A message from EA President and Founder Susan Wagner:
Dear Friends,
We hope you and those you care about have been enjoying a safe and festive holiday season!
When I look back at 2022, I have to say that with many of the good things we have experienced, there has also been some sadness. Those of you who have been friends and supporters of ours over the years know that we have lost some of our oldest and dearest equine residents this year, not the least of whom were Bobby II Freedom, a former NYC carriage horse rescued out of a kill pen in 2010, and Maxine, a former PMU mare who I rescued in 2000 at a slaughter auction in Canada along with ten other PMU mares and PMU foals. She passed very recently and I will be writing a eulogy for her just as I did for Bobby when he passed in June.
We also lost several other equines who were rescued before we established our sanctuary in upstate New York in 2004. Those equines have a special place in my heart because they were among our very first residents here. All were in their twenties and thirties when they passed. While they all grew old around the same time, that fact does not make their losses any easier because they were family and I miss them every day. I know that had we not rescued them, none would have been able to have the love and quality of life they experienced for years since coming to this sanctuary.
Speaking of saving horses, I am hoping that a very special and personal holiday wish comes through for us! We would like to acquire a fabulous piece of property now available that is adjacent to our sanctuary so we can grow our organization. This would enable us to help even more equines in need, while at the same time allow us to institute several new programs that can only be implemented with the acquisition of additional land. We have about half the money we need pledged thus far but are not there yet. We’re going into our 27th year in 2023 and expanding our work and the number of horses we can help are major priorities.
Also, I am happy to report that we have welcomed several new residents to the sanctuary this year. You will be learning more about them on our website and social media. Hopefully, many of you will get to meet them next year when our Public Open Days resume in late spring.
I would like to end this New Year’s message with a fun and upbeat verse that I wrote for our annual holiday card that many of you received in the mail. An electronic version of the card appears directly below.
Many thanks to our loyal supporters who have made our humane work with horses possible. We couldn’t do it without you!
Best wishes to you and yours for a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!
Susan Wagner
President and Founder
CHEERS TO 2023!