Friesian Horse Rescue and Adoption: Where to Adopt One

Friesians sometimes need a new home, and a few rescues place them. This page covers the groups that take in or place Friesian horses and other horses, what each one asks of an adopter, and what the adoption process looks like. Every detail about a group comes from that group's own website.

Keeping a horse is a long commitment. The New Hampshire SPCA calls adopting a horse a tremendous responsibility and lists housing, diet, veterinary care, farrier care, training, and money as things to review before applying. The guide also says a rescued horse may need more experience, patience, or expertise than the average privately kept horse, and that a horse can take weeks to months to adjust to a new home.

Friesian Horse Rescue Groups

The Fenway Foundation for Friesian Horses

The Fenway Foundation is based in Hortonville, Wisconsin. Its site says it was founded in 2010 and works in three areas: rescue, research, and education. It says it rescues and rehabilitates Friesian horses in need to prepare them for adoption, and that it has placed more than 70 Friesians in homes since 2010.

Fenway's adoption page sets the expectation early. Most of the horses in its adoption program have medical limitations and are not suitable for riding, driving, or breeding, so they are placed as companions or pasture horses. The page also says horses placed through the program are never sold and that the foundation keeps monitoring their care.

Fenway lists three steps to adopt a Friesian:

• Send an adoption application with the required photos, a veterinarian reference form, and a personal reference form. Fenway says it cannot consider anyone until this step is done, and that it places horses with approved applicants it already has on file first.
• Check the foundation's horses page for available Friesians and tell Fenway which horse interests you.
• Send an updated application if your information changes or your application is more than two years old.

Fenway says its adoption fees are based on the cost of moving the horse to a new home with a commercial hauler, and that they range from $1,000 to $5,000 because of varying distances. Its horses page names each horse and marks it Available or Resident. One resident, Marcus, was surrendered as a weanling soon after a megaesophagus diagnosis. Fenway says he is not adoptable and lives in its resident herd. Megaesophagus is one of the conditions our Friesian horse facts guide covers.

Fenway also takes surrenders. It says it is not a sanctuary and accepts only horses it believes can be adopted after medical and behavioral rehabilitation. It does not accept crossbred Friesians or other breeds, stallions, senior Friesians very near the end of life, horses from auctions unless they have finished quarantine and tested negative for infectious diseases, or horses with unadoptable medical or behavioral issues. For a horse that may qualify, Fenway arranges and pays for diagnostic testing near the horse's location. The tests screen for megaesophagus and gastroparesis, which Fenway describes as genetic disorders with a poor prognosis that would make a horse ineligible. The person surrendering the horse is responsible for transport to the exam.

Fenway Foundation for Friesian Horses Inc.
Hortonville, WI 54944
Phone: (920) 757-0877

Rescues That Place Horses in General

The two groups below place horses in general, not only Friesians. Check their lists of available horses for Friesians before you plan a visit.

Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation

The Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation (MHWF) in Pittsville, Wisconsin, describes its mission as providing qualified homes for any horse in need. Its site calls it a GFAS Verified Equine Charity and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, says it has been doing adoption and rescue since 2001, and says everyone in the program is a volunteer.

The process runs by mail and phone. The site says to print the adoption application and send it with a $10 processing fee and at least 5 color photos that show your pastures, fencing, the inside and outside of your shelters, your water supply, and any horses already on your property. MHWF says most applications are processed the same day and almost always within 48 hours. Once you have an approved application on file, you can ask about horses, and you must set a visit by telephone appointment before coming to the farm.

MHWF says it adopts mainly to Wisconsin and neighboring states, with exceptions in the right circumstances. Its horses come vaccinated and with a current Coggins test. MHWF says it keeps the legal rights to an adopted horse for at least 5 years. During that time the adopter cannot sell or give the horse away or breed it, and a horse the adopter can no longer keep must come back to MHWF in good condition with a current Coggins.

Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation, Inc.
10990 State Hwy. 73
Pittsville, WI 54466
Phone: 715-884-2215 (Monday to Friday 4 pm to 9 pm, weekends 9 am to 9 pm, as posted on its contact page)

MSPCA at Nevins Farm

The Angell Memorial site of the MSPCA-Angell lists Nevins Farm in Methuen, Massachusetts, under its Adopt menu. The Nevins Farm page lists horse and farm animal adoptions by appointment, and says the adoption center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 pm to 4:30 pm. The MSPCA also runs an Emergency Equine Relief Program that gives short-term help with hay, feed, farrier care, and veterinary care to qualifying horse keepers in New England, with the aim of keeping horses and people together.

MSPCA at Nevins Farm
400 Broadway
Methuen, MA 01844
Phone: 978-687-7453 x 6101

If you love Friesian Horses and sometimes say, "Wow! Horses are kind of my thing," then you will love our horse apparel collection.

Finding Friesians Through the ASPCA Right Horse Program

The ASPCA Right Horse program describes itself as a collective of equine industry and welfare professionals working to increase horse adoption in the United States. Its adoption partners page says you can search for adoptable horses by breed, age, and discipline on myrighthorse.org, and that the program may help move a horse from a distant partner to one nearer your home.

