https://www.ormondbeachobserver.com/photo-gallery/its-all-about-the-horses-ormond-horse-rescue-seeks-communitys-help-through-covid-19-pandemic
Donations are down, but Ormond Beach residents
Susanna and Phil Raymond will keep S&P Stables open.
by: Jarleene Almenas Associate Editor
What's it like running an animal rescue during the COVID-19 pandemic?
If you ask the Raymonds, the answer mirrors that of many nonprofit organizations: It's not easy.
Susanna and Phil Raymond, of Ormond Beach (now at their new location in Pomona Park, Florida), are the faces behind S&P Stables Inc. and Horse Rescue, and with 26 horses under their care, the coronavirus has impacted the number of incoming donations and viable adoptions. Running a horse rescue is always expensive, Susanna Raymond said.
In one week, they spend an average of $440 for six rolls of hay. Add in vet fees and feed, and the cost increases.
But, the Raymonds are passionate about keeping S&P Stables open.
“It’s all about the horses," Susanna Raymond said. "None of this is about us. It is about them—giving them what they need.”
S&P stables has been a nonprofit organization since 2017, specializing in the rehabilitation of horses with the end goal of eventually adopting them out with a responsible rider. Though adoption fees have been waived at this time, the Raymonds don't just give away free horses. There has to be a bond between the horse and rider, Susanna Raymond explained. There are currently two horse adoptions underway.
“We want to make sure that there’s a success," she said. "Without success, we wind up having horses coming back and that’s not good for the horse, nor for the person.”
Hard timesEven before COVID-19, the Raymonds were going through a hard time. Susanna Raymond lost three of the tips of her fingers on her left hand during a horse trailer accident last Father's Day.
Outside financial support for the rescue slowed down shortly afterward.
Want to help?
To learn about ways to help, visit the nonprofit Facebook's page, S&P Stables Inc And Horse Rescue or its website at http://www.spstables.net/
“It’s been a rough half year," Phil Raymond said.
However, they haven't given up. The Raymonds have put up their house and land for sale in Ormond Beach, and hope to relocate the rescue to a 29-acre parcel of land in Putnam County, where they will have the space to hold training sessions, riding lessons and camps.
“Our role is just to keep doing what we’re doing," Phil Raymond said. "We have to do the best we can.”
Why they do itSusanna Raymond has been riding horses since she was 4 years old. Horses have always granted her emotional support, and she's been able to provide that to others who visit the stables.
One of the horses under her care is 14-year-old Princess Marie. Before coming to the Raymonds' rescue, she had been beaten with wood planks and mentally broken, Susanna Raymond said. She was advised to put her down, but Susanna Raymond didn't give up on her.
“It’s these things," she said. "Why do horses have to suffer? Why does any animal have to suffer?”
It's why the Ormond Beach residents are adamant on keeping the rescue open.
“It’s just becoming a very difficult time," Susanna Raymond said. "We’re not going to give up. This is what we do, but we’re just asking for a little bit of assistance through this difficult time too just like everybody else is.”
Ormond Beach Observer - Monday, Sep. 17, 2018
Ormond Beach-based horse rescue dedicated to saving community's horses
Susanna Raymond smiles with a healthy Glenn at S&P Stables in Ormond Beach. Photo by Jarleene Almenas.
'Saving and protecting'
by: Jarleene Almenas News Editor
Five months ago, Ormond Beach residents Susanna and Phil Raymond were alerted to a former Louisiana race horse left abandoned on a pasture.
At 12 years old, he was starved, underweight by at least 600 pounds and with soft and cracked hooves. The Raymonds didn't think he would make it, but after months of rehab and care, Glenn would prove them wrong. Now, he's put on a healthy weight and spends his days grazing with the Raymonds' other horses on their property.
“He’s come so far," Susanna Raymond said. "You would never believe it was the same horse.”
Glenn is just one of the 22 horses the Raymonds house. The couple runs a non-profit horse rescue in Ormond Beach named "S&P Stables Inc," and while the organization has only been registered as a non-profit for a year and a half, the Raymonds have been fostering horses for the last seven years.
“We work hard to try to make a good home for these horses and if they don’t get adopted, we try everything possible to get them what they need here."
