MANCHESTER – Polly Cates was horse crazy when she was a little girl, and really wanted a horse of her very own. That dream wasn’t realized growing up in Vermont because the winters are so brutally cold. But now Cates cares not just for one horse, but 31 horses and a few donkeys as part of the operation Give Me A Chance Equine Rescue that she and her husband, Tom Cates, took over in 2010.
The couple got started with horse rescue on Valentine’s Day 2010 when they decided their gift to each other would be to donate $100 worth of feed to an existing horse rescue operation. When they arrived, they found the owner of the operation struggling to take care of the horses. They drove back home very distraught, and decided to do all they could to help. Later, after seeing how committed the Cates were, the woman running the rescue operation turned it over to the Cates.
“My husband is a disabled Vietnam veteran, and at first he footed the bill for caring for the horses from his veteran income,” Polly said. “He is the one who primarily carried the load financially.”
“The first year it was pretty tough,” Tom said. “It took a lot of money to feed the animals, about $800 per month.”
After they got the horses in good shape, the couple bought a piece of property in Manchester community about ten miles from where they live in Arkadelphia. That is where the rescue is located now.
“We have a successful rescue running now,” Tom said. “We are not buying everything ourselves. It is supporting itself. We do fundraisers, and get grants from organizations. We have a lot of people pulling for us. My wife does the evening feedings and care, and we have a good bunch of volunteers who do morning feedings and other labor things needed on the ranch. People like coming and seeing how good the horses look, how calm and friendly.”
Tom stays busy, too, doing all the driving with hauling horses and hay and doing farm checks and investigations to meet their mission to take in starved and abused horses. Often law enforcement is involved initially, and then the horses are placed with the Cates. At times they take in owner surrender horses when the owner has fallen on hard times.
The work with horses is physically strenuous. Wouldn’t Polly rather go home and relax after a day of painting?
“Some days when out I am out there in freezing weather wading knee deep in mud, I say, ‘Why am I doing this?’” she said. “I’m needed. That is why I’m there. I’m the mama to feed these horses every evening. They get fed before us. It is very hard work, but thankfully the construction work put me in shape to do physical work moving 55-gallon plastic barrels of feed every day. It is stressful some days. We just had to euthanize one. She was in pain. That is the hard part of rescue.”
One of the highlights of their work is adoptions.
“It is magical to see an owner connect with a horse, and see the chemistry and partnership,” Polly said. “Most of our horses were starved or abused, so we are very careful with adoptions. We have a three-page adoption application that requires references, and information about their property and their veterinarian. We drive to their property, ask lots of questions, and only let them adopt if everything checks out.”
In addition to the horses, they have several donkeys who serve as greeters for guests—and as guards. Donkeys are very territorial, and are good at running off coyotes, dogs or other predators. That is particularly important for handicapped horses.
“Plus, the donkeys are pets,” Polly said. “You can hear them bray. They all have different personalities.”
The rescue operation had a major setback Oct. 13, 2014 when it was hit by an F-1 tornado that destroyed horse shelters, the hay shed, and the hay in it. Fences were damaged, they lost most of their trees, and had a tree go through the roof of their house. A blind mare was trapped under a tree that fell on top of the shed she took shelter in.
“She stood patiently as we sawed limbs with bow saws to free her,” Polly said. “We feel very blessed that no volunteers or horses were seriously hurt or killed. The ASPCA gave the rescue a grant to replace the lost shelters for the horses. They now have cozy carports for shelters.”
The Cates enjoy working with a network of people who have the same goals.
“Unfortunately, there are lot of horses out there needing help for different reasons,” Polly said. “Horses are like children. They thrive on routine and knowing they are loved. That is when they do the best physically and mentally. Knowing when going to get fed at a regular time is good. That is what takes most of my evenings. I custom feed; we have special needs horses that eat slower. They need to be in their own stall to take time to eat. Then all get different amounts, and some get additives. We have a grant from Purina so we get Purina feed that is excellent for older horses or rehabbing starved ones.”
In addition to feeding, the horses have to be dewormed, and wounds doctored. They are bills for farrier work and the vet, including gelding of stallions.
“We work to stop the flow of unwanted horses,” Polly said. “We have no studs. We don’t breed. If a horse come in as a stud, he will get gelded.”
Visit are by pre-arrangement only.

How can you help?

• Make a tax-deductible donations to the 501C3 organization either on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/GiveMeAChanceEquineRescue or website www.givemeachanceequinerescue.org/
  
• Donate good quality hay, feed, dewormers, salt blocks or other supplies.
• Attend local fundraisers.

For more information, the Cates can be reached at (870) 246-3007 or (870) 403-7925 or contact them by TomCat0808@yahoo.com. The mailing address is 68 Terrapin Trail, Arkadelphia, AR 71923.