Sarah Ebeling | Managing Editor
South of Humboldt, nestled on an acreage in the country, sits Borderlands Horse Sanctuary, a retirement home for horses.
Owner Shanna Borders explained that she started Borderlands in 2006 and privately ran the company until 2016 when they became a non-profit organization.
“We started though because friends and co-workers would ask if we wanted a horse,” she laughed.
Borders said in the beginning, it was any horse, but in 2011 she decided to switch her focus to older horses. And today, she has 14 horses, ranging in age from 10-32.
Many of the horses living at Borderlands currentlyhave been grandfathered in as they had taken them in before they started the program.
Borders said that she had always wanted to do horse rescue but as she got older she knew she wanted to focus on older horses.
“When they are older, sometimes people don’t want them anymore,” she said.
Last weekend Borderlands hosted their fifth annual Light the Night. The event, which is about honoring both two and four-legged loved ones, hosted their first luminary walk also. To participate, anyone was able to donate $5 in honor of a loved one and Borderlands Horse Sanctuary would light a luminary in their name. All proceeds go directly to caring for the senior horses at the sanctuary.
The event, Borders said, was created to raise awareness to older horses. The home is currently full, but a horse must meet a certain criteria to be able to live at Borderlands, including being at least 20-years-old or older and not have any major medical problems. Borders said they also do not take any stallions but do take blind, partially blind and horses with minor aliments. Last year alone, Borders was asked to take in almost 40 horses, but because all of the horses are kept and not adopted out, most of them were turned away.
However, with more space and financial assistance, Borders would love to see the retirement home grow.
All of this doesn’t come without a cost though. Owners and anyone interested in helping can sponsor a horse if they are interested. Sponsorships are $100 a month and although that doesn’t cover the entire cost to care for a horse, it certainly helps said Borders.
“I want the sanctuary to grow and have a larger following and more volunteers so we are able to help more horses and grow the sanctuary,” said Borders.
For more information or to make a donation, contact Borders at borderlandshorsesanctuary@yahoo.com.