HITCHCOCK, Texas/EWORLDWIRE/Oct. 31, 2006 --- What: Photo opportunity with Willie Nelson and the adopted horses
Where: Willie's Ranch, 1100 Bee Creek Road, Springdale, TX 78669
When: Saturday, November 4, 12 noon
Why: Raise awareness of horse protection issues
Habitat for Horses Inc. announced today that Willie Nelson and his family will host a media reception to introduce the eleven new horses which they adopted from the organization in early October to the public. These horses, including six yearlings and four pregnant mares, are among the last of the renowned Edwards paint horses - representing twenty-five years of breeding by Doug Edwards, a founding member of the American Paint Horse Association. The former owner bought these horses at a rigged auction - a type of auction set up for buyers who intend to purchase horses in quantity, then sell them to slaughterhouses where they are butchered for human consumption. The auction where the Nelsons' horses were sold featured 301 paint horses, and it has been confirmed that at least 80 of those were in foal and were slaughtered for meat.
In late August, officials at Habitat for Horses were alerted that eleven paint horses were going to be sent back to auction where they would likely meet the same fate as their herd mates. The organization raised the funds needed to purchase them and placed them in a temporary foster home.
Amy Nelson, who had met representatives of Habitat for Horses at September's American Horse Slaughter Prevention Rally in Washington D.C, heard the story of the paint horses and notified her father, Willie, who immediately agreed to adopt them all. The horses were moved to the Nelson Ranch in Luck, Texas on October 3. All eleven of these lucky horses are currently in good health in their great new home, each and every one a living testimony to the 90,000 horses that were not able to escape slaughter this past year.
Habitat for Horses (HfH) is a not-for-profit equine protection agency committed to the prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of neglected, abused and homeless horses. The largest organization of its kind in North America, HfH operates a rehabilitation ranch in Hitchcock, Texas, as well as a growing network of foster homes throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The organization has taken a leadership role in horse protection issues and has been instrumental in developing and promoting legislation to eliminate the slaughter of American horses.
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