When horses fall to the abusive hand or negligence of some owners Terri Gammage and her passion for the giant animals steps up to help.
With the abundance of horses here in the Panhandle, her task isn’t small.
“We take in horses that have been neglected, abused that people for whatever reason can no longer care for them. Get them as healthy as possible then find homes for them,” said Gammage who is the founder of Safe Hayven Equine Rescue.
Back in 2003 she saw a starving horse in a pasture, that’s what she says is the start of the rescue. But that special spot for horses was ignited way before 2003.
“I got my first horse on my 12th birthday. She was a rescue. We bought her literally off the killer truck. They were out loading the horses and Mom took me out there and we bought her,” said Gammage.
This year alone she has placed 20 horses, and she wants to keep adding to that number. She doesn’t just let the horses go without making sure they will be alright with their new owners.
“We have them sign contracts,” she said.
Along with those contracts she checks the horses whenever she sees them, making sure they are being properly taken care of.
“It's very heart warming, we put a lot of time and effort into all of these animals. Some of them come to us literally on the brink of death. That you know that another two or three days then they could die of starvation. And to turn one of those around into a good well loved, useable animal it's an amazing feeling,” said Gammage.
She is also not the only person helping take care of the horses. West Texas A&M’s pre-vet students get credit at school for helping at the rescue as well as several other volunteers coming from Amarillo.
“The more volunteers we have the less work it is for everybody, there's always, always work to be done,” said Gammage.
Even with the help coming in she still needs more help and needs.
“The biggest need in the rescue that we have right now is property we have some friends that are kind enough to use their property we have some friends. We have six horses on this property and it's only one acre,” she said.
If you are interested in donating or helping out Safe Hayven, you may call Terri Gammage on her cell phone at 806-681-5161
