The Cost of Rescue

The Cost of Rescue

At Serenity we firmly believe in honesty and integrity.We have been blessed with some very kind donors, and want to share with all our sponsors a list of how your donations are used in 3 simple steps:

1. Cost Matrix - a list of basic expenses for rescue horses, broken down by category. Items not included are listed below chart in teal.

2. Statistics- how many horses have we saved and where are they now?

3. Montly Cost Example- a glance at what it costs us per month (using June 2008 as a sample)

1. COST MATRIX:

How much does it cost to rescue a horse? As you know, costs for any living creature can vary, because one never knows when an emergency vet call will be needed, but we believe in being as open as we can so we worked to put together an approximate estimate of what it costs us to bring in a rescue, treat him medically and then care for him monthly as he heals and waits for a home.

Our donors are confident that the support they give SERR is used only for ther escues. You will see below that our low estimate* maps out to about $4,471 per horse for the first year, which is $372.58 per month per horse.

*Not included above:

emergency vet calls
prescriptions for horses
euthanization and removal of animals who must be put down
ongoing barn medical supplies
gas to pick up and deliver rescues
winter blankets for horses
weight gain aid for dangerously thin horses
miscellaneous barn setup costs
'adoption' or purchase fees to get horse out of current situation (or purchase from feedlot, auction, etc)

which all add to the cost of caring for our rescues.

We are sure that experienced horse owners can think of even more expenses that we have not inlcuded, but we are not looking to pad these numbers. Input/feedback or questions about these costs can be sent to costs@cowgirlyranch.com.

Another healthy, happy horse heads to his forever home...

2. STATISTICS

38 HORSES TOTAL HAVE BEEN RESCUED BY SERR

To see where they are now click here.

2 former owners (of our rescued horses) have been charged with Cruelty to Animals, a 3rd former owner is in process. We are proud that we not only offer new homes, but work hard with Animal Control to help provide the evidence they need to seek justice for these sweet animals.

3. MONTHLY COST EXAMPLE:

June 2008- there are 10 rescue horses at our farm.

At a monthly cost of approximately $372 per horse you can see that our costs for this month only is about $3,720.

Our fundraising efforts have not raised $3,500 per month yet, so our donors know that every cent of our donated money goes to the rescues. In addition, another 25 horses have come and gone from SERR so many expenses have already been incurred.

If we raise more money than it costs us to support the rescue, the surplus money would remain safely in SERR's savings for future use by the rescue.

As always, we thank our generous sponsors and donors and will continue to openly share how we manage our funds as well as our rescue statistics.

Note: other horses on the farm are privately owned and are not included in our costs or statistics. Horses adopted but now boarding are not inlcuded because the adopter assumes all costs once adoption is complete, even if the horse stays on site. We invite you to visit ~ please call so we can be sure someone is there (otherwise our facility is secured) by calling us at (425) 432-9697.

Your Donations at Work

Sonny (formerly Lakota) could not be handled and was caked in his own feces and mud and was full of parasites when we rescued him. His former owner was charged with Animal Cruelty.

Today, just over a year later, Sonny trains to do shows and pony club- look at him now!