Saving the herd: Washington horse rescue in a race against time

Washington horse rescue needs to raise $650K to save property for abused horses

Leave or buy: A Washington horse rescue operation has been given 90 days to come up with $650,000, or be forced to vacate the property they’ve been renting for 17 years.

KINGSTON, Wash. - Leave or buy: A Washington horse rescue operation has been given 90 days to come up with $650,000, or be forced to vacate the property they’ve been renting for 17 years.

Toni’s Ponies in Kingston looks to "help horses that have been starved or mistreated, rehabilitate them, help them trust again and live a happy, safe life."

Horses like ‘Dixie’ and ‘Cammie’ have found forever homes thanks to caretaker and founder Toni Houck, who took the extra steps to formalize her small charity as a 501(c)3 in 2019, hoping to continue its work for years to come. But now she is scrambling for a new property for the more than a dozen horses currently in her care. She says if worse comes to worst "we’ll live in a tent" rather than abandon them.

In the meantime, the organization has put up a GoFundMe to help raise money against the giant expense expected if they have to move the herd, and are hoping a charity sale later this month might also bring in extra cash.

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