Dozens of rescue horses rehomed during event at Williamson County Expo Center
TAYLOR, Texas - Dozens, if not hundreds, of horses are abused or neglected in Texas every year.
Caspian was one of them. Three months ago, he was unrecognizable.
"Whenever I got him, he was really skinny," said Katie Kirk, his foster parent. "I put on over a hundred pounds on him."
Kirk fosters him through the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society.
"It's hard to describe how satisfying it is to help a horse how I have," said Kirk.
More than a thousand horses in situations just like Caspian have been rescued by the nonprofit.
"Last year we went out with a law enforcement case with 56 horses, and we actually went and caught all the horses, documented their condition and got vet care for them, helped move them off the property, and gave all that information to the law enforcement agency for their court case," said Jennifer Williams, who saddled into the role of executive director and co-founder of the Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society after seeing neglect first hand.
"Horses are just -they're special," said Williams. "I can't even describe how they make me feel, and the idea that people aren't taking care of them is just awful to me, and this is the way I can change that."
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Many of her mares are physically abused or starving.
"To see a horse, like Grand, who was not being fed, who was skin and bone, who now is filled out and has all this muscle and able to go on and live a healthy life is incredibly fulfilling," said Allen Johnson, who adopted Grand, the 1000th rescue horse from the nonprofit.
At Taylor's Williamson County Expo on Saturday, the goal was to empty the stables. The nonprofit hosted an expo and training challenge that helped rehome and raise money for their horses.
"About half of our horses that are adopted out every year come from this event, so without this we would have a harder time placing horses, which then gives us a bigger space to help more," said Williams.
One of the horses adopted Saturday was Flin, who sweetly nuzzled his new owner, Alex Johnson.
"He's a love bug," said Johnson. "I think it's a lot more meaningful, right for us as horse owners to make an impact in the equine community in that way, so it is just special to be able to take care of a horse that needs a home."
There are plenty of ways to get involved, whether it's fostering, adopting, or just volunteering. Find more information here.