Each year, thousands of horses all across the United States become displaced from their homes. Many are seized by law enforcement, some are abandoned, others are rescued from slaughter at auctions. When an equine reaches our organization, it is often in desperate need of medical care, routine maintenance, and/or re-training. These true innocents enter an Intake Foster Care Facility, where all of their immediate needs are met. There, equine are evaluated and placed in foster homes which match each individual’s needs. Equine remain in foster homes until they are adopted. For USESR, having enough foster homes is of utmost importance, since their number dictates how many horses we can rescue each year.

When you foster for USESR, you are free to choose the kind of horse you want to foster. You may not have any time to train a horse, but have room for one in your pasture. Senior horses make great pasture pets, and can often be ridden lightly by children. If you have a round pen, a sweet horse in need of ground training might be the type of horse you wish to foster. The only type of horse we are always in short supply of are sound, healthy, kid-gentle, broke-to-ride horses. That type of horse is rarely in need of rescue. In return, you will receive the joys that go along with rehabilitating equine and seeing them placed in happy, caring, loving homes, for life. Fostering horses is an excellent way to volunteer your time, even if you have very little of it. Foster care is a great way to teach children about the value of animal life, respect for nature, responsibility, faith, & compassion.

Requirements for becoming a Foster Care Provider(FCP) are:

• Shelter, at least a 3-sided shelter &/or enough man-made shelter to cover all equine or other shelter-seeking animals who share space with the foster equine.
• Sufficient water to last all animals that will be drinking it for at least two days, year round.
• Feed & hay securely stored where weather and animals cannot reach them.
• Any kind of fencing, but it must be safe and able to contain the equine.
• Adequate turnout time for your fostered equine.
• A willingness to invest your time in rehabilitating simple behavioral issues.
• Experience is preferred but not necessary.
• Foster Care Providers must allow prospective adopters to view/visit the fostered animal and must tell the truth at all times when describing the level of training, disposition, and health of the fostered equine.
• You need not be a member of USESR in order to foster.
  However, you must be registered as a Foster Care Provider. A copy of your drivers license, copy of a recent pay stub, and copy of a recent utility bill are a required part of the registration process.
  • Note: Your personal information will not be used for anything. It will be locked up until you cease to be a Foster Care Provider, at which time it will be shredded thinly and disposed of. We feel that we have no choice except to do this. We operate over a wide range of miles in multiple states. We have a solemn duty to protect and oversee the continued safety of horses enrolled in our rescue program. We use Foster Care Contracts for many reasons, one of which is because we have had Foster Care Providers attempt to claim ownership of our fostered horses. Additionally, horses are easily stolen, but not easily recovered. We applaud the work done by organizations such as Stolen Horse International, but we do not wish to become one of their clients. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding. We look forward to having you join our Foster Care Family!

Providing foster care to various breeds, ages, and endearing personality types of equine will supply you with an education that no amount of casual learning can ever come close to!

You may print out your Foster Care Registration here. HTML | MS Word | PDF . Be sure to review our Foster Care Provider Contract. It is not necessary to print or sign this contract now, as it is specific to the equine you foster. You should, however, be familiar with what the contract says prior to choosing to foster for USESR/HnT.