What is ForeverMorgans ?                                                                       
ForeverMorgans is an organization working to get both registered                                
and grade Morgans out of dangerous and potentially dangerous
situations. Registered Morgans are our priority with grade
Morgans next. Sometimes a non-Morgan will grab the heartstrings
of the entire group and they will fundraise for them as well.
ForeverMorgans has a Board of Directors and is applying for
non-profit status. There are TWO lists associated with
ForeverMorgans- the "main" list ForeverMorgans at yahoogroups dot
com where the actual business of rescuing horses takes place and
the secondary list ForeverMorgansTwo at yahoogroups dot com where
we look for homes and discuss other issues related to horses.

What kind of horses does ForeverMorgans rescue?
All kinds. Seriously. We have rescued everything from unborn
foals to experienced show horses with ribbons to prove their
success. We rescue driving horses, riding horses, untrained
horses. We have horses with problems and horses as sweet as sugar
from the day we meet them. We rescue horses that make great
'husband' horses and horses that have enough fire and spirit for
the most adventurous rider. The one generalization we can make
about the horses we rescue is that we often don't know much
about them- and they've often been through heck and back before
we get them. Anyone considering adopting from a rescue should be
prepared to work to regain a horse's trust, give them tune-ups
in their training, give them time to settle in, and do their own
in-depth evaluation once a horse has settled in. Forever Morgans
does our best to evaluate each horse before they enter our
network. We always publicize what we KNOW. Any known health or
soundness issues, any noted behavioral issues are released. It
is our number one goal to make sure horses are a good match for
their forever homes. Sometimes issues surface that we didn't
know about, and sometimes issues are created in the journey
between broker and adoptive family. Any potential adopters need
to be aware that these are possibilities. But for those willing
to take the chance, knowing extra love and care may be required,
they can end up with the best friend they've always dreamed of
and the satisfaction of knowing they really did help save a
life.

How do we find the horses?
There are many ways that horses come to our attention. The most
common way is that through our long-standing friendship and
association with the good folks at Another Chance for Horses
(AC4H) we are notified by them whenever they find a Morgan in
either the broker's "to auction" or "direct to slaughter" pens.
They have working relationships with several brokers near the
New Holland auction in PA. New Holland attracts the majority of
the kill buyers for Canadian slaughter houses. We also rely on
our members to bring to our notice horses anywhere in the country
that are in potentially serious situations. And lastly we are
also contacted by non-members who either have horses themselves
that they need help placing or who know of horses that need
placing.

What happens once we know a horse needs help?
First and foremost a home must be found! ForeverMorgans does
not, at this time, have our own facility for the care and
boarding of any horse we rescue. We rely heavily on the good
folks who volunteer to take horses into their homes at their own
expense until we can find a forever home to adopt them
permanently. If a forever home is found right away so much the
better!
Once we have a home the Board then decides on the viability of
raising rescue funds. Sadly not every horse can be rescued.
Sometimes the current owners are unrealistic as to their value,
sometimes the horse is too dangerous or too sick to travel.
Thankfully we've had very few of the latter! Once the horse
enters our system the entire group is asked to fundraise for
their future. This is done by making donations to PayPal through
our ForeverMorgans at Hotmail dot com address. Snail mail can
also be used to send donations but takes longer- and sometimes we
have very little time to save a horse.
When we know we are fundraising for a specific horse the broker
or owner is notified that we are raising money. Most brokers,
but not ALL, will hold a horse over longer if they know
ForeverMorgans is trying to raise their bail. Some, sadly, will
not. Because of this we often have a very short period of time
to raise money- from 3-5 days.

What happens once the funds have been raised?
While the fundraising is going on the Board and specific
committees are setting up vet checks, quarantine, any temporary
boarding, transportation, etc. Once we have the complete amount
of bail a check is sent to the owner/broker and the horse is
moved into our system. EVERY horse from a broker or auction needs
to be quarantined for a minimum of 2 weeks. They pick up nasty
stuff at those places! Preferably horses from unknown private
situations should also be quarantined. After the quarantine
transportation is arranged for the horse to travel to their new
forever home- or to their assigned foster.

