Valley Center, Kansas - The numbers are startling. Sedgwick County alone has seized nearly 150 animals that were starving over the last year. Many of the horses go to the rescue operation Hope In The Valley Equine Rescue and Sanctuary.
"They have to learn to trust humans again," says Hope volunteer Benjamin Campbell. "A lot of these horses have had very little human contact."
And many of them were starved when Hope volunteered to take them in and nurse them back to health.
"When we get them in... some of them just don't make it," explains Campbell. "But we feed them and care for them. We don't just feed them food. We also spend time with them so they can learn to trust humans again."
Campbell says nearly two dozen of the horses are up for adoption this Saturday at Hope In The Valley.
"We do as much hands-on as we can. Brushing and hoof care and they get to trust us again," says Campbell. "The horses we are offering for adoption are on their way to being happy again. Now they just need good homes."
And Campbell says there are even some bargains.
"We've spent time training them too," explains Campbell. "Really, some of the little ones will go for less than $200. And $500 for some of these high-quality horses is a bargain."
Campbell says the little money raised from the adoption process will help. Hope In The Valley is an all volunteer organization.
"Every little bit helps," says Campbell. "We don't scoff at a five buck donation. We just don't have a big budget here and the donations make it happen. For every dollar we get we can rescue another horse."
The horse adoption is this Saturday on Broadway in Valley Center.
Check out their website:
HTTP://WWW.HITVERAS.ORG
