AMENIA — Maria Genovesi loves horses. She has dedicated her life to them. For the past nine years she ran Godspeed Horse Hostel from her farm off Route 22 in Amenia. Then in January of this year she put her farm up for sale and moved to Tennessee, to run her horse hostel down south.
Genovesi has now returned to her Amenia farm, which never sold in today’s challenging real estate market. Now that she’s returned, her mission has been renewed: to get the rescued horses at Godspeed rehabilitated and adopted to loving and caring homes.
The horses that come her way are rescued, predominantly from the Premarin industry in Canada. Premarin is a brand name drug that is made from the urine of pregnant mares and used to treat menopause in women. Once the foals are born they are weaned from their mothers and put up for adoption. When they reach the age of two they are sent to the slaughter house.
The other horses Genovesi rescues come from both the United States (usually the Dakotas) and Canada. They are headed on their way to slaughter houses themselves, to be processed for human consumption.
The more fortunate animals are rescued, pre-adopted and then shipped throughout the United States. Godspeed usually deals with either Equine Angels, out of Connecticut, or United Pegasus, out of California.
“I’m going to quote Frank Weller, of Equine Angels,†Genovesi said. “‘Rescues rescue us,’ and that’s how I would sum up the whole experience. Anyone who comes in contact with these horses and programs is lifted to higher levels.â€
The rescued horses usually range in age from four months to three years old. That puts them in the “high-risk†range, according to Genovesi, because once a horse turns two, he’s ready for the slaughter house. That’s why she tries to rescue horses that are two years old or older.
“It’s truly their last chance,†she said, adding there are 10,000 to 12,000 horses that need homes every year; two-thirds of them are absorbed by small rescues like Godspeed while the rest are not so lucky.
While in Tennessee, Genovesi said she discovered a perfect avenue for getting her horses adopted. In fact, while there she found homes for three horses; another two were adopted before leaving for the south and she now has only two left at her Amenia stables.
Her newest goal is to get her horses involved in either therapeutic riding programs or with intercollegiate riding programs.
“I had such success in Tennessee with the adoption campaign that I’ve actually tweaked my mission,†she said. “I have found [those programs] are the perfect avenues for these horses and that the future is extremely promising. It was sort of the missing link that I found in Tennessee. These programs are starving for young, sturdy horses.â€
Genovesi said it’s been difficult for such programs to keep their horses permanently, but in her case they can. That, in turn, provides safe and reliable homes for the animals. It’s a win-win, she said.
“They’ll never need rescuing again,†she said. “I’m thrilled.â€
All the same, Genovesi acknowledges it’s difficult for horse owners these days. Caring for their animals takes time and money. Horses that are unwanted in the first place are especially vulnerable.
“With the economy, rescues are really struggling. I got two calls yesterday with people needing to relocate their horses because they can’t afford them,†she said. “I personally can’t take them, but I have a pretty good network. The community at large absorbed six horses that I got calls on last year, and that’s just through networking.â€
Meanwhile, Genovesi is not sure how long she will remain in New York. She’s restructuring how things are done at her farm and sending some of her animals directly to trainers come November. That means she’ll have more time to fundraise, which is important, as Godspeed is a nonprofit agency. She is now doing something new: taking in horses for those needing low-cost boarding as an alternative for people considering getting rid of their animals.
To learn more about Godspeed Horse Hostel or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit godspeedhorse.org.
