Equus Foundation honors MSSPA as 2023 Mentor

The Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals in Windham has been recognized as an Equus Foundation 2023 Mentor.

The Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals in
Windham has been recognized as a 2023 Mentor by the 
Equus Foundation for meeting the foundation's highest
standards for business and equine welfare practices.
COURTESY PHOTO  

The EQUUS Foundation is the only national charity in the United States 100 percent dedicated to ensuring the welfare of America's horses and fostering the horse-human bond. EQUUS awards Mentor status to its Guardian charities that have met the foundation’s highest standards for business and equine welfare practices.

Eligible nonprofits include those that:

** Shelter and rehabilitate equines that have been subjected to mistreatment;

** Retrain and re-home equines in transition with careers as athletes, companions, teachers, and healers;

** Provide peaceful and humane retirement and end of life care for aged equines that ensures that they are able to live out their lives in comfort and with dignity;

** Provide mutually beneficial opportunities for people and equines to partner for the purpose of contributing positively to cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being.

Mentor representatives also have the opportunity to serve as members of the EQUUS Foundation Equine Welfare Advisory Group, established to help identify challenges, long term goals, and emerging trends that could affect America’s horses, and explore ways that Mentor organizations can assist other organizations seeking to operate at the highest standards for business and equine welfare practices.

Based in Windham, the mission of the MSSPA is to provide refuge, rehabilitation, and placement of seized equines. MSSPA does not charge for its shelter services and seeks no reimbursement from any public source. Horses cared for by the MSSPA come from Maine law enforcement officials and most of them have been abused or neglected.

The MSSPA was originally formed in 1872 to protect the horses who pulled Portland’s streetcars and fire engines. It now offers shelter services for equines across Maine with access to veterinary medical care and maintains dozens of equines at its South Windham facility.

The MSSPA’s goal for each horse is rehabilitation and a new home, but if no suitable adoption is found, horses may live out their natural lives at the organization’s farm.

The MSSPA is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) and receives no federal, state or local funding, but rather is funded by a combination of donations, bequests, grants, and fundraising activities. It uses its resources to provide direct care to equines who have suffered abuse and promotes humane treatment, training, and the use of animals through education and hands-on experiences. <