Untacked

98 JA N UA R Y/ F E B R UA R Y 2 018 U N TAC K E D A Closer Look At: Helping Equines Regain Dignity e web-savvy rescue cultivates a network of dedicated volunteers and experts to save horses in need. B y K I ER A N PAU L S EN CHARITY SPOTLIGHT A ny horse person on Facebook is familiar with the multitude of equine rescue groups that use the social media platform. But few do so as masterfully as Helping Equines Regain Dignity, or HERD, which has rescued almost 200 horses in its first year of operation. e secret to HERD's success? A passionate founder, a board of experts, and an expansive network of dedicated people willing to do whatever it takes to save horses in need. Heather Freeman, 59, started HERD by rescuing a single horse. One of her farm employees spotted a pinto gelding at a livestock auction, and when the horse fell into the hands of a kill buyer, Free- man stepped in to save him. She and her husband, Scott Homstead, bought the horse, brought him back to their small farm in Campobello, S.C., and named him Superman. "I was beyond horrified at the condi- tions these horses [at the auction] were in," Freeman said. "ey were standing ankle deep in mud. ey had one round bale and one filthy water trough for 30 horses. After I saw that, we went and got another one, and another and another. I couldn't bring them all to my farm, so I got my neighbors to jump in and help and house some of them. en it just spread further and further." Freeman, who heads her own media and public relations firm, made HERD an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit in November 2016, but she had been saving horses on her own time since April of that year. What began as Freeman calling in favors from friends and neighbors has transformed into a community with national reach. "All our adoptions were in Tryon [North Carolina] when we first started," Freeman said. "But we've expanded a lot, and as we've grown our audience has grown. Adoptions happen closer to where we find horses in need, which has been great because trying to bring them all here can be really com- plicated and expensive. Sometimes we have horses who never even come here; they go straight from being saved to being adopted." e rescue to adoption pipeline is a key component of HERD's structure. Freeman said the organization is not a sanctuary because they don't have the resources to take on several horses long- term. Instead the organization focuses on saving horses with the best potential of being rehomed, preferably as a work- ing or riding companion, and utilizes a vast network of fosters, trainers, vol- unteers and donors to do so. Horses are posted on HERD's Facebook group with details and a "bail" amount. Donors can contribute to the bail through PayPal, and if enough money is raised in time the horse goes to one of HERD's affili- ate farms for quarantine, rehabilitation, training and adoption. "We run it like a business," Freeman said. "A lot of our people have their own businesses or have worked in business. We have a realtor who helps find homes and fosters for horses because she knows people who just bought property. We've Ginger came to HERD as an untouchable 2-year-old, and now she enjoys a loving home in Florida. BRITTANY WOODALL PHOTO

• Cover