Horse rescue organizations rehabilitate neglected, abused, and abandoned horses. Evidence-based rehabilitation protocols address nutritional recovery, veterinary care, and behavioral rehabilitation for horses transitioning from neglect to welfare-positive care.
Horse rescue and rehabilitation is a welfare discipline requiring specific expertise. The management errors most commonly made with rescued horses — feeding too much too quickly, attempting to train before basic trust is established, radical hoof correction — cause iatrogenic harm that worsens welfare. Evidence-based rehabilitation protocols reflect the biological reality of recovery from severe malnutrition: slow, controlled nutritional recovery prevents refeeding syndrome; progressive hoof rehabilitation prevents catastrophic correction-related laminitis; behavioral rehabilitation before training prevents escalation of fear-based behavior. Rescue organizations with access to veterinary, nutritional, farriery, and behavioral expertise provide the best welfare outcomes for rescued horses.