Your application will be processed, and your references checked. Your facilities will be inspected by our Site Inspectors to see that the standards sufficiently meet state law requirements.

We want to see good, solid fences that are not easily escapable, shelter (trees and/or loafing sheds are acceptable if the horse will be pastured), reasonably clean water troughs capable of holding enough water for at least two days, and a system in place that will guarantee that no horse/Equine ever has to fight for it's ration of feed. Two horses sharing the same feed bin is unacceptable.
Feed is to be stored away from the weather and safely secured from break in by the horse(s) / Equine. We want to see what kind of hay you feed.
We want to see all of your other animals, be they Equine or not. Safety is also a factor. If your facilities are not satisfactory, you will be told so at the time of the inspection and given sufficient time (usually one week) to fix or repair the problem(s).

Delivery:

A convenient delivery time and date will be arranged. A delivery fee will be charged, however the Equine may be picked up by the adopter from the foster facility at no charge.
The adoption fee must be paid in full prior to the adopter taking possession of the Equine. You will be mailed a copy of the contract unless you have a scanner/copier and can print yourself a copy on the spot. You will receive a copy of records pertinent to your new animal's medical history and behavioral history. Registration papers will be held by USESR until the adoption is final as breeding during the adoption period of two to three years is not allowed.

The Contract:

The contract states that the Equine may not be moved for any reason without written approval from USESR prior to it's being moved. If you move, we will want to see photographs of your new facility. We reserve the right to perform a site inspection on your new facility. We do not seek to remove the horse for any reason, we simply owe it to the horses to monitor them in a reasonable manner. We also acknowledge that we are only human and may, at some point in time, approve someone who never should have been approved. We know that there are a very few people out there who would adopt a horse and send it to slaughter. We do our best to see to it that this does not happen.

Breeding:

Breeding is strictly not allowed until the adoption is final. Once the adoption is final, breeding is acceptable, however any offspring automatically become part of the original adoption contract, subject to the same terms and conditions. Offspring may not be sold or given away except under the same conditions stated in the contract. We do not believe in breeding rescued horses under normal circumstances, however, we do understand that sometimes people just want to enjoy the thrill of a new foal and would be willing to keep that foal for life and that sometimes a horse comes along that is so special the owners sincerely want a "baby" to remember him or her by after he/she is gone. We believe everyone has the basic "right" to breed and we do try to respect everyone's rights and desires, up to a point.

Transfer of Ownership:

Adopted Equine are forever jointly owned by USESR(H.O.R.S.E.S. in Texas ) and the adopter. Original copies of the registration papers will be kept on file by us and the adopter will be given a copy. In the event the originals are needed, they can be "borrowed" from us temporarily. The reason we do this is to ensure that our " No Sell " policy is enforced. Also, sometimes an owner passes away and his/her heirs are left with a horse that they are not prepared to care for and the animal subsequently is sent to auction. We do not want this to ever happen.
Our " No Sell " policy is just that - the Equine may never be sold. It may be given away, though, or exchanged for another rescued horse (circumstances will vary) for any reason. The stipulations for giving the Equine away are as follows:
The animal may be given away to a close friend or family member only. The person the animal is given to must fill out an adoption application with USESR, be subject to the same site inspection as the original adopter and sign an adoption contract. There will be no additional adoption fee required. If a mare or a stallion produces offspring while in the care of the original adopter, that mare or stallion must be given away with the offspring if the intention is to give the offspring away.
Breeding one of our adopted horses to another one of our adopted horses is strictly forbidden and will be cause for removal from the adoptive home.
We do this because if we didn't, we would have a difficult time enforcing the above policy. The Equine may be re-donated back to the rescue at any point in time for any reason except a positive coggins exam.
We have no facilities for EIA positive horses and we regret that we cannot accept them into our foster homes at this time.

Adoption Fees:

Adoption fees are based on a percentage of the animal's market value. They are not intended to be equal to or greater than fair market value. Adoption fees are not commiserate with costs associated with rehabilitation and care during their stay with USESR.
There is a Filing Fee of $25.00, which is waived for members in good standing of USESR(H.O.R.S.E.S. in Texas ). Filing fees are non-refundable and are due at the time the adoption fee is paid and should be paid in the same form of payment as the adoption fee itself.

Guarantee/Exchange/Return:

USESR tries to ensure the best match for equine and adopter, but sometimes things just do not work out. Life situations change, family situations change, interests change.... everything is subject to change. Our guarantee to you is that the equine you adopt from USESR will be in the physical condition which USESR informed you of at the time of the adoption, for at least one month. A horse adopted out as "kid gentle/broke to ride" will be just that. We won't mislead you one iota.
Should an adopter find him/herself unable to care for an adopted equine, he/she may exercise several options according to the terms of the adoption contract.

