Erin Brown's first horse was a thoroughbred rescued directly from a racetrack. About 10 years ago, her second Lola was adopted from Washington state and was waiting to be auctioned off for slaughter. Her Lola's plight opened Brown's eyes to the reality that thousands of horses face the same fate every year.
“She was kind of the catalyst for us to fall into the horse hole. We were pretty devastated to hear what was really happening to horses across America and around the world. '' she said.
That need led Brown, a longtime Park City resident, to launch Rescue Ranchito in 2023. This is a sanctuary for horses and other equine animals that have been abandoned or deemed unworthy due to age, illness, injury, or other concerns.
“In most cases, the horse, mule or donkey is no longer useful to humans, so they are considered worthless to humans and sent to auction,” she says.
She said the three-acre preserve at Weaver Canyon Road and Oakley is currently home to four horses and one small mule. Additionally, she has three horses living on donated pasture in Heber City.
The last slaughterhouse in the United States closed in 2007, Brown said. But horses are still shipped across the U.S. border to Canada and Mexico, where they are slaughtered for use in products such as glue, paintbrushes and cosmetics. Humans consume it as meat or jelly.
About 17,000 horses were trucked out of the United States for this purpose in 2022, Brown said. That's where all of Rescue Ranchitos' animal residents' brown steppes were taken from auction, and some will remain in the sanctuary for the rest of their lives. But Brown and his trainer, Lizzie Lynch, try to rehome the horses whenever possible, either as gentle mounts for children or as pasture companions for other animals.
Rescue Ranchito operates entirely on donations, Brown said, and there are multiple ways to donate. These include volunteer work and monthly sponsorships that pay for the cost of caring for the animals this summer. Brown plans to host fundraising events where children and adults can interact with the animals, including an educational day and a horse bathing meadow feeding event.
“We get to go out into the pastures and spend time with the horses, and that’s very special,” she said.
For more information on how to get involved, visit the Rescue Ranchito website.