Susanna Raymond, founder of S&P Stables Inc and horse rescue
The hope is always to rehab the horses, some of which come from abusive households, and adopt them out to caring individuals. In some cases, that's not always possible, but that doesn't mean the Raymonds won't take them in.
Twenty-six-year-old Cheyenne was a professional show horse before she arrived at S&P Stables. Her previous owner was a 26-year-old woman with spina bifida. Before she passed away, she used to ride Cheyenne every day with the help of an oxygen tank.
Cheyenne now has cancer and will live out the rest of her days with the Raymonds.
“We work hard to try to make a good home for these horses and if they don’t get adopted, we try everything possible to get them what they need here," Susanna Raymond said.
Then there's Princess Marie, a 12-year-old Arabian mare who used to be regularly beaten by wood planks. She now allows the Raymonds to nuzzle her forehead, but only briefly.
“Everybody said ‘put her down, put her down,'" Susanna Raymond said. "We wanted to give her the opportunity to know what love is about.”
It hasn't been easy. Financial help for the horse rescue has been dwindling, which has forced Susanna Raymond to go back to work full-time. Their feed bill comes in at $250 a week, and this doesn't include any supplements, medications or bedding needed to take care of the horses.
She said they receive daily calls to take in horses, but at this point, they're not financially able to. Unlike race and show horsing organizations, they don't receive sponsorships from feed stores or veterinary clinics.
“Financially, we’re kind of on our own," Susanna Raymond said. The Raymonds have even sold their truck to keep the stables open.
Susanna has also had to overcome challenges in her own life. She beat cancer in 2000. In 2001, she was diagnosed with primary lateral sclerosis and was told that she would be in a wheelchair within five years.
Susanna Raymond has beat those odds. “This is kind of like my therapy to keep me going," she said.
Initially, S&P stood for Susanna and Phil, but the initials have since taken on a new meaning: Save and Protect.
Glenn is an example of what the Raymonds do. When Susanna Raymond whistles for him across the field, he loyally comes over to nuzzle her. She calls him her "cuddle-bunny" and kisses his head.
“He’s a big boy, and he’s the sweetest thing you could ever imagine," Susanna Raymond said. "It’s like he knows that he was saved.”
https://www.ormondbeachobserver.com/photo-gallery/ormond-beach-based-horse-rescue-dedicated-to-saving-communitys-horses
Want to help?
Monetary donations can be addressed to "S&P Stables Inc." and mailed to 663 Pineland Trail. For more information on the nonprofit organization, visit spstables.net
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Getting Results Award winners need help caring for horses S&P Stables seek volunteers to help horses in need
ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Susanna and Phil Raymond are this week's News 6 Getting Results Award winners. The Raymonds own S&P Stables and Horse Rescue in Ormond Beach and are part of a network of nonprofit rescue facilities in Florida trying to find homes for horses that have been abandoned, neglected or abused.
"There's so much more abuse than people are aware of," Susanne Raymond said. "Every single one of them has a different story."
The Raymonds are caring for 24 horses on their 8-acre property. Many of the animals come in underweight, timid and afraid of humans. The Raymonds spend hours each day trying to get some of them acclimated to people.
"Every single day a little more of that touch between me and the horse, a little bit," Raymond said while working with an Arabian that was beaten with boards. "A little bit means a lot. We try to do this every single day to get a little bit closer."
The goal is rehabilitate them and find them permanent homes. Raymond said financial hardship is the No. 1 reason many horses end up being neglected.
"Some of these horses were left to starve," she said. "We have a few that were basically a body score of zero. Now, they're happy, weighted horses."
Raymond said she's heard stories of unwanted horses being sold by the pound.
According to the Humane Society, each year more than 100,000 American horses, working, racing and companion horses, are inhumanely transported long distances in cramped trailers without food water or rest. Then they are slaughtered for their meat, which is shipped overseas for human consumption.
Until now, the Raymonds have been caring for the animals all by themselves.
"It's a 24-hour-a day, seven-day-a-week job," Phil Raymond said. "It's nonstop. It's a big task."
The Raymonds said they are looking for experienced volunteers to help care for and train the horses. For more information about volunteering opportunities, visit S & P Stables website.
Copyright 2018 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.
(video included in this link)
https://www.clickorlando.com/getting-results/2018/03/29/getting-results-award-winners-need-help-caring-for-horses/
