Shelter
Gentle Spirit Horses Rescue & Sanctuary
Mission
The main program and goal of GSH is to find permanent homes for the equines that come into our care, and to offer them a lifetime protection contract. Horses come into our program in many ways - from neglect and seizure cases, herd reductions, and many owner donations. We will also help place horses that remain with their owners until placed, to offer them the protection of our adoption contract.
Adoption Policy
In order to foster, the potential adopter must:
1) Complete and submit a signed Foster Application & Liability Waiver
2) Provide 3 references, which must include a vet plus one other horse professional
(farrier, trainer)
3) Submit photos of the equine’s potential foster home and other equines owned by the
potential adopter, or allow for an in person inspection
Once the Foster Application is received, GSH will:
1) Review the Application to make sure the requirements are met
2) Contact the listed references
3) Conduct any background check required
4) Arrange a visit by the potential foster home at a GSH location. If an in person visit is not
possible, arrange a telephone conversation
5) Assign a volunteer inspector to set up a time for a home visit if needed. During the
home visit, the inspector will view and photograph the property where any fostered
equine(s) will live, view and photograph other equines on the property, and answer
questions about the adoption process
Our application is kept simple on purpose, as it is meant to start a conversation. GSH will get a
good feel for the potential foster’s knowledge, ability and personality through in person or
telephonic conversations, and will therefore be able to make a better recommendation for a
match with an equine.
Upon review of all of these items, the Foster Coordinator will decide if the application is
approved or denied. The Foster Coordinator may deny an application for any reason.
If the application is denied, the Foster Coordinator will inform the potential foster and discuss
any concerns and areas of improvement that could be made to have their application approved.
An applicant who has not been approved may file an appeal in writing to the Board of Directors
within seven (7) days of receiving notice that they were not approved, and the Board of
Directors will discuss the appeal. The Board of Directors has final discretion in upholding a
refused foster application.
If the application is approved, the Foster Coordinator will inform the potential foster and add
the foster to our Foster Mailing List. If the foster has requested to foster a specific equine,
transport arrangements will be made.
Once an applicant is approved, he or she must sign and submit a Foster Contract to GSH before
he or she may volunteer to foster any equines.