Resort is safe place for horses
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In tough times, the treatment and care of animals, especially equines, may be neglected. There is one place in the Gila Valley, however, that is saving these beloved animals from certain death.
The Family Pet Resort LLC Boarding & Grooming facility on Highway 70 in Thatcher not only boards a variety of family pets, it has become a horse rescue facility for the Gila Valley.
Michelle Haralson owns the facility with her husband, Shawn. She told the Courier she started the rescue portion of the facility in February 2008 after noticing a sickly horse that was brought in for veterinary services. She said she asked the owner of the horse to surrender the animal and her staff rehabilitated it.
Now the facility takes in horses and animals from all over, including goats that were nearly starved to death by their previous owner. Some of the horses at the rescue include a blind mare from New Mexico named Miss Kitty, a horse recuperating from a Mohave rattlesnake bite, a former racehorse that has been rehabilitated and performs as a trail horse, a mare from Wyoming that fell off a cliff while working on a dude ranch and a mini from Mexico that was rescued from the slaughter yard, according to barn manager Kelli Donovan.
"They come from everywhere. . ." Donovan said. "She (Haralson) gets them through other agencies; some are relinquished to us from their owners."
One of the agencies that alerts Haralson to available horses is the NorCal Equine Rescue located in Northern California.
Once on the property, the horses are fed and then shoed and trained by house farrier/trainer Kelly Moore. A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of a horse's hoof and the placement of metal shoes.
Most of the rehabilitated horses are "kid broke" and could be adopted to a new home, according to Donovan.
For information on the rehabilitation program call the facility at 428-8793.
