The future is now for the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals in Windham and a new $1.5 million fundraising campaign will help the organization build a new intake barn for abused and neglected horses to heal and recover.
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| The Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals is conducting 'A Safe Place to Land' fundraising campaign to raise $1.5 million to build a new eight-stall intake barn at their facility on River Road in Windham. The project includes improved paddocks and better footing for healing horses. Shown is an artist's depiction of the new barn. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
“This will such a huge upgrade for us,” Woodbrey said. “Our current facilities, while functional, no longer meet the needs of our mission. This new barn is so much more than a barn, it’s a promise. A promise to every horse that has a safe place to land, to recover and to start life anew. Everything about the new barn has been discussed, from how the stall doors open to how the fencing is to be configured.”
MSSPA Advancement Director Peg Keyser said that in the last five years, the number of horses arriving at MSSPA has surged with many coming from cases of severe neglect, abuse, or with significant medical challenges. As the complexity of these cases grows, so does the urgency for a dedicated space where incoming horses can receive the care they desperately need.
Keyser says that the “Safe Place to Land” Capital Campaign is an opportunity to create that space, an intake and quarantine barn designed to offer every horse a safe and supportive beginning to their journey of healing.
“This vital facility, along with secure paddocks and necessary footing improvements, will provide the foundation for every horse’s recovery,” she said. “By working together, we can ensure that incoming horses are cared for in an environment that protects their health and wellbeing from the moment they arrive.”
For 152 years, the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals (MSSPA) has been a sanctuary for Maine’s most vulnerable horses including those rescued from abuse, neglect, and heartbreaking circumstances. Its mission is to provide refuge, rehabilitation, and placement of seized equines. MSSPA does not charge for its shelter services and seeks no reimbursement from any public source. Horses cared for by the MSSPA come from Maine law enforcement officials and most of them have been abused or neglected.
According to Keyser, the MSSPA’s goal for each horse is rehabilitation and a new home, but if no suitable adoption is found, horses may live out their natural lives at the organization’s farm.
The “Safe Place to Land” campaign has already a matching gift of $500,000 from the McCulloch Family of Southern Maine who will be extended the opportunity to name the new barn. MSSPA also has been fortunate to receive donated thousands of feet of fencing and run-in sheds from the Dyke Horse Farm site in Windham, and RSU 14 now that the school district is building the new Windham Raymond Middle School at the Dyke farm site.
The site for the new intake barn sits on 7 acres of MSSPA’s 124-acre property on River Road in Windham. Plans call for the intake barn to be open-air with eight wooden stalls. The contractor for the intake barn project will be J.M. Brown and sitework will be completed by Shaw Brothers Construction.
Keyser said that the 3,000-square-foot barn will be built on the other side of the MSSPA property from where other horses being cared for are kept. The new barn will feature space for equipment and the project also will include the installation of an electronic security gate at the property.
The new barn will feature dedicated stalls for each equine arrival, reducing potential disease transmission and offering a dry, warm space for horses to heal. Its secure paddock areas and improved footing will allow horses to slowly acclimate to their new surroundings and room for veterinarians to perform health assessments. Because of its location away from the MSSPA herd, the new barn also will have separate grain and medication stations to prevent cross-contamination of food and medicine and streamlines operations for MSSPA staff.
Woodbrey said there is tremendous interest in this project and MSSPA’s engaged donor base consists of horse lovers willing to help.
“We welcome people to make a donation of any size,” she said. “We’re happy to give donors a tour and we really want to make it easy to support this project. The tens of thousands of dollars and donations we’ve received so far represents the best of this community and we could not be more grateful.”
To make a donation online, visit msspa.org/asafeplace or in person at MSSPA, 279 River Road in Windham.
Donations may also be made using the QR code:
“This vital facility, along with secure paddocks and necessary footing improvements, will provide the foundation for every horse’s recovery,” she said. “By working together, we can ensure that incoming horses are cared for in an environment that protects their health and wellbeing from the moment they arrive.”
For 152 years, the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals (MSSPA) has been a sanctuary for Maine’s most vulnerable horses including those rescued from abuse, neglect, and heartbreaking circumstances. Its mission is to provide refuge, rehabilitation, and placement of seized equines. MSSPA does not charge for its shelter services and seeks no reimbursement from any public source. Horses cared for by the MSSPA come from Maine law enforcement officials and most of them have been abused or neglected.
According to Keyser, the MSSPA’s goal for each horse is rehabilitation and a new home, but if no suitable adoption is found, horses may live out their natural lives at the organization’s farm.
The “Safe Place to Land” campaign has already a matching gift of $500,000 from the McCulloch Family of Southern Maine who will be extended the opportunity to name the new barn. MSSPA also has been fortunate to receive donated thousands of feet of fencing and run-in sheds from the Dyke Horse Farm site in Windham, and RSU 14 now that the school district is building the new Windham Raymond Middle School at the Dyke farm site.
The site for the new intake barn sits on 7 acres of MSSPA’s 124-acre property on River Road in Windham. Plans call for the intake barn to be open-air with eight wooden stalls. The contractor for the intake barn project will be J.M. Brown and sitework will be completed by Shaw Brothers Construction.
Keyser said that the 3,000-square-foot barn will be built on the other side of the MSSPA property from where other horses being cared for are kept. The new barn will feature space for equipment and the project also will include the installation of an electronic security gate at the property.
The new barn will feature dedicated stalls for each equine arrival, reducing potential disease transmission and offering a dry, warm space for horses to heal. Its secure paddock areas and improved footing will allow horses to slowly acclimate to their new surroundings and room for veterinarians to perform health assessments. Because of its location away from the MSSPA herd, the new barn also will have separate grain and medication stations to prevent cross-contamination of food and medicine and streamlines operations for MSSPA staff.
Woodbrey said there is tremendous interest in this project and MSSPA’s engaged donor base consists of horse lovers willing to help.
“We welcome people to make a donation of any size,” she said. “We’re happy to give donors a tour and we really want to make it easy to support this project. The tens of thousands of dollars and donations we’ve received so far represents the best of this community and we could not be more grateful.”
To make a donation online, visit msspa.org/asafeplace or in person at MSSPA, 279 River Road in Windham.
Donations may also be made using the QR code:
