Tag: horse protection

Legal Notices

WEBSITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Welcome to the official website of the Fund for Horses (“FFH”).

If you continue to browse and use this website you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern the FFH’s relationship with you in relation to this website.

The term ‘Fund for Horses’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of this website. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of this website.

Use of this website is subject to the following terms and conditions:

1. The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.

2. Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.

3. Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.

4. This website may contain material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.

5. All trade marks reproduced in this website which are not the property of, or licensed to, the operator are acknowledged on the website.

6. Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.

7. From time to time this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse said website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked to website(s).

8. You may not create a link to this website from another website or document without the prior written consent of the Fund for Horses.

9. Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use is subject to the laws of the United States.

PRIVACY POLICY

The Fund for Horses have created this privacy statement to spell out our firm commitment to individual privacy.

The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices.

The Fund for Horses respect the privacy of its visitors. You are not required to provide any personal information to visit our website. Site visitors can voluntarily provide personal information to sign up for Action Alerts, e-mail updates, or other notifications regarding the site. If you do so, we will use the information you provide to send you periodic e-mails.

When you sign up to receive our e-mail notifications, the Fund for Horses will never sell, lease or otherwise share your name, e-mail or mailing address, or other personally identifiable information to any outside unaffiliated individual, business, organization or concern.

The Fund for Horses use IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our servers and to administer our website. IP addresses are not linked to anything personally identifiable.

Our website may contain links to other websites, including sponsors, and profit or not-for-profit websites. The Fund for Horses are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites, and encourages you to independently review the website privacy policies of such entities.

Please feel free to contact us at any time regarding our Privacy Policy. You may also contact us to change or update any information you wish to supply us.

FAIR USE

The Fund for Horses’ website at http://www.fundforhorses.org (“our website”) may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners.

We believe that this not-for-profit use on our website constitutes fair use of the copyrighted material as provided by Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law.

In addition, images have been collected from various sources in the public domain for use on our website that we believe to be free for non-commercial purposes.

If you have any questions, please email us with a link to the page in question and with details of your concerns.

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. This information is provided by the Fund for Horses, and while we endeavor to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.

Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of the Fund for Horses. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, the Fund for Horses takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.

If you have any questions regarding the contents of this page, please feel free to contact us.

ADVOCACY POLICY

The Fund for Horses are firmly committed to fulfilling our Mission through peaceful and lawful means.

We will therefore neither knowingly nor willingly participate in, condone, incite or promote others to participate in any unlawful or non peaceful activities.

Nor will we harass, encourage others to harass, or support those who seek to harass any individual or legal entity, as defined by the laws of the United States of America.

The Fund for Horses have adhered to this policy from our first day of operation, and pledge to continue to do so.

If you have any questions or concerns, contact us at any time.

Contact Us | Mission and Philosophy  | Home Page

History of Our Organization

It Started in Texas

Founded by Vivian Grant (later Farrell), the Fund for Horses has its roots in a grassroots citizen advocacy group called Texans for Horses, formed in the early part of 2001. Its mission was to shut down the State’s two foreign-owned horse slaughter plants.

Success in Texas caught national attention and began to attract horse lovers and activists across the country.

The Fund for Horses

The group incorporated as a not for profit 501(c)(4) horse protection organization in October, 2003 as the Fund for Horses, setting up headquarters in Houston, Texas. In recent years people have come to call us simply — the Horse Fund.

Int’l Fund for Horses

As the group’s influence and reputation began to grow, and extending beyond the United States, the Fund for Horses filed to do business as the Int’l Fund for Horses in June, 2004, operating chiefly out of Brussels.

In 2007, the Int’l Fund for Horses received accreditation as a Member League of the OIPA, Organisation Internationale pour la Protection des Animaux (International League for the Protection of Animals).

A Shift in Focus

During the past 12 years, the main focus of the Fund for Horses has shifted from predominantly lobbying U.S. State and Federal governments for new and stronger horse protection laws, to employing citizen action and social media campaigns as a means of confronting and eradicating the cruelty, suffering and death of horses.

The Fund for Horses therefore decided to dissolve as a 501(c)(4) not for profit charitable organization, and reorganize as a 501(c)(3) not for profit charitable organization, to be headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Fund for Horses also continues to work as the Int’l Fund for Horses.

THF 2019 Logo. ©The Horse Fund.

See also Our Mission and Philosophy » Message from Our President »

Message from Vivian

Vivian's headshot.

Hello, and welcome to the Fund for Horses and Int’l Fund for Horses.  I am Vivian Grant Farrell, founding President. Here is a bit about myself.

Horses have influenced my entire life. I cannot remember a time when horses have not been a part of it.

My dad and uncle took me to my first horse race when I was about 9 months old at Haydock Park in Liverpool, England where I was born. My father took me around all day sitting on his shoulders. He said I was enraptured and never a moment’s trouble.

But my experience with horses goes back further than that. It goes back to the day I was brought home from the hospital a couple of days after I was born. 

My dad carried me from the car — not into the house — but straight to the barn where the horses were. The horses were very curious about what was wrapped up in that little blanket.

Then he took me around to each horse in turn to let them gently blow their breath on me through their nostrils. My father said he prayed that I would have in some part the same spirit as these amazing creatures.

Growing up, we always had horses around. They are a lot of work to take care of so it’s all hands on deck. I began helping out with the horses mornings and evenings, mucking out as soon as I was able to handle a fork and barrow, changing their water, turning them out and bringing them in.

I took up riding at a very early age of course. Nothing could have been more natural. I never rode with tack until my early teens.

It was all Thoroughbreds when I was in England, and not until we moved to America that I met Quarter Horses. What a jolly breed they are. If they understand what you want and are even remotely capable of doing it, they will try.

Later when I married and lived in Texas, we boarded all sorts of horses and this was when I had my first experience with gaited horses, having the most wonderful Missouri Foxtrotter.

After I was widowed I left America and returned to England settling in the north. I had been a keen photographer since my teens and quite talented at it. I made good locally, and eventually was able to put my two great loves together — horses and photography — and developed a career beginning with local racecourses no further south than York.

My career blossomed, and I eventually moved south, relocating to racing HQ — Newmarket, Suffolk. I spent many happy years photographing some of the world’s most beautiful and talented horses on the flat and over the jumps in the UK and Europe. I was even lucky enough once to draw the coveted position at The Chair for the Aintree Grand National (I usually got the water jump!).

Years later saw my return to America with my second husband who was employed by a famous East coast Thoroughbred breeder and owner.

I began to witness things done to horses that greatly disturbed me and had not seen go on anywhere else I had worked or lived. I began to ask questions, to speak up. It is no exaggeration to say that this made me wildly unpopular to the point I was warned off on more than one occasion.

My husband felt very much the same way and ready to quit and return to the UK because he couldn’t handle it either.  However, I could not follow him because I had too many animals who had to be quarantined. The cost was prohibitive, and I couldn’t bear to give even one of them up.

So I stayed behind, and back to my old stomping ground in Texas I went, with all my animals in tow.  

Once settled there, I was shocked to learn that horses were being slaughtered in Texas for human consumption. I was stunned, angered and knew that I had to do something about it. That is how and when my advocacy for horses began — with that issue with an informal group called Texans for Horses. That was 2001 and I am still going strong today, working to end horse abuse at here and abroad.

Join Us

If you love horses and want to help I invite you to get involved with us.

It doesn’t have to be anything big — although we would naturally love it if you are inspired to do big things. But this is what I have found over many years:

When a group of people get together and take the same steps at the same time towards good, big things — what some might even call miraculous things — begin to happen.

Our horses need as many of us as possible to be that group of people, however and whenever we can. No act of compassion is ever too small or goes unrewarded.

Contact us here to find out more.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting with us.

For the Love of Horses,

Vivian's signature.

10 December 2019

THF 2019 Logo. ©The Horse Fund.

Our Mission and Philosophy »

History of Our Organization »