The nomination "Responsible for those...": The Chance for Life shelter near Moscow has become the largest horse rescue and rehabilitation center in Russia
Today it is a place for those who are no longer needed due to injuries or old age. As the organizers themselves say, the concept of the shelter is simple - to make the rest of the horses' lives comfortable, in homage to what they once did for humans.
"Here they live out the years allotted to them by fate; they are cherished, loved and supported until the very end," says Anastasia Elizarova, president of the animal welfare foundation Chance for Life.
The history of the shelter stable began in 2008 with a small home stable in the cottage of the Koryagin family. It was called "Vysokovsk" in honor of the city in which it was located. The first guests were bought out of the slaughterhouse with money raised by volunteers.
It was then that the problem of saving horses became particularly acute on social networks and news feeds. No one could have imagined that once-sporting thoroughbred horses or ordinary village hard workers could suddenly become unnecessary and go to the slaughterhouse.
Most of the horses living here are over ten years old. Many have a difficult fate," the «Газета.ру» journalists write. Here, for example, is an elegant Hanoverian mare named Dolina. The early start of her sports career and heavy physical exertion had already made her disabled by the age of 17. And when it turned out that she could no longer compete, she was turned into a uterus. As a result, severe pregnancy and seizures for life.
The purebred Arabian horse Ride lives in the shelter. He was born in a stud farm, participated in horse racing, showing good agility. A few years ago, a man bought it specifically to show off at a party. But the holiday was canceled, and the owner handed over the Ride to the slaughterhouse, from where he was bought back to the shelter by caring people.
In 2021, the owner threw the Strelka mare on a leash in the mountains of Karachay-Cherkessia. Volunteers found her there by chance. By that time, the horse's legs were injured and she was already lying down. The volunteers managed to provide her with first aid, but they could not fully treat her. That's why they handed it over to the orphanage.
And the Don mare Gondola was written off from one of the stud farms for not being able to give birth to foals. Together with a batch of Donskoy and Budyonovsky horses, she went to the slaughterhouse. Anastasia Elizarova took pity on her and bought her back along with another mare, Rapier. There was a reward waiting for her in return. Gondola turned out to be pregnant and on the morning of January 1, 2019, she brought a foal, a thoroughbred Budyonovsky filly, Glasha. And it turned out that she saved two lives, but in the end it turned out to be three.
But it's not enough to save a horse, it still needs to be properly maintained. In Chance for Life, animals always have access to hay and water, they walk all day, and graze in the fields in the summer. In addition, the shelter provides constant veterinary supervision for horses: examinations, vaccinations, ultrasound and X-ray diagnostics for guests with chronic diseases. There are two blacksmiths working at the stable, one of whom is an orthopedic surgeon.
And even more of the "Chance" wards live in the herd. Horses are social animals; it is very important for them to be among their relatives. They find friends or love in the herd, and often this becomes their main salvation.
At the moment, the shelter has gone through two relocations, and is now located on leased land. Today, the Chance for Life contains over 170 horses, it is the only large equestrian shelter in Russia. In 2019, it changed its address once again and is now located in the village of Shipulino, 15 kilometers from Klin. This is a large and complex farm: two spacious stables of 1.5 thousand square meters each, horse-walking fields, about 200 hectares of fields for grazing, a staff of workers, horse breeders, and trainers.
"The shelter has several ways to make money. We're taking on private horses. We conduct sports training for everyone on those horses that can carry riding loads, we ride children. There are many other activities in the shelter: for example, agility classes - working with horses in your hands and learning various tricks, excursions, master classes," says Anastasia Elizarova.
But most importantly, there is a community of permanent curators around the Chance for Life shelter - people who take care of horses (besides private owners, legal entities also help the shelter). They fully or partially pay for the maintenance of horses, their treatment, ammunition and other needs, and in return they can visit the shelter at any time, take care of their charges, walk with them, train. There are about a hundred such volunteers in the shelter now.
Photos of «Газета.ру».
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