Adopter may...
Give the equine away.
Recipients of the 'gift' must pass a Site Inspection performed by a qualified USESR volunteer showing no conflict of interest, and submit an Adoption Application and Adoption Contract. A $30.00 processing fee must be paid by either the original adopter or the new adopter before the new adopter accepts physical custody of the equine. If both adopters are current members of USESR, the processing fee is discounted by 50%. No new adoption fee is due by either adopter, at any time, nor is there an additional $25.00 processing fee, as there is in an original adoption.
Donate the equine back to USESR.
All donations are 100% tax deductible.
Return the equine back into the USESR program.
The equine is returned to be exchanged for another in our adoption program. Sometimes, an immediate exchange is not possible and the adopter must wait. A "credit" for the dollar amount due on the refund of the adoption fee will be held by USESR for a period of up to 90 days after USESR accepts physical care of the equine. After the 90 day period has passed, adopter waives all rights to the refund and it is considered a general donation to USESR for the adopter's taxes. The adopter may, at any point within the first 89 days of USESR holding the "credit", choose not to wait any longer and a refund check shall be issued to him/her within 15 days from the date adopter notified USESR in writing that he/she no longer chooses to wait for a suitable replacement. Adopters are due a refund of 50% of the adoption fee or up to $600.00 on adoption fees over $300.00. Associated fees due for returning an adopted equine are: $50.00 return/exchange fee and a transportation fee of .50 cents per mile if USESR picks up the equine. Map Quest is used to gauge all mileage (www.mapquest.com).

It is the great desire of USESR to have a 100% permanent placement rate. To avoid any mistakes in judgement, we strongly suggest fostering the equine you are interested in adopting prior to making this lifelong commitment. Once you begin fostering the equine, you have two weeks to decide whether or not to adopt the equine you are fostering. During that time, no deposits or adoption applications will be processed on the equine.

Finalization of Adoption:

Adoptions are final in no less than two years and no more than three years. Two years is the standard time frame. During that time the adopter is subject to inspection of the Equine and it's habitat without notice.

Reasons for Removal:

Breach of contract in any way. Adopters will be given written notice of the intention to remove said Equine and revoke the adoption privileges. The reason(s) for termination of the contract will be outlined in the written notice. If court action is necessary, USESR will seek to have the adopter pay for all costs associated with legal action including attorney's fees for USESR.
We will not remove the horse because it had no water during one follow up site inspection. We would call the situation to the attention of the adopter and perform extra inspections to ensure that the problem was corrected. We will not remove a horse because it's ribs are showing one time during an inspection, however, we will remove it if ribs are showing on two inspections, consecutive or non-consecutive. We will council the adopter on proper nutrition and work with them to bring the horse back up to weight. If a tornado knocks your Equine shelter down, we will not remove your Equine. We may, at your request, come out and help you erect a new shelter.
We do not want these horses back. We are in the business of finding horses good homes for life. These precautionary measures are in place for people who would seek to take advantage of an inexpensive horse and give little or no thought to the responsibility of owning a rescued horse.

While your Adoption Application is being processed, USESR reserves the right to deny adoption to anyone, for any reason, at any stage of the application process.

Reasons for Denial of Adoption (DNA)

Reasons for denial of an adoption application include, but are not limited to:

• Hostile, threatening or uncooperative attitude toward USESR, its members, volunteers, Site Inspectors, officers, representatives or agents. We are an all-volunteer organization and we value our volunteers and do not choose to subject them to unnecessary stress during the course of their volunteer activities.
• Failure to pay the balance of the adoption fee within one week of the Pre-Adoption Site Inspection.
• Dishonesty or telling lies to USESR, its members, volunteers, Site Inspectors, officers, representatives or agents.
• Failure to submit required/requested information on an Adoption Application. This includes contact information for family members and references.
• Inability for USESR to contact all references and family members listed on the Adoption Application.
• Listing family members as friends or listing friends as family members on an Adoption Application.
• Difficulty or inability by USESR to contact Applicant while the Application is being processed. Our volunteers are busy people with jobs, families, and other commitments of their own. They do not have time to play phone tag or leave multiple messages that go unreturned by Applicant.
• Too many animals already in the care of Applicant. We try to avoid "collectors", as this is a precursor to animal abuse.
• If Applicant is listed as a DNA with any other animal rescue, the application will be denied.
• If USESR has reason to believe or has any level of suspicion that Applicant has caused, attempted to cause harm to, or intends to cause harm to USESR, its members, volunteers, Site Inspectors, officers, equine, representatives or agents, the application will be denied.

Please read the Instructions for submitting your adoption application:
before sending in the application.