What Adopting a Friesian Involves

My Right Horse, the ASPCA program's adoption site, describes the usual steps. You complete an application much like one for a cat or dog, and expect to give details about your horse facilities, planned care, and riding ability. You are asked for references and for the contacts of the farrier and veterinarian you plan to use, and for your plan to house the horse, either at home or with a professional boarder. Most organizations offer a meet-and-greet, and the final decision is yours. Then you sign an adoption contract that sets out how the horse is transferred to you, and the terms differ between organizations.

The same site tells adopters to be truthful about their riding and handling experience, because the organization uses it to match you with the right horse. Our Friesian horse temperament guide covers how the breed behaves and is trained.

Housing and Fencing

My Right Horse says a horse needs a place out of the weather, such as a barn with stalls or a horse shed, and safe, sturdy fencing. The New Hampshire SPCA adds that horses are herd animals and should be housed with or close to other horses, and that the industry standard is about 1 acre per horse. For indoor space, our stall size guide gives 12 by 12 feet for an average horse of about 1,000 pounds, with larger stalls for draft breeds and large horses.

Feed

The New Hampshire SPCA says roughage, meaning pasture and hay, should be the base of a horse's diet, at 1.5 to 2 percent of its body weight per day for the average horse, and that diet changes should be made gradually over 2 weeks or more to avoid stomach upset or colic. A horse that gets the wrong balance of calcium and phosphorus can be hurt too. Our guide to Big Head disease in horses covers a diet that is low in calcium and high in phosphorus and the fractures it can cause.

Veterinarian and Farrier

My Right Horse says a horse needs farrier work every 6 to 8 weeks in general, with the timing depending on the horse. It also says to schedule at least an annual wellness exam and vaccinations with a veterinarian, and that the yearly exam includes a dental evaluation. Many adoption organizations will ask whether you already have a veterinarian and a farrier, and My Right Horse says they will help you find one if you do not.

Friesian Horse History in Brief

The Friesian Horse Society's history page tells the breed's storied history. It says the Friesian is the only horse breed native to the Netherlands and has been known there since as far back as the 13th century. It says the Friesch Paarden-Stamboek, the breed's studbook, was established on May 1, 1879, and that in 1913 only three older studbook stallions were available for breeding. Our Friesian facts guide goes into the history, the registry rules, and the health problems documented in the breed.

Friesian Horse Adoption FAQ

How much does it cost to adopt a Friesian horse?

Fenway says its adoption fees range from $1,000 to $5,000 and are based on the cost of hauling the horse to its new home. MHWF's application carries a $10 processing fee. Keeping the horse costs more over time. The New Hampshire SPCA's guide, posted June 30, 2020, says keeping a horse at home averages $250 to $300 a month, not counting veterinary care, farrier care, lessons, training, or equipment, and that full-care boarding averages $400 to $800 a month. It also says financial burden is the single biggest reason people surrender a horse to the NHSPCA.

Do I need a farm to adopt a Friesian?

My Right Horse says you can house an adopted horse at home or with a professional boarder, and groups ask for your housing plan either way. Fenway asks for photos with the application. MHWF asks for at least 5 photos of your pastures, fencing, shelters, water supply, and other horses on the property.

Why do Friesians end up in rescue?

Fenway lists economic difficulties, intervention by civil authorities, and abandonment as reasons a Friesian may need to be surrendered or rescued. MHWF says its horses come to it because they ended up in bad situations, were neglected or abused, or their person could no longer keep them.

Can I ride an adopted Friesian?

It depends on the horse. Fenway says most horses in its adoption program have medical limitations and are not suitable for riding, driving, or breeding.

Can I sell or breed an adopted horse?

Not under these programs. Fenway says horses it places are never sold. MHWF says that for at least 5 years the adopter cannot sell or give away the horse, and that adoption horses cannot be bred for any reason.

Can I give my Friesian to a rescue?

Fenway has a surrender process that starts with a surrender application, photos, and documents, followed by its own review and diagnostic testing. It does not accept every horse, and its list of exclusions is in the Fenway section above.

Sources

• The Fenway Foundation for Friesian Horses. "Adoption and Surrender" and "Our Horses." fenwayfoundation.com, fenwayfoundation.com.
• Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation. Home, "How to Adopt," "F.A.Q.," and "Contact MHWF." equineadoption.com, equineadoption.com, equineadoption.com.
• MSPCA-Angell. "Adoption Center: Nevins Farm" and "Equine Assistance Program." mspca.org, mspca.org.
• ASPCA Right Horse. "Find a Local Adoption Partner." aspcarighthorse.org.
• My Right Horse (ASPCA). "What Is Equine Adoption?," "Your First Horse," and "Vets and Farrier." myrighthorse.org, myrighthorse.org, myrighthorse.org.
• New Hampshire SPCA. "Things to Consider Before Adopting a Horse," posted June 30, 2020. nhspca.org.
• Friesian Horse Society. "Friesian History." friesianhorsesociety.com.