FAQ, or... everything you ever wanted to know about Morgan rescue but were afraid to ask ! Check our our fostering page for details about what it takes.

Who is ForeverMorgans?

ForeverMorgans is an organization working to save both registered and grade Morgans from dangerous, and potentially dangerous, situations. Registered Morgans are our priority, with grade Morgans next. ForeverMorgans has a Board of Directors and is applying for non-profit status. There are TWO group lists associated with ForeverMorgans - the "main" list, ForeverMorgans at yahoogroups dot com, where the actual business of rescung horses takes place, and the secondary list, ForeverMorgans Two at yahoogroups dot com, where we look for potential homes and discuss other horse-related issues.

What kinds of horses does ForeverMorgans rescue?

All kinds. Seriously. We have rescued everything from unborn foals to experienced show horses with ribbons to prove their successes. We rescue driving horses, riding horses, untrained horses. We have horses with problems and horses sweet as sugar from the day we meet them. We rescue horses that make great "husband" horses and horses that have enough fire & spirit for the most adventurous rider. The one generalization we can make about the horses we rescue is that we often don't know much about them - and they've often been through heck & back before we get them. Anyone considering adopting from a rescue should be prepared to work to regain a horse's trust, give them tune-ups in their training and time to settle in, and to do their own in-depth evaluation after a horse has been settled for a while. ForeverMorgans does our best to evaluate each horse before he or she enters our network. We always publicize what we KNOW. Any known health or soundness issues, & any noted behavioral issues are released. It is our number one goal to make sure horses are a good match for their forever homes. Sometimes issues surface that we didn't know about, and sometimes issues are created in the journey between broker & adoptive family. Any potential adopters need to be aware of these possibilities. But for those willing to take the chance, knowing extra love & care may be required, they can end up with the best friend they've always dreamed of & the satisfaction of knowing they really did help to save a life.

How do we find the horses ?

There are many ways that horses come to our attention. The most common way is through our long-standing friendship and association with the good folks at Another Chance for Horses (AC4H). We are notified by AC4H whenever they find a Morgan in either the broker's "to auction" or "direct to slaughter (DTS)" pens. AC4H has working relationships with several brokers near the New Holland auction in Pennsylvania. New Holland attracts the majority of the kill buyers for Canadian slaughter houses. We also rely on our members to bring to our notice horses anywhere in the country who are in potentially serious sitautions. And lastly, we are also contacted by non-members who either themselves have horses with whom they need help placing, or who know of horses needing placement.

What happens once we know a horse needs help? ?

Firest and foremost, a home must be found! ForeverMorgans does not, at this time, have our own facility for the care & boarding of the horses we rescue. We rely heavily on the good folks who volunteer to take horses into their own barns, at their own expense, until we can find a forever home suitable for permanent adoption. If a forever home is found right away, so much the better! Once we have a home, the Board then decides on the viability of raising funds. Sadly, not every horse can be rescued. Sometimes the current owners are unrealistic about the horse's value, sometimes the horse is too dangerous or too sick to travel. Thankfully we've had very few of those.

Once the horse enters our system, the entire group is asked to fundraise for his or her future. This is done by making donations to PayPal through our ForeverMorgans at hotmail dot com address. Snail mail can also be used to send donations but does take longer - and sometimes we have very little time to save a horse.

When we know we are fundraising for a specific horse, the broker or owner is notified that we are doing so. Most brokers, but not ALL, will hold a horse over longer if they know that ForeverMorgnas is trying to raise their "bail". Some, sadly, will not. Because of this, we often have a very short period of time to raise money - often only from 3 to 5 days.

What happens once the funds have been raised?

While fundraising is going on, the Board & specific committees are setting up vet checks, quarantine, & any temporary needs such as boarding or transportation. Once we have the complete amount of "bail", a check is sent to the owner/ broker and the horse is moved into our system. EVERY horse from a broker or auction needs to be quarantined for a minimum of 2 weeks. They pick up nasty stuff at those places! Preferably, even horses from unknown private situations should also be quarantined. After QT is complete, transportation is arranged for the horse to travel to his or her new forever home or assigned foster home.

What happens when a horse goes to foster, and what are fosters required to do?

