Stables help horses that were abused, neglected
By ESTHER WHIELDON
Staff writer

Elena DiSilvestro puts the horse before the cart.

Her love and compassion for rescuing horses from almost certain death had kept her from buying a horse trailer. Every time the money became available, another horse needed saving, she said.

In fact, there are projects all around her farm that could use money.
“You can have a beautiful vinyl fence or you can help another horse,” DiSilvestro said.

But thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Thoroughbred Charities of America in June, she had money to buy the cart and help her equine friends. The new dark green horse trailer took $3,500 of the grant, and the rest will go toward medications, medical supplies, bandages, veterinary bills and stable equipment.
The trailer will make transporting the horses much easier, she said.
DiSilvestro founded Summerwinds Stables, a non-profit horse rescue organization located near Hartly, in January 2001. The stables and farm are in the back yard of DiSilvestro’s house, where she raises her 2-year-old daughter, Adrianna, and four-month-old son, Michael, with her husband, Mentino DiSilvestro, an officer with Delaware State Police Troop 3 K-9 unit. His K-9 partner, Benno, is a great deterrent to unwanted visitors, Mrs. DiSilvestro said.

Summerwinds Stables rehabilitates horses that have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Once the horses are fully recovered and ready, they are then adopted out to loving families.

Apart from the rescues, DiSilvestro has two of her own horses on the farm, Sweetie, a painted quarter horse, and Bugsy, palomino quarter horse.
She started the rescue non-profit with George, a horse whose owners hadn’t paid his stable rent and hadn’t been fed or given water for a long time. When she got him, George couldn’t even stand on his own.

DiSilvestro said she wanted to give back to the horses.

“I believe in finding the right person for the right horse,” she said.
During the day DiSilvestro is assisted by volunteer Ashley Echeard, 9, who is also DiSilvestro’s neighbor.

Her head barely reaches to top of a thoroughbred’s shoulder, but the girl is not intimidated.

Another volunteer, Caitlyn Woodward, 17, drives in from Maryland to volunteer. She clicks her tongue while exercising U.A.C. Annie (United Ambulance Chaser), a thoroughbred.

“Canter,” she commands. “Good girl, now trot. Trot. Annie Trot.”
The horse flicks back her head and finally obeys, breaking into a reluctant stride.

Many of the rescued horses have needed more than just love and food. Often they have race injuries, fractures, and psychological issues to be treated.
Most of the leftover money is going to doctor bills for Bart, a Chestnut thoroughbred who is shedding weight even though he eats 18 pounds of food a day.

He has become too thin to be ridden.

DiSilvestro has paid six veterinarians, a massage therapist and a homeopathic vet to examine Bart, but nothing seems to work. DiSilvestro thinks it might be a tumor.

“It kills me because I don’t know what to do for him,” DiSilvestro said.
She realizes Bart will spend what’s left of his life on her farm, unless a cure is found.

What bothers her most is she cannot fix him as she has countless other equines.

For example, U.A.C. Annie is ready to be adopted. But she will need a stable with at least two other horses. She was alone in a back yard for a long time, and now that now she’s around horses, she can’t be happy without them, DiSilvestro said.

Many of Summerwinds rescued horses come from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). Others come from stables where an owner has failed to pay a horse’s keep.

If you are interested in adopting a horse, or if you know of one that needs rescuing, contact Summerwinds Stables through its web page at: www.Summerwindsstables.com.
 
Reach Esther Whieldon at 302 678-3616 or esther.whieldon@doverpost.com