted by the United States Equine Rescue League, after it was dicovered in a follow up visit by authorities that Hale had failed to follow care and feeding recommendations by a local veterinarian. Hale was sentenced to 180 days in jail for each count with 170 days suspended for a total of 110 days in jail and 2 years probation.

Vews, a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization, was created in to educate the public about proper care of their equines and to rehabilitate and eventually find approved permanent homes for neglected and abused horses and other equines