Where do I find a rescue horse?

Rescue horses come in all sizes, shapes, breeds, colors and characters. Basically a rescue horse is a horse that is no longer wanted. I've seen horses get passed around from one person to the next. The movie Black Beauty illustrates this well. Black Beauty goes from riches to rags having several different owners until eventually he ends up doing slave labor. As a kid I found this movie disturbing,it upset me a great deal, yet it is an excellent depiction of what it's like to be a horse that has a life span of about twenty to thirty years.

Nowadays unwanted horses end up with the meat buyer who will snatch up horses for next to nothing at auctions and sell them for human consumption in countries such as France, Belgium and East Asia where horse meat is on the menu.

So where do you find a rescue horse? Here are some ideas:
In the local newspapers
Notice boards outside feed bins, veterinarians, commercial stables
Craig's list
Horse Auctions
Horse rescue facilities such as theanimalifarm.com where I got three of my PMU mares
animal care and control
Bureau of Land Management This is where you can adopt wild mustangs and burros
Word of mouth and from emails

Three of my mares came from a rescue organization called The Animali Farm. This non profit organization saves horses from going to the the meat buyer. They deal exclusively with the Premarin Industry (Pregnant Mares Urine)in Canada.

Don't expect to get a free horse from a rescue organization. People have looked at me astounded when I told them how much I paid for my mares. There is an expectation that because the horse is a rescue it should be free or cost very little. This is ridiculous because it costs money to feed, transport, vaccinate, trim and care for the horse. Many times the horses that the rescue organizations take in are in terrible condition and need medical attention as well as around the clock care.

This is not to say that you can't get a free rescue horse. Four horses I have (one has passed) were given to me. In one case I asked the previous owner to give me money to help me feed the horse which he did.