Grazing Grace Horse Rescue Taylorsville, CA
By Stacy Fisher
The primary mission of A Grazing Grace horse rescue in Taylorsville, Plumas County, is to rescue, adopt, and find homes for abandoned or abused horses. The A Grazing Grace ranch facility is located at 1193 N. Arm Road, Taylorsville, consisting of 10 acres of pasture fenced, and cross-fenced, and five covered stalls.
“Surrendering a horse is a difficult decision,” owner Tina Mannies acknowledges. “Our facility has an open door policy,” she says, “and any horse is welcome to be surrendered by appointment only.” The rescue currently functions as an “owner surrender” site. As the organization continues to grow, she hopes to be able to attend auctions and work more with animal control for neglect cases as well.Eileen | Mountain Valley Living Magazine
Surrender Fee: The surrender fee to place a horse into the adoption program is $250. This helps to cover the cost of feed and medical expenses during the average of one month that it takes to find the horse a new home. “However, except when transportation of horses is needed, fees are negotiable,” says Mannies. She is happy to accept other commodities as partial or full payment, such as alfalfa, hay, beet pulp and pellets.
Other examples of needed materials include any new or used horse items: fly spray, fly masks, brushes, halters, lead ropes, winter blankets, paneling, rakes, scoopers, wheelbarrows, and a grain shed.
Mannies is also hoping is to be able to add more covered stalls to keep horses out of bad weather. “Another goal is to get a nice hay barn built,” she says, “to ensure our hay stays nice and dry and also to be able to get larger loads delivered without the risk of hay getting ruined.”
Transportation: A Grazing Grace is glad to arrange transportation of your horse, says Mannies. “The nominal transporting fee to help cover the fuel expenses is $1.00 a mile, round trip from our shelter.”
Horses available for Adoption: There’s a $500 adoption fee for horses and a $10 per day hold (up to 5 days). If you see a horse you are interested in online, please email: tina@agrazinggrace.com or call/text her at +1.661.972.7669.
Last Act of Kindness/Hardship Surrender: The Last Act of Kindness/Hardship surrender fee is $150, which covers the cost of humane euthanasia and disposal. “We are still in our starting stages, so there may be the chance of horses being transported to Horse Plus Humane Society in Plumas County, a shelter we work closely with,” says Mannies.
Equine Assisted Therapy: Mannies, a certified Equine Specialist, says they’re working on getting certified to become an Equine Assisted Therapy (EAP) site. This is a collaborative effort that incorporates behavioral health therapy between a horse professional and a licensed therapist working with his or her clients — perhaps someone suffering from depression — addressing treatment goals using the interaction of horses.
The goal is to provide therapeutic rehabilitation symbiotically between people and horses, she explains. “By rescuing and adopting horses, A Grazing Grace can assess whether they can be used as part of the therapy team members or found loving homes.”
“The focus of EAP is not riding or horsemanship,” Mannies adds, “but instead setting up activities involving the horses, which will require the client or group to apply certain skills such as non-verbal communication, creative thinking and problem-solving, leadership, taking responsibility, teamwork, confidence, and attitude. These are all examples of the tools utilized and developed by EAP.
According to Mannies, they are currently in need of a mental health professional willing to go through the EAGALA certification process (www.eagala.org) and join the effort. At A Grazing Grace the hope is to use many of the rescued horses as possible to be part of their therapy team.
Donations: A Grazing Grace relies solely on contributions for the care of the horses that are rescued. Because the rescue has non-profit status, donations are tax deductible. Monetary donations are the single most important way to help with the costs associated with animal rescue, sheltering and care.
Each gift of $5, $10, $50, $100 or $1,000 makes it possible to provide upkeep and any medical needs that the horses may require. “Each month we rely on donations from people to provide top quality care for these horses,” says Mannies.
A donation button is available along with several pictures of horses on A Grazing Grace’s website. People can also choose to send donations directly to the facility’s veterinarian (Edge Equine), Farrier (John Gage), hay supplier (Dave Roberti), or local feed store for grain and supplies (Pet Country, Quincy). She asks that donors message her for the suppliers’ mailing address. “Just make sure you send a note saying that you would like it applied to A Grazing Grace’s bill, or send a check to: 1193 N. Arm Road, Greenville, CA 95947 in their name and I will make sure they get it.”
Gift certificates can also be donated from vendors such as Tractor Supply, Valley Vet, and local pet stores such as Pet Country. Mannies also has a ‘Go Fund Me’ account: www.gofundme.com/agrazinggrace. Phone or text: +1.661.972.7669. Email: tina@agrazinggrace.com. Website: www.agrazinggrace.org.
“Please help us to make this equine therapy and horse rescue a thriving operation,” Mannies says, “… a place helping horses and humans grow and thrive together.”
