Days End Farm Horse Rescue, continued...


unteer activities. Tat isn’t something you can easily do at other animal welfare facilities.” “Our volunteers help us a lot, but what I love the most is seeing our volunteers learn a little more about compassion and empathy while strengthening that horse-human connection. Tey can come for two hours and groom a horse and perhaps they will leave with an understand- ing of what neglect looks like and ultimately ad- vocate for the voiceless,” Ochoa continued. Growing up competing in dressage, Ochoa


recounts an instance that she says keeps her humble and helps to drive forward her mis- sion for DEFHR. She remembers vividly a time as a young adult when she went to try a horse as a show prospect. She recalled it be- ing sick or knowing that something was wrong, but what she didn’t realize at the time was that the horse was suffering from intentional neglect. She notes that she had extensive ex- perience with horses, but in a pre-social media era, there wasn’t as much clarity as there is today about the degrees of horse neglect, and when horses require interven- tion. Had there been the resourcing there is today and information readily available at her fingertips back then, she would have been in a position to alert animal control. It’s this memory that motivates Ochoa to never underestimate the level of education people need about equine abuse and ne- glect—that even people with horse experi- ence may not recognize a problem. Interestingly, Ochoa points out that de- spite all of the resources available to indi- viduals throughout the state, problems still persist because of a lack of knowledge. “Mary- land is so well-resourced,” explained Ochoa. “It’s one state that shouldn’t have neglected or abused horses. We need to be forward-thinking


in how we provide easy access to these resourc- es and how we continue working with the com- munity to bring about awareness.”


A Bright Future It is this kind of access that Ochoa wants DE-


FHR to capitalize on. She also stresses that DE- FHR has reached a critical juncture in its growth and it is time to look toward expanding the or- ganization’s critical care and rehabilitation capa- bilities and dive deeper into the education space. “Tere’s a common misconception that we’re funded by state and federal governments, but that’s not the case; the services we provide those agencies are free of charge and we’re 100% pri- vately funded with grants making up just 10% of our budget. Now that we’re at this stage, I think we have a tremendous opportunity to continue on this education-focused trajectory and appeal to a wider audience of supporters,” said Ochoa.


and continue its growth. For example, the facil- ity faces challenges when it comes to hosting large school groups because something as sim- ple as bus turnaround is logistically problem- atic. Similarly, the size of the existing on-site classroom was too small to meet the increasing demand for animal control and law enforce- ment officer education. Tese ongoing factors drove the organization to begin exploring ways to expand its footprint. “When we first moved to this property 12


years ago, we thought we’d never outgrow it,” commented Ochoa of their existing facility on Woodbine Road. “Ten, it got to the point where we were turning away animal control officers that were coming for the educational series from all over the state, the mid-Atlantic region, and beyond.” As DEFHR continued to explore ways in


which they would expand, there was a general consensus that the current location was ideal. Its central location in the state, and the fact that it was easily accessible to Route 70, made the facility convenient for volunteers and visitors to get to, and suit- able for DEFHR rescue teams to deploy quickly to almost anywhere in the state. Tis thinking led DEFHR to enter


DEFHR has developed a series of educational activities that CEO Erin Clemm Ochoa calls “humane education.”


With an aggressive, but in Ochoa’s mind,


realistic plan in place, it became apparent that DEFHR’s existing property wouldn’t allow the organization to maintain existing operations


The Maryland Thoroughbred Eventing Series


• Series includes the Maryland-based United States Eventing Association’s recognized horse trials and Maryland-based unrecognized/starter horse trials. It is open to anyone who is competing a Thoroughbred (not limited to Maryland residents)


• Competitors must complete 3 of the Maryland-based horse trials, in any combination of recognized or starter.


• Complete more than 3 events, only best scores kept. • Cash and Sponsor Prizes for top 3 horse/rider combinations will be presented in November.


MDTE SERIES SPONSORS:


MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL


Maryland Horse Industry Board


RECOGNIZED DATES


Nov. 8: Full Moon Farm HT UNRECOGNIZED DATES


Oct. 31 - Nov. 1: MDHT Starter Nov. 7: Waredaca Starter HT


into a purchase agreement with the Lis- bon Volunteer Fire Company right next door. Te Fire Company, which was formed in 1944, had since outgrown its building. “We were looking for a buyer that the community would support,” said current Lisbon Volunteer Fire Company President Curtis Lowrey. “As long-time


neighbors, we have always admired the work that DEFHR does and we appreciate the foun- dation of its mission. In particular, the emer- gency response aspect of the operation really


Potomac Valley Dressage Association Promoting eduction in the art & sport of dressage since 1964


Time to Renew Membership for 2021! Renew your membership now and be ready for 2021.You


can renew online at www.pvda.org or through a paper renewal. Forms available online under About > Join PVDA.


Your PVDA membership include a GMO membership to USDF and satisfies the GMO requirement for BLMs.


We’re planning some great virtual learning opportunities, stay tuned for all of the details.


Jr/YR, Adult, Senior, and Family memberships available! mdteventing@gmail.com • www.MDTeventing.com www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580


Find a chapter near you! View our full calendar online. See what PVDA can offer you at www.pvda.org


THE EQUIERY A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | NOVEMBER 2020 | 17


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Ron Diehl


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