In 1991, Dancer was an aging, malnourished and overworked sorrel horse with a huge scar on his nose. Dancer’s history was unknown prior to when he was sold from a public stable at an auction in Virginia in the 1980s. Dancer was used as a rental horse for guests at a resort. Seven days a week, from daylight to dusk, Dancer carried the guests on trails throughout the Virginia hillside. At night, he would return to a manure-filled stall in a filthy, rat-ridden, fly-infested barn.Dancer and the other rental horses often suffered from saddle and girth sores, lameness and other untreated injuries. The owner trained Dancer with regular beatings. Once the rental horses served their purpose, they were auctioned off, usually to a slaughterhouse to be processed into glue or pet food. This appeared to be Dancer’s fate, too, until the fall of 1991, when Hilary Wood walked into the stable.Hilary Wood grew up on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. She was a city kid who spent much of her time dreaming of owning her own horse. She read every book she could find on horses, and wrote school reports on horse novels. No one else in her family shared her passion for horses or even understood where it came from, but Wood knew she was destined to have a horse in her life. Wood graduated from college, and, while working as a conference-resort executive, she checked out a public stable used by the resort’s guests. It was there where she first laid eyes on Dancer.Wood was appalled at the condition of the stable. However, she was drawn to Dancer. She knew he was in desperate need of veterinarian care, proper nutrition and most of all, love. Wood convinced the stable owner to sell Dancer to her for $1,500, a high price for an ailing, aging horse. However, to Wood, it was worth every penny. She didn’t know it at the time, but Dancer would be Wood’s first horse rescue. Wanting to help the other horses, too, she started volunteering at a horse rescue operation in Leesburg, Va. Wood decided that someday she would start her own horse rescue program.After a vacation in Colorado, Wood and Dancer made Colorado Springs their home. In 1995, Wood was talking to a friend about her dream of wanting to start a horse rescue. Wood’s friend said, “Just Do It.” Wood immediately went to work setting up a nonprofit organization with a goal to end the neglect and abuse of horses. Front Range Equine Rescue (FRER) was born, and, in 1997, FRER began accepting animals into its program.Wood and Dancer have been profiled in numerous newspapers and magazines nationwide. FRER also provides foster, sponsorship, adoption and fire evacuation programs. Wood most recently added a “Stop the Backyard Breeder” program, which addresses horse overpopulation. Each program serves the different needs of the horses brought to FRER, which is funded through grants, other nonprofit organizations and individuals.Wood also spends a great deal of time on educational programs. FRER sponsors numerous clinics throughout the year to educate owners and potential owners on how to provide safe and healthy homes for their horses. “Loving horses is not enough to provide properly for them,” Wood said. “It takes money, time and education to be a truly great horse owner.”Once rehabilitated, FRER horses are available for adoption. Potential adopters must live within five hours of Colorado Springs, fill out an application and agree to all adoption rules. Wood takes no chances with the equines. A pre-adoption visit is required, and FRER may conduct follow-up visits for the lifetime of the horse. Attending a basic horsemanship class may also be required. The horse cannot be sold or given away without the consent of FRER, and a horse can never be auctioned.Wood’s love of Dancer has led her to do everything she can to help the neglected and abused animals. Her beloved Dancer lived out the rest of his life happily on Wood’s five acres. On October 18, 2001, Wood came home from work and found Dancer, her loving friend and companion, dead in the pasture. It is in his loving memory that Front Range Equine Rescue lives on.Thanks Dancer!For more information on how you can help stop the abuse and neglect of horses, visit Front Range Equine Rescue’s web site at www.frontrangeequinerescue.org.
The legacy of Dancer
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