Unlike most pet dogs and cats, it’s not that unusual for horses to move through a few homes in their lifetimes. These moves often occur when they’re transitioning from one job to the next—for example, retiring racehorses are often rehomed into new, non-racing homes. Other times, a change to an owner’s circumstances can require them to rehome their horses. When that happens to a family who has dogs or cats, they can turn to their local animal shelter to safely relinquish their beloved pets for professional re-homing. Unfortunately, there are currently very few places in the country where horses can receive the same “open-admission” type of services.

We’re committed to change that.

The ASPCA is working to better support America’s horses through our Regional Support Center, which launched in Oklahoma in 2019. The  program provides fully subsidized services to horse owners in need in the Oklahoma City area. In collaboration with a local veterinary clinic and several re-homing partners, the open-admission Center provides a safe place for horse owners to relinquish horses for adoption into new homes and offers access to basic veterinary services and humane euthanasia for suffering horses, mules and donkeys.

Throughout 2020, the ASPCA Regional Support Center in Oklahoma City provided support for horse owners facing the medical and/or economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. We’re proud to share that the Center recently reached a milestone of over 200 horses helped.

• 100+ horses have received free veterinary care, enabling many of them to stay in their homes.
• 60+ relinquished horses have been successfully re-homed.
• Approximately 20 horses are currently looking for adoptive homes. Here’s one of them!

The ASPCA Regional Support Center will have an impact far beyond Oklahoma: one of its purposes is to collect and share critical learnings that will help other groups create open-admission opportunities for their community’s horses. This has already begun to happen; Humane Society of North Texas, for instance, recently launched a second Regional Support Center to serve and support the horse-dense populations in North Texas.

Horse owners in the Oklahoma City area who’d like to learn more about the services offered by thee ASPCA Regional Support Center should visit this webpage for more information.

If you’re interested in exploring the exciting world of equine adoption and adopting a horse from the ASPCA Regional Support Center, visit myrighthorse.org to find your #RightHorse.