The Safe Haven for Rescued Animals, established by Emma and Edo four years ago in Ariko, sends a message that they are looking for investors to acquire nearby land and not be surrounded by various infrastructures in the near future.
As far as is known, Tenerife Horse Rescue is the island’s only animal shelter that specializes in horses, although it also has many other animal species, most of them abandoned, some donated and some born in this sanctuary in La Jaca, Above the TF-1 motorway in the municipality of Areco.
It has grown so much in less than four years of age that Tenerife Horse Rescue recently launched a letter to donors looking for investors to acquire adjacent land for a construction company and others surrounding it.
The goal is that urban development does not isolate the existing 6,500 square meters, although they do not mind too much to make their business compatible with nearby wind turbines, even if they are concerned about the future proximity of the southern train, if it develops.
“Our future is at stake, as we want to set up a veterinary clinic, run laboratories and set up a school for sustainability,” says Trinidad Cigalerpa, a young Argentine volunteer who recently arrived at the shelter.
Tenerife Horse Rescue is a non-governmental association founded in Arico in 2018 by English Emma Greenfield and Italian Edo.
“Runned entirely by volunteers, our goal is to provide homes for all the horses who need a second chance,” says Trinidad, where young people from all over the world, animal lovers and ecologists live together.
Tenerife Horse Rescue specializes in the rehabilitation and training of horses.
They are herd or race horses that live for about thirty years, but usually after five years they are no longer useful to their owners and are kept away from malnutrition or abuse,” says Trinidad, noting that “we are the only specialized equine refuge. , so we have two Canarian vets, and the question we ask is incredible, every day someone writes to us informing us about the poor conditions of the horse.”
We have a lot of demand, but right now we don’t have the physical space to accommodate these horses.”
Every horse has a name and a history of abuse, some of the champions jumping or not being able to stand, until they got to the sanctuary of Emma and Edo, “got from eating raw potatoes to hay, which is what they need,” says Trinidad.
“Although horses are our main focus, we don’t stop there.
Our animal sanctuary houses a large variety of abandoned animals all rescued from the island, around 400 animals.
For example, cats, dogs, birds, ducks, guinea pigs, goats, pigs, turtles, hamsters and much more.
As Trinidad tells us, we watch Paulina, a Chilean humanitarian worker, operate a washing machine.
“Here we have PV, but we also manage to save as much as possible, we are 100% environmental and sustainable,” he says, adding that “all the materials we have here are made from recycled materials.”
The forty volunteers work daily at the shelter and do it only for food and lodging, knowing that “we don’t make any money, we only work for the welfare of the animals.”
Everyone has their own shrine vocation, with Trinidad recognized as an “organized chaos”.
Tenerife Horse Rescue has had over 200 volunteers so far.
“Many of them are staying for more than a year, or with frequent visits.
They helped us dig the ground, build tents, train horses, collect manure, and more.
We can’t do that without their help.
We offer on-site accommodations through Workaway and provide all meals for 25 hours of work per week, with a minimum stay of one month.
Above all, we are so grateful to have always had a small community of people who help the shrine function well and continue to grow,” says Emma Greenfield, creator of the very supportive project.
They not only rely on the donations of hundreds of people in Tenerife and around the world, through a global donation via social networks, without receiving aid from the government, but they also receive pet food from the daily scraps of the Lidl supermarket chain.
Emma, 33, grew up from an animal-loving English family, with animal friends rather than humans.
She spent her childhood rescuing insects and frogs while begging her parents to give her riding lessons.
I grew up studying horse riding, veterinary nursing for small animals, first aid for animals and many short courses in communication with horses.
With a lot of freelancing experience, from running a charity shop to a UK horse sanctuary, dog walking activities, training and dancing.
He spends all his spare time walking dogs or expanding his knowledge of caring for animals and horses by reading books and watching YouTube videos.
He still has more animal friends than humans, but he has real horse friends and is no longer imaginative, as in his childhood.
Edo, 35, from a small Italian town, had never owned a pet before meeting Emma, but had always dreamed of retiring on a farm and living self-sufficiently with a pack of dogs.
After leaving school, she developed a background in construction, customer service and entertainment and has a natural talent for languages, speaking up to six languages.
He met Emma when she was living at an equestrian center in Fuerteventura and Edo was on vacation.
Gathering from a common dance experience, they worked together on a show for a year before beginning planning for this project.
They soon discover that they have the perfect ingredients to develop together.
Edo fulfilled his dream of owning a farm long before retirement age.
“We’ve already learned a lot from our adventure so far.
We learned to plan and record, and from there build from scratch for ourselves and our animal shelter.
We had to understand the business of fundraising and running a charity.
We have solved the problems using solar energy and green water systems.
We enlisted the help of generous locals and visitors to Tenerife.
Create a team of people who work for the love of animals, not for profit.
They get their hands dirty or donate their hard-earned money when they can.”
Pina Bianchini
