Most people know about the Central New York S-P-C-A and its efforts to take care of dogs and cats…but they also take in other animals that get neglected or mistreated. One special example involved a Cazenovia horse farm. There's also a fundraiser next month to bring more attention to large animal rescue.
Marion Secor owns SkandaEquine in Cazenovia. She never intended to take in mistreated animals…but knows a thing or two about them.
“So when you take in animals that have been neglected, you don’t know if they’re healthy. And you can’t expose them to other horses. So because we have this barn that was open the SPCA reached out to us and asked for help. We took in 14 horses.”
So she got quite the baptism back in 2013 when malnourished and injured wild horses from the Onondaga Nation needed care. There were stallions and mares, some pregnant, all skittish…which Secor found out first hand when helping care for one.
“I knew I was in a kick zone of another horse and I got to see two beautiful hooves coming at me. I flew 5 feet in the air and rolled to the other side of the barn. It wasn’t that they were vicious, they were just scared.”
Those horses, plus a few foals born to them are healthy and well-adjusted now, and set for adoption.
“They’re ready for their partner. They’re ready for the permanent person who connects to them and takes them to the next step, that we don’t have the funding to do. And even if they’re just a buddy, or it can be somebody who takes them into training so they can ride them or drive them. So it’s beautiful to watch, as spring emerges, their emergence.”
Secor and Skanda Farms is helping with a 5-k walk and run, called the "Little Moe 5-K Walk Run. All proceeds will benefit the CNYSPCA. Secor also hopes the event raises awareness.
“(The SPCA) is not just dogs and cats. They’re needs to be an awareness that when large animals are in trouble, it becomes an issue: who can take them in? Who can support them?”
Information about the June 28th event is at CNYSPCA.org. More on horse adoption or sponsoring a rescue animal is at SkandaEquine.com.
SKANDA FARM OFFERING PROGRAMMING FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN
Marion Secor says the lessons learned caring for the rescue horses gave her insight into other programs that might be offered on the Skanda Farm.
Secor says a program called Equidansewill allow mature women to spend some time with the horses, but also discovering their paths after caring for children and after retirement. She says being around the horses can have a calming effect. The Equidanse program begins June 10th.
They’re also developing a children’s camp to have youth gain life lessons and personal growth by being around and caring for horses.
