Happy Endings Rescue - Kent

scheherazade

scheherazade

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23 June 2005
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816
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Kent
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Hi All, I am in a position where I am looking for a companion horse, and was going to approach these guys as they are fairly local. However with all the recent bad publicity regarding some of the, erm, less ethical "rescue" operations I am wary of contacting them unless I know they are legit and a decent, caring outfit. Does anyone know anything about them or would I be better off approaching the blue cross or one of the bigger charities?

Any input very gratefully received, chocolate chip muffins on offer. Many thanks :D
 
Some very dodgy sounding things based on their website.
How can an animal charity have a " completely no-kill policy" or for that matter a vegan group have dogs & cats?
 
No personal experience of them but I know of friends that have, and I've heard nothing but good about them!
 
s4sugar said:
Some very dodgy sounding things based on their website.
How can an animal charity have a " completely no-kill policy" or for that matter a vegan group have dogs & cats?
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I'm not too sure - although doesn't being vegan just mean that they don't eat them?!?! I'm not entirely convinced I understand the relevance of their being vegan.

Caramac71 said:
No personal experience of them but I know of friends that have, and I've heard nothing but good about them!
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Thanks, anyone else have any experiences? PM me if you prefer...
 
s4sugar said:
Some very dodgy sounding things based on their website.
How can an animal charity have a " completely no-kill policy" or for that matter a vegan group have dogs & cats?
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There's nothing sinister about a 'no kill' policy. It simply means that they don't destroy an animal coming through their doors.

As for being a vegan group. Again, why would this be considered dodgy. It's a way of expressing their ethos towards animals.
 
They are lovely guys and try their best to help everyone! They looked after one of my ponies temporarily when having issues and I know a few people that have had horses from them. They are open daily but best to give them a call first :)
 
Looking at their report and accounts they seem legit. They have an open day soon so why not pop along and have a chat. They don't look like a dodgy rescue run by people who have lost the plot (thank goodness).
 
Perfect-Piaffe said:
They are lovely guys and try their best to help everyone! They looked after one of my ponies temporarily when having issues and I know a few people that have had horses from them. They are open daily but best to give them a call first :)
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Thank you, it's comforting to know they don't (seem to be*) completely bonkers! As I will be offering a field and not a living room!!!!
 
RebelRebel said:
Looking at their report and accounts they seem legit. They have an open day soon so why not pop along and have a chat. They don't look like a dodgy rescue run by people who have lost the plot (thank goodness).
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Thanks RR.

Also would you guys go for ridden or non ridden - if it's ridden i would really only want an occasional hack as I have far too many to work on already!!!
 
scheherazade said:
Thanks RR.

Also would you guys go for ridden or non ridden - if it's ridden i would really only want an occasional hack as I have far too many to work on already!!!
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They may specify that you should have non ridden in that case, as I would assume that they would want to fit the horse very closely to the home.
 
How does a vegan group support the release of cats to outdoor homes? Or feed them for that matter?
A completely no-kill policy prevents euthanasia of a sick animal!
 
s4sugar said:
How does a vegan group support the release of cats to outdoor homes? Or feed them for that matter?
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I would expect the animals to be fed the diet that best suited them - I didn't take it that they don't feed their cats and dogs meat, they just don't eat it, or any animal produce themselves.

A completely no-kill policy prevents euthanasia of a sick animal!
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Certainly something for the op to find out, but that's not how I interpreted it.
 
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amymay said:
They may specify that you should have non ridden in that case, as I would assume that they would want to fit the horse very closely to the home.
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Thanks AM would probably prefer that anyway, was just concerned that non-ridden = giant medical issues
 
scheherazade said:
Thanks AM would probably prefer that anyway, was just concerned that non-ridden = giant medical issues
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Not necessarily - but of course these are all the sorts of things that you need to discuss with them. Remember, not all horses are non ridden because of medical problems.

Let us know how you get on.
 
amymay said:
Certainly something for the op to find out, but that's not how I interpreted it.
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I too interpreted it at the owners themselves make a choice not to eat meat / use animal products etc but didn't think they would inflict this on other species whose digestive systems are not designed to digest non-meat products??
 
I got my dog from there, and try to go to their open days etc regularly. They are really genuine, lovely people.
Regarding the vegan thing - Dogs and cats do get fed a mixture of meat and dry food (james wellbeloved I believe).
I think the no-kill policy is open to interpretation but from speaking to them they would never let an animal suffer and if their vet advised that PTS is the most humane option then I know they would do this. Generally when a rescue says it has a no kill policy it means they would only PTS for medical reasons.

They have a lot more horses than they have on their website, so it really is worth going to have a look.
Theres an open day on 7th July.
 
samlf said:
I got my dog from there, and try to go to their open days etc regularly. They are really genuine, lovely people.
Regarding the vegan thing - Dogs and cats do get fed a mixture of meat and dry food (james wellbeloved I believe).
I think the no-kill policy is open to interpretation but from speaking to them they would never let an animal suffer and if their vet advised that PTS is the most humane option then I know they would do this. Generally when a rescue says it has a no kill policy it means they would only PTS for medical reasons.

They have a lot more horses than they have on their website, so it really is worth going to have a look.
Theres an open day on 7th July.
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Thanks Samlf, will give them a call this afternoon and if that goes well will go along to their open day
 
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