Non-profit group works to ensure lifetime of care for displaced horses

When the Palatine Park District Stables closed late last year, it meant finding the school horses and ponies living there new homes.

But tending to their needs involves time and money.

Enter Equine Guardians, a non-profit group devoted to supporting the more than 20 horses displaced by the closure for the remainder of their lives. This includes financial assistance for boarding and veterinary care.

The horses were dispersed among several private barns. Nine of the horses are at Val Buesching’s barn in unincorporated Lake County near Wauconda.

Buesching grew up riding at the Palatine Stables, formerly located near Northwest Highway and Dundee Road. She taught for 20 years and worked for a stable before building her facility on 10½ acres that has 44 horses, including the ones from the Palatine Stables.

Palatine Park District Executive Director Benjamin Rea said the horses were donated to good homes.

“They went to new stables with new owners,” he said.

But change has not been easy for the horses, Buesching said — especially when a horse that has been living in a place for 20 years has to be packed up in a trailer and moved. Critics of the decision to close Palatine Stables said they warned park district officials the move could create health problems for the animals.

Elle Haferkamp, the vice-president of Equine Guardians, said her horse Cole, whom she donated to the stables, had a rough couple of weeks adjusting to the new barn.

It took Cole, who had been working with beginner students at the stables, about 30 minutes to get on the trailer. And Haferkamp said the ride was hard on him.

Other horses have had issues adjusting as well.

An elderly horse that was rehoused earlier in 2024 died shortly after arriving at a new home in Campton Hills.

Haferkamp said Cadence Gehrke started Equine Guardians to help track the horses.

“Specifically we are focused on the school horses and ponies that were displaced by the Palatine Stables closure,” she said. “These horses have meant so much to everyone at Palatine, so we want to make sure they're cared for.”

As horses adjust to new surroundings, there is a need for funds to help with their upkeep.

“Retired horses are expensive to care for,” Buesching said. “I’m spending at least $600 a month just on hay for seven mini ponies.”

It could cost as much as $10,000 for surgery on a horse suffering from colic.

Donations, which are tax deductible, will help with vet bills, food and other basic needs, such as shelters.

It’s no easy task to raise funds to support the horses for the rest of their lives, which could be as long as 15 years.

The stables were closed after multiple studies showed the facility needed $2.6 million in repairs, something critics disputed during many heated board meetings. Ultimately, Sue Gould was the lone board member who opposed closure.

Haferkamp said the effect of the closure went beyond the horses.

“The first horse you ride is always special to you,” she said. “But also it was a family. These were people I saw every single day.”