Coloreado to Arizona

I have to admit my confusion about the priorities of some of the Rescues operating today, as well as those who support, or in some cases, enable them.Take the case of Tierra Madre in Arizona. I had been working on a story about Jim Gath and his Sanctuary for about a month now. I admit I was impressed with some of what I saw, concerned with some, but felt that this was a man with a good head on his shoulders from his writings.Jim himself is a bit of an Enigma. Self described as a Co-founder of USA Today, and someone who worked in the Entertainment Industry, with Turner Broadcasting among other achievements, Jim had his share of success. Jim is honest about the demons that brought him down, and led him to where he is today. All of that can be read on his Website, and the accompanying blog http://tierramadrehorsesanctuary.org/ I've been reading the blog for awhile, and it's evident that Jim Gath loves his horses. He'll go without before they do, and he is under what appears to be an insurmountable vet bill of well over $9000. That amount seems to grow on an almost daily basis. Jim's horses, while loved and cared for, present a myriad of health issues requiring medications, supplements, and treatments, that also add to the operating costs of Tierra Madre. And, on a very sad note, in the past few weeks, Jim had to put two of his horses down, and is looking at a very bad scenario with yet another.Jim has a raffle going on now, that has gotten little response. He is 501(c)(3), and relies heavily on the donations of outside support to keep his Sanctuary afloat. Those funds do not seem to be helping much, as Jim struggles day to day to make ends meet. In short, he's not making those ends meet at all, but he's working as hard as humanly possible.An interesting side point is that Jim is a member of the ABR forum. This group, as many know, boasts a strong support base, capable of, according to co-founder Alex Brown, generating Millions of dollars into the rescue cause. One would think that Jim would receive a lot more financial aid than he does, but his pleas go largely unrecognized. There is a small, dedicated group of "FOTM's", Friends of Tierra Madre's who work tirelessly to keep the vet bill from going above the $9000+ mark. With each new bill that comes in, they try to get it paid. And the bills come in with alarming regularity.According to Jim's August 21st Blog entry, he was "broke" and "sick". I can only imagine the burden he carries as he tries to manage 27 horses on less that 3 acres under the unforgiving Arizona sun. Temperatures reach 100+ degrees there, and the work Jim does lasts from sunrise to past sunset.Imagine my surprise when on the very same day, Jim decides to take in yet another horse! This coming from a man who stated in his own blog that the initial funding for a rescue horse is no reason for celebration, or an end zone dance. This from a man who just hours ago remarked on his physical, and financial situation. What in the world could Jim Gath be thinking? And what could those who would participate in this be thinking? The horse in question, Coloreado, is not an emergency case. He, according to Jim (and disputed by Alex Brown) simply stopped in the middle of a race, telling the world he was done working. He's not lame, he's not broken down, Jim does allude to the fact that he may have some chiropractic issues, but this is one big, rangy, healthy looking horse!The funding, $700 was raised in record time, and Coloreado was destined for retirement. Where to begin?Let's start with the fund raising. I understand that there are horses in need of Sanctuary, and in an emergency case, I can see Jim Gath opening his already overburdened facility to one in need. Coloreado just doesn't fit the picture of a horse in any danger. ABR, almost famous for bad choices in their rescue efforts, does not disappoint with this choice. How much sense does it make to raise the money to send a horse to a Sanctuary already so financially strapped that each and every day is a challenge? The members of ABR themselves for the most part do not support the ongoing operations of Tierra Madre, save the small group of supporters working seemingly day and night just to keep the huge financial hole from getting any deeper.Personally, if I was his vet, I'd be flat out pissed. I know, Jim has already justified that in his head by stating that Coloreado was paid for by the generous members on ABR. But let's just for one minute, take a look at the big picture. Another horse equals another mouth to feed. Ant money at this point that is spent on anything else, does not go to the huge vet bill Jim already owes. What thought process went into thinking that it was okay to bring another horse into the mix because the initial cost was covered? Maybe Jim should read his own blog. He made some very wise statements there, he just seems incapable of adhering to them himself.And finally, Coloreado himself. I've got a feeling from the pictures posted, he could be "one of the good ones" we have discussed here. Is this a horse that deserves to be relegated to a life of carrots and kisses? What a shame! I can see this boy being capable of, and yes even happily doing so much more with his life. This is not a horse ready for retirement, just the next phase of his life.There has been a lot of conversation lately about how Rescues need to be run, and I, personally am all for them to operate on a more business level. This latest action by Jim Gath is a perfect example of why it is necessary.By adding another horse to an already financially struggling facility, Jim has put not only that horse, but himself, and every other horse residing at Tierra Madre in an even more precarious position that they were in just 12 hours before he chose to follow his heart and not his head. He has chosen to disregard the overwhelming vet bill he has run up in favor of pretending that it's okay to bring in an extra horse to feed and maintain because someone else footed the bill. Let's all hope that Coloreado stays healthy and sound. There has already been talk about the necessity of funding for Coloreado's upkeep at Tierra Madre. While there may be good intentions now, while he's the new guy, let's see how long the financial support lasts.I think that maybe Jim Gath needed Coloreado, but I'm sure Coloreado doesn't need Sanctuary.
written by RH2