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I have a horse I can no longer care for. How can I donate him/her?

Please note: we are a small facility, currently with a maximum capacity of 20 horses. We receive far more contacts to donate horses than we are able to take. However, if we are unable to bring him/her into CWER, we do our best to help the owner find a home directly. We help several dozen horses a year in this manner. Please provide the information requested below, and we will respond promptly regarding whether we are able to bring her here or are offering to help you find another option for her.

Please open an email, copy the information below into the body of the email, answer as many of the questions as you are able, then send the email to us at info (@) cwer.org (remove the spaces and brackets or simply click the link)
  1.  Your name, and email address
  2. Where is the horse located?
  3. Are you able to trailer him/her, and if so about how far (ie 50 miles? 3 hours?)
  4. What is the horse's name?
  5. how old is s/he?
  6. Please provide details about why you are unable to care for the horse, especially if it is related to the horse's health or age.
  7. How rapidly does she have to be moved and why? how much time can you give to find her a new home?
  8. do you know his breeding? what breed is he? do you know anything about his bloodlines? (ie grandson of Impressive or 3 doses of Native Dancer, or "I was told he's a registered quarter horse but I don't have his papers and don't know anything more." Sometimes knowing a horse's bloodlines can really help in finding someone willing to take in a horse in trouble -- perhaps he's the 1/2 brother of a horse they loved as a child, or have always wanted to own, etc.)
  9. is she registered? do you have her papers? do you know her registered name? 
  10. what is his height? approximate weight? color and markings? 
  11. is she obese? at a good weight but out of shape? in great physical shape? mildly underweight? badly malnourished?
  12. what does she eat daily?
  13. what illnesses or ailments has the horse had that you know of? any injuries?
  14. what do you know of his/her past career? was he a racehorse? a show jumper? a broodmare? a barrel racer? a trail horse? etc. Please provide any details you can.
  15. How is she around dogs? children? other horses? traffic?
  16. Is s/he currently able to be ridden? trained to ride? to drive?
  17. Would you trust this horse to be lead and cared for by a small child? ridden by a small child without someone leading it? If not, explain.
  18. Please include at least one good photo of the horse, LOW RESOLUTION no larger than 100Kb please.
  19. What else would you want someone to know about the horse?
We will review this information promptly upon receiving it, and will get in touch. If we are able to bring the horse into CWER, we will let you know and will work with you to arrange that. If we are not able to bring him/her here, then, with your permission, we will post the information provided in your email to a variety of rescue-related horse lists, and have potential new homes or rescues contact YOU directly. We are not filtering these emails or verifying these possible homes. You will need to do so and select what you feel is the best match for your horse.

In the mean time, you may also want to consider posting your horse yourself in several areas on the web, including:
  1. donatemyhorse.com
  2. thehorse.com -- there's a listing page just for free horses
  3. chronofhorse.com -- go to their discussion forums, and there is a forum just for free horses
  4. horse for sale boards like illinoishorse.com's classifieds usually have free ads available specifically for free horses
Please be sure to research whomever you give your horse, for his/her safety. CWER is pleased to provide references of former owners who remain active with our facility upon your request. Any rescue should be hpapy to do the same.