ASPEN — Roaring Fork Valley horse lovers have saved 24 mares and foals from almost certain slaughter this fall, and they are trying to rally residents to help protect hundreds more.
Kathy Raife and Heidi Alles created the nonprofit Aspen Valley Horse Rescue two weeks ago to try to buy threatened horses from ranchers in North Dakota and Alberta, Canada. Seven ranches there formerly had contracts with a pharmaceutical company to provide pregnant mare urine for a drug used to treat menopausal women.
The ranches’ contracts with the drugmaker expired, and the ranchers are essentially liquidating their operations, Raife said. They cannot feed their animals this winter, so they are offering the horses, mostly mares and foals, to auction houses.
Aspen Valley Horse Rescue wants to buy as many of the horses as possible and bring them to the Roaring Fork Valley for adoption.
The seven ranches targeted by this operation effort had a total of 435 horses. Raife said the goal is to save as many as possible, but 50 is probably a realistic goal. Other organizations from elsewhere in the country, such as Animali Farm of Santa Maria, Calif., also are involved in the rescue.
Read more about Aspen Valley Horse Rescue .
