Help a Horse Day is a national celebration and contest to raise awareness of the plight of horses. Equine rescues and sanctuaries are encouraged to host events throughout the month of April that highlighting the work they do and show community members how they can help make a difference in the equine community.
Hidden Acres Rescue for Thoroughbreds (HART) will be celebrating the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) national Help A Horse Day on April 22-24 and competing for a chance to win up to $25,000 in grant prizes to assist with our efforts to protect horses.
We will be hosting a month of activities and will be attending various events to provide information throughout the month. To celebrate the day, HART will collaborate with the Melbourne Art Festival on April 22nd and 23rd at Wickham Park for a two days of family fun, celebration and education. Look forward to equine demonstrations, games and more!
Art Contest
In celebration of ASPCA’s National Help A Horse Day, HART is sponsoring an art contest to highlight the beauty and spirit of our rescue horses. Five of our rescue horses will be highlighted. Artists are asked to choose one of these horses as the basis of their artwork.
The art can be in any medium including, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, jewelry and computer digital art (if made from personal or royalty-free images).
Winning entry will receive a $100 Visa gift card and will be featured on our website, social media platforms, promotional materials and publications.
Need inspiration? HART has selected 5 images that may be used for inspiration in our art contests. You can view the images HERE
Art and Essay Contest
In addition, HART is sponsoring an Art and Essay Contest for young people ages 10 through 13 with the opportunity to win a Summer Horsemanship Camp Session at HART valued at $375.
Online Art Auction
We are also hosting an Online Art Auction to highlight the beauty and spirit of our rescue horses.
This nationwide competition is for equine rescues and sanctuaries to raise awareness about the lifesaving work they do year-round to care for at-risk horses in their community who have often been abused or neglected.
Horses have been central to the ASPCA’s work since its founding 150 years ago, when Henry Bergh stopped a cart driver from beating his horse, resulting in the first successful arrest for the mistreatment of a horse on April 26, 1866.
In 2016, HART was honored to be recognized for our efforts as the only rescue in the state of Florida and one of 11 winners overall. Help A Horse Day is an integral part of our community and we are proud to stand side-by-side with the ASPCA to make a difference in the lives of these beautiful creatures.
We want your help to make 2017 an even bigger success! We are seeking sponsors, donations (monetary and in-kind), volunteers to pass out fliers, please follow us on social media for more information about HART and what awaits.
If you are interested in getting involved with Help A Horse Day please email Suzee at hartforhorses@gmail.com. We appreciate your help as we would not be able to pull off this event and fulfill our mission without people like you.
A sad and unfortunate fate of some horses that can’t be overlooked is the fate of slaughter. Did you know that annually approximately 150,000 American horses are commercially slaughtered for human consumption in other countries?
Americans do not eat horse meat, this profit-driven industry is based solely on foreign demand. Please read more about the animal cruelty associated with slaughter to learn why we are so opposed to it. Lastly, we ask you to help us in our mission to stop these inhumane slaughter houses by joining the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade.