KOTA Cares: Happy Tails Haven works to find unwanted and abandoned horses a home

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - According to the American Horse Council, there are more than seven million horses in the U.S. and more than 170,000 of these animals become cast aside each year.

On this week’s KOTA Cares we stoplight Happy Tails Haven and their mission to help horses in need.

When you think of animal shelters or rescues the image of a cat or dog typically comes to mind, but the abandoned horse population is growing at a concerning rate.

For Happy Tails Haven this has led to an uptick of horses ending up at their rescue. Since January the non-profit has taken in more than 30 horses.

“So that is a really huge change in that we have grown a lot in these last nine months because prior to that normally in a year we took in five and adopted out maybe one or two. So, things have gotten busy,” said Klara Parks, founder and director of Happy Tails Haven.

Happy Tails Haven is volunteer-based and operates strictly on donations and with more horses to care for, the non-profit has seen an increase in expenses.

“I can tell you that last year’s revenue was close to 75,000,” added Parks With the number of horses that we have and that we’ve taken in that just barely meets expenses. It takes a lot of time, energy, money, volunteers, supplies, you name it. It takes a great deal.”

If you have a concern about a horse or you’re interested in adopting a horse from Happy Tails Haven... call them at (605)-391-3122.

Happy Tails Haven is hosting their 3rd annual Hay Fundraiser and Silent Auction on September 23 at Kickstands Bar and Grill.

To donate to this week’s KOTA Cares, click here.

Copyright 2023 KOTA. All rights reserved.