American Horse Defense Fund

USESR is pleased to announce that it has joined the American Horse Defense Fund(AHDF) as a member on the organizational level. We are proud to allow our esteemed members this opportunity to be associated with such a prestigious organization. Our reasons for joining were: we stay very busy with the daily care and attention to all of the equine in our rescue program; paperwork alone tends to take up a full-time work week and much of the spare time of our active volunteers; transport and delivery of USESR rescue equine is a very time consuming task and often involves 'road trips' that may last two days or more. Covering all of Texas is a big assignment, y'all! None of these activities leaves us much time to keep up with important events which affect Texas equine - laws being changed, letters needed to be written, and worst of all, our budget and the constraints of family and home life our volunteers must balance in order to serve the equine does not allow us to actively lobby or have a real voice in congress or law-making on the State or Federal level. Our obligations to existing equine within USESR are vital, life-saving, urgent, and of the utmost importance, but it is our desire to be one day put out of business because our services are no longer needed. If we are ever able to obtain this goal, we must devote time to larger isses. This is where the AHDF comes in.

USESR chose the AHDF because of it's strong leadership, it's web site which is kept current and is very informative, thus helpful, to all rescuers both private and organized, and because it has a representative in the D.C. area.

The American Horse Defense Fund is a non-profit organization founded by Trina Bellak, esq.   Ms.Bellak was the Associate Director of Federal Affairs for the Humane Society of the United States for six years. She has worked with several organized equine groups, rescues, and other equine organizations. Ms. Bellak noticed that many times, because of the amount of energy that needed to be spread around in any organization, the abuse associated with various branches of equine activities, including "back yard" ownership, were not being adequately addressed. So, Ms. Bellak founded the AHDF in 2000.

The AHDF is more of a lobbying group than it is a "horse rescue" per se. Because it's volunteers do not spend most of their time rescuing, rehabilitating, placing equine, and performing site inspections and background checks, the AHDF has more time to devote to changing and influencing lawmakers both locally, in your state, and on Capital Hill, and to keeping you updated on the latest urgent news regarding slaughter, abuse, PMU, and other rescue-related issues.

Spending time on Capital Hill is a very important function of ending slaughter, abuse, strengthening weak laws, and addressing the many issues surrounding equine rescue. Like USESR , most rescues do not have the funding to send representatives on flights to Washington, DC, pay for their transportation and accomodations, and allow them to spend enough time there to get to know members of the government who can actually help us in our quest to solve the equine problems in this country. This is why USESR is urging you, no matter what state you live in, to join the AHDF today and help us ensure that your voice will make a lasting difference in the lives of equine presently living and those born in the future.

The AHDF is very active in preserving the wild Mustang. Several other organizations are involved in "rescuing" Mustangs, and that is great, but the AHDF gets involved on the congressional level. At this writing (12/02), The AHDF is trying to force congress to hold a national consensus to justify removing horses off of BLM land. Many people do not realize that when the Wild Horse & Burro Act was passed, there were 303 wild herd areas. Today, there are only 184, and that number is steadily declining. Many of us have heard that the problem is largely cattle ranchers not wanting the horses to graze where their cattle could be grazing. What most of us don't realize is that, like almost every root cause of evil, money plays a big part in that selfishness. Ranchers pay only $1.81 per month to graze a cow and calf on public lands. That is less than what it costs to feed a hampster! No wonder they are raising such a stink, wanting to keep the land all to themselves and couldn't care less if every wild horse were sent to slaughter.

Get behind someone who doesn't operate on stardom within the rescue world. Trina Bellak worked dilligently and tirelessly (since 1993) on the passage of the Humane Transport of Horses to Slaughter, which went into effect in February of 2002. Trina also helped found the Wild Horse & Burro Freedom Alliance, a strong, well established organization consisting of many prominent rescue societies.

Each year, the AHDF organizes a trail ride where riders can view and observe a herd of actual wild horses. The trip includes guest speakers, slide shows, and experts on wild horses.

USESR founder, Antoinette Smith, is pleased to accept the position within the AHDF of Texas Chapter Coordinator. Because Ms. Smith knows the importance of strong leadership in accomplishing difficult tasks, she is urging you to follow in her footsteps and join the AHDF and start writing letters and educating the public. Joining the AHDF is a great way that anyone can help thousands and thousands of equine each year. Joint membership in USESR and AHDF is strongly encouraged.

USESR also encourages other organized rescues in all states to join AHDF on the organizational level and let their voices start being heard and recognized on a Federal level. Doing so is a great way for all rescues to work together for a common goal, on common ground.

Membership information can be found on the AHDF website.