Horses that go to foster first remain in our system while we try to find the perfect forever home for them. This part really requires the help of all our members. We do not want any of our horses to end up in a situation that could put them back in harm's way in the future. It is also why we retain part ownership of the horses, forever - so that we have a say in what happens to them. Foster "parents" take care of boarding & feeding, and lavish love & attention on these horses, arrange farrier & vet work, and sometimes spend time "tuning up" or training a horse. At this time ForeverMorgans does not have a big enough "foster fund" to help pay all the costs associated with foster care. In special cases we do fundraise for the extra needs that go above & beyond what a foster home should be expected to pay by itself. If you are interested in fostering, please fill out the application to adopt (we're working on a different application jut for foster homes!).

What happens if I want to adopt a horse?

Potential families fill out the application for adoption on our website. The application requires references. The Board and Committees follow up on all references. If everything comes back satisfactorily, and the Board feels that you can provide a good home for that particular horse, you will be notified of your approval. At that point you will be contacted to arrange transport & delivery. We encourage anyone who MIGHT want to adopt in the future, to fill out the application right away for pre-approval. That way, when you fall in love with a horse, you will be first in line!

What if several people want to adopt the same horse?

That is such a wonderful problem to have! If several folks want to adopt, we first look at those who have active applications with ForeverMorgans (so if you are interested in potentially adopting in the future, please fill our your application NOW!). Next we consider the horse & the horse's needs - & which potential family seems best suited to meet those needs. Sometimes this is diffucult with broker/ auction horses because frequently, very little is known about them. We rely heavily in these cases on evaluations from AC4H and from ForeverMorgans volunteers. After a family is approved and awarded a horse, we arrange transport details with them. We try to notify those who were not selected in a timely manner. However, please understand that we are all volunteers with full-time jobs & families!

What are Forever homes required to pay?

This is a great question & one that has many answers! Our first & foremost concern is placing the horse in the very best forever situation. We do ask all of our potential forever homes to donate something to the cause. Some can donate the entire bail & transport, some just the bail or the transport, and some just a portion of one or the other. The Board decides which is appropriate. Occasionally an excellent home comes up in which the adopting family has no available funds immediately. This does not automatically eliminate a home from our consideration. The reason we fundraise is so that we can send our horses to the BEST place for them without cost as the primary concern! Of course, as a small rescue, whatever donations can be made are absolutely fundamental to our ability to continue our work.

Why do we fundraise when we don't have a horse waiting to be rescued?

We lost a horse once. Her name was Ribbons. Someone had loved this horse & tied beautiful ribbons in her long mane, in the hopes of making her beauty apparent to someone at the auction. It didn't help. She was in a direct-to-slaughter pen - she never even saw the inside of the auction. ForeverMorgans was in our infancy & we tried hard to raise the money to bail this sweet mare. At the last minute, we raised enough... but the broker needed to fill his quota for the slaughterhouse & had already loaded her onto the truck. He wouldn't pull her off for us. The memory of that sweet mare as she left on that truck haunts all of us - we shed many tears over her loss. We don't ever want to miss out on another Morgan for lack of a few dollars or a few hours. To that end, we are constantly trying to fundraise & accumulate a "cushion" for just such scenarios. The members of ForeverMorgans are AWESOME and GENEROUS. They donate month after month after month. But sometimes we can't come up with the money fast enough - and thus we fundraise all the time, now. Once we have our non-profit status approved, we will be more than glad to accept automated monthly contributions.

What can I do to help?

There are many ways to help ForeverMorgans. Donations are always needed - any time, any amount! We have rescued horses where the biggest donation from any one member was just $10. A little bit from a lot of people = enough for rescue! We also need volunteers to work with our committees for fundraising, publicizing, making transport arrangements, etc. And foster homes are ALWAYS needed. We need folks just to help get the word out about ForeverMorgans and the work we do. We need members to help us find excellent Forever homes. If you want to help and aren't sure what you could do - ask on ForeverMorgans Two & we'll match you up with a job!

Our Mission Statement:

ForeverMorgans is an organization of volunteers whose purpose is to be a resource for Morgans in need, whether they are surrendered, rescued from shelters, auctions, kill buyers, or simply removed from potentially dangerous situations. ForeverMorgans wishes to open our virtual barn doors to all Morgans in need of safe and loving homes. We focus on registered Morgans but will consider unregistered Morgans on a case-by-case basis.

ForeverMorgans is eternally grateful to Katie Rall Jump, who many years ago realized there was a need to rescue Morgans. From the seed of her idea, this organization was born.