Heber artist, Liberty Sanctuary team up to raise awareness for rescued horses
Nov 20, 2023, 1:00 PM
CARR, CO - APRIL 03: Horses congregate at Denkai Animal Sanctuary April 3, 2008 in Carr, Colorado. Floss Blackburn, manager of the sanctuary, has hundreds of animals at her refuge--ranging from dogs and cats and mules and horses to turkeys and sheep--that she takes in when owners can no longer can care for them. The pace of animal rescue has skyrocketed the past year, especially for horses, as people from Colorado who have lost their properties in the national housing crisis abandon them when they move out. "Animals are always the last priority when times get tough," Blackburn says. She's taken in 30 abandoned horses in the last year alone, saving them from euthnation or slaughterhouses. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
HEBER, Utah — Heber-based artist Kevin Kehoe has teamed up with Liberty Sanctuary to support efforts to save horses from slaughter. During the month of November, Kehoe’s Simple Beauty Gallery has donated 10% of its sales to the sanctuary for rescued horses.
In addition to the donation, Kehoe will host an open gallery on November 25. The event has been dubbed ArtHeals, according to Liberty Sanctuary’s website.
“Liberty Sanctuary and the Simple Beauty Gallery were both founded in 2023 with a reverence for nature and its majestic beauty. We’re proud to partner with Liberty Sanctuary for our first Small Business Saturday. It’s a fitting way to give back to protect these majestic animals that so wonderfully inspire my work,” said Kehoe.
According to a press release, Kehoe will make one of his original oil paintings of horses available for purchase.
“Purchasing Kevin’s work creates special moments in the home while supporting Liberty Sanctuary’s mission to rescue, rehabilitate, and advocate for America’s Forgotten Equines in the slaughter pipeline,” said Debra West, the founder of Liberty Sanctuary.
The event
The press release said, Liberty Sanctuary’s Training Team Director, Trevor Howard, will give a presentation on horsemanship. He will share his approach to building trust between humans and horses. His talk will also feature information about the success that the sanctuary has seen in rescuing and rehabilitating horses.
Secondly, Kevin Kehoe will give a tour of his private painting studio. It is in the upstairs portion of the building where the gallery is located. According to the press release, Kehoe will share information about his artistic journey.
Finally, visitors over the age of 21 will have an opportunity to enter a drawing. The winner of the drawing will receive a private experience at Liberty Sanctuary and a bottle of Chester Wine’s Sparkling Wine. The experience will include a tour of the sanctuary, a chance to observe Howard as he works with one of the sanctuary’s horses, and an opportunity to meet the rescued horses that call Liberty Sanctuary their home.
Rescued horses
According to Liberty Sanctuary’s website, the organization aims to “rescue and rehabilitate horses and donkeys from the slaughter pipeline.”
Due to the unique biology of horses, the Humane Society of the United States said there is no humane way to slaughter them. In addition to the inhuman conditions horses on the slaughter pipeline face, the Humane Society said horse meat is not safe for human consumption. The USDA has no way of guaranteeing the safety of the meat.
Liberty Sanctuary aims to share their rescued horses’ stories to raise awareness of the importance of the Save America’s Forgotten Equine Act. The SAFE Act is a bipartisan act meant to outlaw the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Additionally, the SAFE Act would ban the export of horses to Canadian and Mexican slaughterhouses.
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