Let it know, Tenerife Horse Rescueis the only animal shelter on the island specialized in horses, although it also has a multitude of other species of animals, most of them abandoned, others donated and some born born in this sanctuary located in La Jaca, above the TF- 1 in the municipality of Arico.
It has grown so much in less than four years of life, that Tenerife Horse Rescue has sent a message these days to its donors in search of investors to acquire the adjoining land of a construction company and others that surround it, with the encouragement that urban development does not isolate its current 6,500 square metres, although they do not care too much about making their activity compatible with the nearby wind turbines, although they do show concern about the future proximity of the South train, if it is finally developed. “Our future is at stake, in which we want to create a veterinary clinic, hold workshops and create a sustainability school,” he says. Trinidad Segalerbaa young Argentine volunteer, recently arrived at the shelter.
Tenerife Horse Rescue is a non-governmental charity founded in Arico in 2018 by the English Emma Greenfield and the Italian Edo. “We are totally run by volunteers and our goal is to offer homes to all equines that need a second chance,” says Trinidad, where young people from all over the world, lovers of animals and ecology, live together.
Tenerife Horse Rescue is specialized in the rehabilitation and training of horses with positive reinforcement to give them a voice. “They are pack or race horses that live for about thirty years, but normally at five they no longer serve their owners and they are pushed away malnourished or mistreated,” says Trinidad, recalling that “we are the only shelter specialized in horses, for Those of us who have two Canarian veterinarians and the demand there is incredible, someone writes to us every day denouncing the bad condition of a horse. We have a lot of demand, but now it doesn’t give us the physical space to pick up those horses.” Each horse has its name and behind it a story of abuse, some have gone from jumping champions or not being able to get up, until they arrived at the Emma and Edo sanctuary. “They went from eating raw potatoes to hay, which they need,” says Trinidad.
“Although the horses are our main objective, we do not stop here. Our animal sanctuary has a huge variety of abandoned animals all rescued from the island, almost 400. For example, dogs and cats, birds, ducks, guinea pigs, goats, pigs, turtles, hamsters and much more. In addition, we are also great defenders of sustainability and live community”, Trinidad tells us, while we observe Paulina, a Chilean aid worker, pedaling to run a washing machine. “Here we have photovoltaic energy, but we also manage to save as much as possible, we are 100% ecological and sustainable,” she says, adding that “all the material we have here is made with recycled materials,” she pointed out.
The forty volunteers work every day in the shelter and they only do it for food and lodging, knowing that “we do not make money with it, we only work for the welfare of the animals.” Everyone has their occupation in the sanctuary, Trinidad recognizing that it is “an organized chaos.”
Tenerife Horse Rescue has so far had more than 200 volunteers. “Many stay for more than a year, or with repeat visits. They have helped us dig the earth, build the yurt, train the horses, collect manure and more. We couldn’t do it without your help. We offer through Workaway accommodation on site and provide all meals in exchange for 25 hours of work per week, the minimum stay being one month. Above all, we are very grateful to always have a small community of people who help the sanctuary run smoothly and continue to grow”, says Emma Greenfield, the creator of the very supportive project.
For this, they not only have the donations of hundreds of people from Tenerife and from all over the world, through a global donation through social networks, without receiving government aid, but they also receive food for the animals from daily waste. of the Lidl hypermarket chain.
Emma and Edo, the creators
Emma, 33, from an animal-loving British family, grew up with animal friends rather than human ones. She spent her childhood rescuing bugs and frogs while she begged her parents to give her riding lessons. She grew up studying horsemanship, small animal veterinary nursing, animal first aid, and various short courses in horse communication. She has a lot of experience in self-employment, from running a charity shop for a horse sanctuary in the UK, dog walking and training businesses and dancing. She spends all her free time walking dogs or expanding her knowledge about the welfare of animals and horses by reading books and watching videos on YouTube. She still has more animal friends than humans, but she has real horse friends and no longer imaginary ones, like she did in her childhood.
“What we do at the horse sanctuary is hugely necessary and incredibly rewarding. In Tenerife, a large number of animals are used for agriculture and tourism. They are often found uncared for or abandoned once their working use comes to an end. For us it is a pleasure and a privilege to rescue, relocate and care for animals in need. But drugs and therapies are expensive and in constant demand. And our need for food, shelter and homes for animals never ends.”
Edo (35), a native of a small town in Italy, had never owned a pet before meeting Emma, but always dreamed of retiring to a farm and living self-sufficiently with a pack of dogs. After leaving school, he developed a background in construction, customer service, entertainment and has a natural ability for languages, speaking up to six. He met Emma when she was living in an equestrian center in Fuerteventura and Edo was on vacation. Bonding over their mutual experience in dance, they worked together on a show for a year before they started planning this project. They soon discovered that they had the perfect ingredients to develop it together. Edo realized his dream of owning a farm long before retirement age.
“We have already learned a lot from our adventure so far. We have learned to plan and record, and from there to build from scratch for ourselves and our animal shelter. We have had to understand the business of fundraising and running a charity. We have solved problems using solar energy and ecological water systems. We have enlisted the help of the generous local population and visitors to Tenerife. Create a team of people who work for the love of animals and not for profit. Getting their hands dirty or donating their hard-earned money when they can.”
