Horse Welfare Organizations Website- 10 Years in the Making
Equestrian News Release

2008 marks the 10th anniversary for Horse Welfare Organizations, a website created by Diana Tuorto of Stanhope, NJ to help horse lovers and rescues find each other. Located at http://horsewelfare.8k.com, Diana started this website before moving to college in 1998.

“Since 1995, I was working with Mylestone Equine Rescue in Phillipsburg, NJ as a volunteer and sponsor,” Diana noted. “When I moved to Pittsburgh, PA for college, however, I still wanted to stay involved with horse rescue, but I wasn’t close enough to any rescue farms to help on-site. I created Horse Welfare Organizations as a way for horse lovers to locate rescues in their area, and for rescues to more easily promote themselves to the public.”

While the site now hosts hundreds of links from Europe to Alaska, it wasn’t always so impressive. “When I started the site in August 1998, it only hosted five links,” Diana stated. “Still, the site slowly began to gain notice through internet searches, and I spent a great deal of my time searching for rescues online. For the first few years, the site only hosted US rescues. Soon, I was receiving emails from Canada, the United Kingdom and even Spain, asking me to host various equine rescues, and the site took off. In 2003, it was even spotlighted in a rescue article by The Horse Magazine, and now it gets up to 500 hits daily.”

In 2003, Diana added a new feature to help individual rescues draw further attention. The Horse of the Month page is now one of Horse Welfare Organizations’ most widely-visited areas. “This page allows a rescue to spotlight one of their horses, whether it’s an adoptable animal or a permanent sanctuary horse that needs sponsors,” Diana added. “I’ve thankfully had many success stories of Horses of the Month finding homes or sponsors through this page over the past five years.”

For those interested in adoption, Diana has created a page with specific tips and guidelines on the subject. Across the top of the page, the words “ADOPTION DOES NOT MEAN FREE!” immediately grab viewers’ attention. “People need to really think before they adopt or buy a horse,” Diana said. “Vet bills and boarding can be extremely expensive. In addition, many people refuse to keep a horse when it can no longer jump three foot fences or win at shows—they forget that it’s a living creature and treat it more like a car, trading one in every few years. If you’re going to commit to providing a horse a home in the first place, it should be for life if at all possible. The majority of horses can live upwards of 25-30 years.”

Diana continued, “Adopting a horse can be the most rewarding experience of your life. Most of these horses have had hard lives and appreciate any love and attention that you give them. In addition, while maintenance costs of keeping any horse may be high, you will undoubtedly save money since most adoption fees are only a few hundred dollars. I’ve seen people spend $5,000 on a good trail horse, while others find them at a rescue facility for $500. In those cases, they can use the remaining funds for tack, board and other necessities.”

Diana recommends that people who have never owned a horse start by volunteering their time at a rescue or boarding facility. “If you’ve never owned a horse, it’s wise to volunteer at a horse rescue or other farm and gain more experience that way,” Diana added. “Taking lessons and riding are only a small fraction of what horse ownership involves. Entering into a lease beforehand is also a great way to learn more about horses’ daily care requirements, without having to immediately worry about vet bills and boarding costs.”

If you’re a horse rescue and would like to be added to Diana’s Horse Welfare Organizations website, please email her at lunar_aradia@yahoo.com. Horse lovers are encouraged to visit http://horsewelfare.8k.com when looking for a horse.