FOR THE LOVE OF HORSES
RE-HOMING RESCUES
We speak to Byron local Jasmine about her love of horses and re-homing these special creatures with huge hearts and grounding nature.
Rescue & Rehabilitation
How long have you been rescuing horses?
Simon and I started rescuing horses when we moved in together 6 years ago.
How many horses do you have currently? Can you tell us a little bit about them ?
We currently have four lifelong horses who are having a holiday with Simon’s family in the Riverina as we are travelling currently. We re-homed all our rescue horses before we left.
We have Lola, a 6-year-old Clydesdale cross breed, who was originally bred for rodeo bucking stock. She came from a deceased estate in Tamworth.
Moondance is a 25-year-old Thoroughbred (ex-racehorse).
Noel, 3, is our baby, she’s a purebred Quarter horse and a working bred horse. She is so friendly, if she could sit in your lap.
Portia, a 12-year-old thoroughbred who was considered too slow to race and finished her career at 2.
Do the horses get re-homed?
Re-homing is a vital part of rescuing (even though I wish I could keep them all). With every horse that comes into our care our goal is to find them their perfect forever family. We are very fussy about where and who they go to. We keep in touch with the new homes all our horses have gone to. We also make new owners sign a “life lease” so if the horses ever to retire due to old age or need to be re homed, we can take them back and they can live out their days with us.
What are the most common reasons horses come to you?
Neglect is a big reason, and inexperience. When someone runs out of the knowledge to sort a small behavioural issue, it can get worse quickly. This can lead to people ignoring the problem and putting the horse out of sight and out of mind. Simon is a great horse trainer with a very gentle approach to sort out any issue. I concentrate on just giving them so much love and time, regaining their trust by doing exercises like going for walks together. Spending time together really helps their confidence and makes it easier for Simon to begin his training. Other roles include proper dietary requirements and medical needs. A lot of our rescue horses have come to us extremely malnourished, so proper diet is imperative. We have seen incredible transformations with both behavioural and physical health.
Why is animal adoption important to consider?
The number of horses being sold at auction to abattoirs across Australia each year is unknown but can range from 30 -45,000. Out of these numbers, up to 50% are ex racehorses (Thoroughbreds & Standardbreds) and the remaining 50% are a range of other horses and ponies including 10% being brumbies straight out of the wild.Approximately 60% of all these horses are under the age of 8. Horses generally live to be around 25 years of age so anything under 8 is extremely young. Some of my best horses have been rescues straight from the auctions.
Tell us what you love about horses and their personalities?
You must earn the respect of a horse, they don’t care what you look like, how clever you are or how important your job is.Horses live in the moment. When you’re around them they have a magical tendency to keep you present and grounded. They have so much “try” and so much heart. Horses want to please you even if it scares them. They are so sensitive, kind and are the best listeners. I love watching them move, it doesn’t seem to matter what horse, what breed – gallop, canter, trot, or walk, their movement is poetry in motion. There’s also no better feeling than when you’re having a bad day and your horse pokes his nose out to nuzzle you or snuggles in for a hug. they just know.
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We had the absolute please of shooting our Resort ’22 campaign ‘Calypso’ at Jasmines property in the Byron Bay Hinterland. Her beautiful horses are featured throughout.
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