"I found him at a feed lot in New Jersey," Britanny Rostron said. "He was pacing back and forth."
Rostron knew what she had to do when she saw the Appaloosa.
"I said I'd give him $50 for the horse, so I walked in, grabbed him and loaded him onto the trailer."
And she brought him to Manorville, on Long Island, where Jessica Pecce has other horses and lots of land. She's taken in a handful of horses, sight-unseen, inspired by Britanny, whose goal is to keep horses from being slaughtered.
Brittany started riding when she was 5, and when she was 16, she started Project Sage, a horse rescue non-profit.
She rehabs the horses, gets them to a good weight and then finds someone to permanently adopt them.
Caring for a horse is expensive business, so Brittany relies on lots of donations, adoption fees and horse lovers like Jessica.
Pecce currently fosters three horses, and she's already adopted one.
"It's worth it," she said, to save a horse that is destined for the slaughterhouse.
Adopting a Project Sage horse costs anywhere from $100 to $1,500. That's thousands, even tens of thousands less than market rate. So far, Britanny has rescued 31 horses.
"They're living, breathing animals," she said. "And people treat them like they're disposable and they're not."
And Britanny has big plans, despite her age and the tough economy. She wants to provide a sanctuary for the animals she loves so much.
"Hopefully by the time I'm 21," she said. "That's my dream."
And there are plenty of horses right now that need to be fostered and adopted. If you're interested, or if you just want to help Project Sage, visit ProjectSageHorseRescue.org or call 516-807-3364.
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WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
NEW YORK AND TRI-STATE AREA NEWS
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