What happens if a horse goes to a foster and what are fosters
required to do?
Horses that go to fosters first remain in our system as we try
to find the perfect forever home for them. This part really
requires the help of all our members. We do not want any of our
horses to end up in a situation that could place them in harm in
the future. It is also why we retain part ownership in the horse
forever- so that we have a say in what happens to them. Foster
'parents' take care of boarding and feeding the horse. They
lavish love and attention on them. Arrange farrier and vet work.
Sometimes they spend time training or tuning up the horse. At
this time ForeverMorgans does not have a big enough 'foster fund'
to help pay all the costs associated with foster care. In special
cases we do fundraise for extra needs that go above and beyond
what a foster home should be expected to pay by themselves. If
you are interested in fostering please fill out the application
to adopt (we're working on a different application just for
fosters!).

What happens if I want to adopt a horse?
Potential families fill out the application for adoption on our
website. The application requires references. The Board and
Committees follow up on all references. If everything comes back
excellent and the Board feels you will be a good home for that
particular horse you will be notified of your approval. At that
point you will be contacted to arrange transport and delivery.
We encourage anyone who MIGHT want to adopt in the future to fill
out the application right away and get pre-approval. That way
when you fall in love with a horse you will be first in line!

What if several people want to adopt the same horse?
This is such a wonderful problem to have! If several folks want
to adopt we first look at those who have active applications
with ForeverMorgans. (so if you are interested in potentially
adopting sometime fill out your application NOW.) Next we
consider the horse and the horse's needs - and which potential
family seems best suited to meet those needs. Sometimes this is
difficult with broker/auction horses because frequently not much
is known about them. We rely heavily in these cases on
evaluations from AC4H and from ForeverMorgan volunteers. After a
family is approved and awarded a horse we arrange transport
details with them. We try to notify those who were not awarded
the horse in a timely manner. However please understand that we
are all volunteers with full time jobs and families!

What are Forever homes required to pay?
This is a great question and one that has many answers! Our first
and foremost concern is placing the horse in the very best
forever situation. We do ask all of our potential forever homes
to donate something to the cause. Some can donate the entire
bail and transport, some just the bail or the transport, and
some just a portion of one or the other. The Board decides which
is appropriate. Occasionally an excellent home comes up where
the adopting family has no current spare cash. This does not
automatically eliminate a home from our consideration. The
reason we fundraise is so that we can send our horses to the BEST
place for them without cost being our main concern! Of course as
a small rescue whatever donations can be made are absolutely
fundamental to our ability to continue our work!

Why do we fundraise when we don't have a horse waiting to be
rescued?
We lost a horse once. Her name was Ribbons. Someone had loved
this horse- tied beautiful ribbons in her long mane in the hopes
of making her beauty apparent to someone at the auction. It
didn't help. She was in a direct to slaughter pen- she never
even saw the inside of the auction. Forever Morgans was in our
infancy and we tried hard to raise the money to bail this sweet
mare. At the last minute we raised enough...but the broker
needed to fill his quota with the slaughter house and had
already put her on the truck. He wouldn't pull her off for us.
The memory of that sweet mare as she left on that truck haunts
all of us- we shed many tears over her loss. We don't ever want
to miss out on another Morgan for lack of a few dollars or a few
hours. To that end we are constantly trying to fundraise and
accumulate a 'cushion' for just such scenarios. The members of
ForeverMorgans are AWESOME and GENEROUS. They donate month after
month after month. But sometimes we can't come up with the money
fast enough- and thus we fundraise all the time now. Once we
have our non-profit status approved we will be more than glad to
accept automatic monthly contributions.

What can I do to help?
There are many ways to help Forever Morgans. Donations are always
needed- any time, any amount! We have rescued horses where the
biggest donation from our members was $10. A little bit from a
lot of people equals enough for rescue! We need volunteers to
work with our committees to fundraise, publicize, arrange
transport, etc. Foster homes are always needed! We need folks
just to help get the word out about ForeverMorgans and the work
we do. We need members to help us find excellent Forever homes.
If you want to help and aren't sure what you can do - ask on
ForeverMorgansTwo and we will try to match you to a job!

I hope this helps answer some of the questions that have been
asked. If I didn't answer YOUR question please feel free to send
it to me privately or to one of the lists.
Thank you all for your dedication to saving Morgans!

Chris Pennington
President
ForeverMorgans.org