February 25, 2009
Contact: Laurie Lane
President of ReRun
732-521-1270
RERUN AND FRIENDS BRAND HORSES
ReRun, the Thoroughbred adoption program headquartered in New Jersey, announced today that it will be freeze branding its horses to protect them from getting into the wrong hands. Joining ReRun in this initiative is Kentucky Equine Humane Center (KyEHC) and Mylestone Equine Rescue, in New Jersey.
Laurie Lane, President of ReRun, says that each organization will have its own initials inside a universal brand design to identify where the horse originated from. “We hope that this relatively blatant form of identification will prevent any of our adopted horses from ending up in the auction ring or slaughter house. The brand should deter kill-buyers and other undesirable individuals from purchasing them.”
Lori Neagle, Executive Director of KyEHC, says each organization will submit their brand information to their respective state agricultural departments who, in turn, will notify all local humane officers of the brand and the group associated with it. “We’ll also disseminate pictures of our brands to other horse rescue groups, animal control agencies, and individuals so they’ll know what the brand means if they see it on the hind-end of a horse in the auction ring,” states Neagle.
“Branding is one of the last tools we have for ensuring the well-being of our horses once they leave our property,” says Susankelly Thompson, President & Founder of Mylestone. “It may not be the optimal solution to the problem, but we believe it will be effective. If someone sees our brand on a horse at auction, they’ll know the horse originated from Mylestone and isn’t supposed to be there. They’ll call us and we’ll retrieve the horse.”
“The poor economy places our horses at very high risk of ending up in a bad situation,” states Lane. “This has forced us to brand our horses in a last ditch effort to protect their future.”
For more information on these organizations, visit www.rerun.org, www.kyehc.org, and www.mylestone.org.
Source: Press Release
Tuesday's Horse 