Community Partner: Save the Horses

A Rescue Sanctuary in North Georgia

Cheryl Flanagan was composing an email, explaining to someone that she had no room to take their horse because her rescue, Save the Horses, which was already home to 130 rescued animals, was full. However, she could use her extensive network to find a home for the horse. Before she hit the send button, she answered a knock at the door, and that changed everything.

The people at the door told her about a small, frail horse that appeared in a pasture that they leased. He was malnourished, dehydrated, and too weak to walk to the nearby creek to drink water. They tried to feed him, but the grain got stuck in his mouth because there was not enough moisture in his saliva to move the feed down his throat. They literally had to put their hands in his mouth to remove the grain. They insisted that Cheryl help him immediately, or they feared that he would die. Hearing this made Cheryl want to cry. It made her say, Yes! This began the rescue and rehabilitation journey of Bugg. This is a typical day for Cheryl Flanagan, founder of a horse rescue sanctuary based in Cumming, GA called Save the Horses. Since 1998, Save the Horses has been rescuing horses from dire situations. Many have been abused and neglected. Others are from families that have lost their jobs or fallen on hard times, and they can no longer afford to keep their horse. And still other horses are saved in the nick of time, sometimes pulled from trucks bound for slaughterhouses.

Currently, the rescue is home to 100 horses (including ten horses with dwarfism); some live on one of Save the Horses two properties in Cumming, and others reside in a network of foster locations. There are about thirty other animals that have all been rescued and call the farm home as well. They include Rosie the cow and a menagerie of pigs, goats, sheep, turkeys, chickens and ducks.

Like Bugg, all the animals at Save the Horses get a second chance at life. Cheryl has dedicated her life to rescuing of animals and educating the public about the dangers of animal cruelty.

SaveTheHorses.org is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) with no employees. A large, dedicated team of volunteers provide the attention, love and medical care needed to enable these horses to trust humans again. The successful ones get adopted into loving homes. Others will live out the rest of their lives at the farm.

It costs $10,000 a month to run the rescue, and Save the Horses does not receive any state or local funds. They rely on donations, adoption fees, and fundraisers to feed and provide medical care for their residents.

For more information about volunteering or learning how you can help the rescue, please visit SaveTheHorses.org.

As for Bugg, a Save the Horses volunteer fell in love with him and adopted him. Hes now healthy and happy in his new home.