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 February 09,2009 CLICK HERE! West Broward ranch for sick horses needs donations A tough economy spells bad news for a charitable ranch for horses in west Broward BY ADAM H. BEASLEY abeasley@MiamiHerald.com Fifty sick horses, eight potbelly pigs, four pygmy goats, three purring kitties, two miniature donkeys, a pair of shrieking peacocks. And a ranch with a growing debt. No, it's not a South Florida take on The Twelve Days of Christmas. It's reality for Debby Beye-Barwick, who runs a nonprofit farm that takes in horses diagnosed with equine infectious anemia, a disease similar to human hepatitis but is dangerous only to horses. Animals with EIA must be quarantined or destroyed. The West Broward ranch is called FRIENDS -- Florida Research Institute for Equine Nurturing Development and Safety -- and recently, it has been in need of a few more pals. FRIENDS has no paid employees and survives on contributions, both personal and from corporations. But like many other charities, it's feeling the pinch of the recession. When people are struggling to make their own ends meet, there's even less to give away. The impact on FRIENDS: a $20,000 unpaid vet bill and concern that money to feed the animals will soon dry up. If things don't improve, there is a real possibility that the charity, around for two decades, will close its gates. ''We're looking for help,'' Beye-Barwick said. Aside from their illness, the horses are completely normal and safe to ride. Instead of getting put down, some animals diagnosed with the rare disease relocate to the FRIENDS ranch, on Sheridan Street, four miles west of Interstate 75. The farm opens its doors -- at no charge -- to all sorts of charities, from the Cub Scouts to the Broward Outreach Center. ''People that normally wouldn't be able to interact with farm animals, we offer them a day at the ranch,'' Beye-Barwick said. ``We'd like to continue to offer these programs for free.'' But with this economy, that's proving difficult. The farm's monthly expenses, including a hefty food bill, are roughly $15,000 -- and that's as lean as possible. The ranch doesn't even have electricity. When times were better, FRIENDS kept afloat with its sponsorship program. People pay$300 a month, or $150 for a half-month, to adopt a horse. Sponsoring families get to ride and brush their horse, and FRIENDS takes care of the room and board. But recently, the cost got to be too much for some families. In the past two weeks, about a dozen people dropped their sponsorship -- costing the farm thousands. Now, Beye-Barwick is making a public plea for help. Donations of any size will be accepted. ''Ten dollars will pay for fly spray,'' she said. ``Twenty dollars will buy a bale of hay.'' If someone wants to make a donation instead of a Christmas gift, FRIENDS will send out a letter to the recipient of the gift, with a picture card of the horse. The farm is also looking for volunteers to help with upkeep. Anyone interested in helping FRIENDS can call Beye-Barwick at 954-492-0168... or visit www.eiahorses.org. SECOND CHANCE RANCH HORSES THAT CARRY EQUINE INFECTIOUS ANEMIA ARE PROTECTED BY FRIENDS NEWS ARTICLE 2007 SUN SENTINEL "Come and get her or I'm going to put her down." A chestnut mare quarter horse, 80 miles away at a cattle ranch in Okeechobee, had tested positive for equine infectious anemia, a viral disease that is a death sentence for horses unless they are kept in permanent quarantine. "For some of these ranchers, the horse is like a pickup truck," said Beye-Barwick, who brought the mare to her ranch in western Pembroke Pines. "They need them for work. If they test positive for EIA, and they can't work anymore, they'll sell them for slaughter for 83 cents a pound." Beye-Barwick, 41, grew up around these horses. More than three decades ago, her grandmother opened a sanctuary for EIA-positive horses in Broward County. Known today as FRIENDS, the 60-acre wooded ranch on the edge of the Everglades near U.S. 27 is the state's only such public rescue ranch. It is home to 52 horses that carry the EIA antibodies or were exposed to the disease, although they show no symptoms and may never become sick. Before their blood tested positive for EIA antibodies, they were show horses or rodeo competitors. They were cattle-roping horses or a child's pet. "We never turn a horse away. Otherwise, these horses would be destroyed. Every horse out here means something to me," said Beye- Barwick, who learned a long time ago she couldn't save them all. With so many horses, the ranch's weekly feed bill is $1,900. That doesn't cover $2,600 for nutritional supplements. The quarterly vet bill is between $10,000 and $12,000. "It's a massive undertaking," Beye-Barwick said. There are stalls to be swept, roofs that need fixing and fences that need painting. The horses must be fed and brushed. They need teeth cleanings and new shoes and veterinary checkups. (It helps that Robert Barwick, Beye-Barwick's husband of 10 years, is an equine dentist.) Volunteers help with the workload. Sponsors adopt a horse with monthly payments of about $150 to $400 a month. Thirteen horses still need sponsors. Ten acres are used for stables and a riding ring. An adjacent 50 acres are used for trail riding and weekend and holiday events. Surrounded by Davie's horse farms, Val Casler missed the horse she'd left behind in New Jersey when she moved here eight years ago. She found a perfect match volunteering at FRIENDS, which stands for the Florida Research Institute for Equine Nurturing, Development and Safety. She became a sponsor for Jasper, a tri-color paint gelding destined for the show ring until he tested positive at age two. "He was a well-bred horse whom [the previous owners] had high hopes for," Casler said. "It is a problem to find sponsors for these horses. They have to be quarantined. If you have an eye toward showing them or competitive trail riding, there are limitations." Michelle McLean, of Plantation Acres, sponsors three horses with her 15-year-old daughter, Brieana Clendenning. McLean, a podiatrist, and her daughter got involved five years ago when they were looking for a horse to ride. "It's not just about having a horse," McLean said. "It's being able to feel good about helping these horses. I've always had a love for horses, and I guess I passed that on to my daughter." Brieana likes the feeling that she is helping Junior, the black quarter horse she adopted, and "giving him another chance." That second chance is what propelled Susan Young, Beye-Barwick's grandmother, to start a sanctuary in Oakland Park in the early 1970s. At the time, dozens of horses were testing positive and headed for slaughter or euthanasia. An EIA eradication program dramatically decreased those numbers. Since 2003, only 32 additional horses have tested positive in Florida. There are no figures tracking how many have been killed, said Liz Compton, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Over the years, development forced the ranch to move five times. Six years ago, they moved the horses to 60 acres leased from the county near U.S. 27 and Sheridan Street. Young, now 81 and living in Fort Lauderdale, turned over the operations to her granddaughter about 20 years ago. The ranch took over Beye-Barwick's life, affecting relationships, changing her college plans and her health. She's been stepped on, kicked and thrown by the horses, with the pain and scars from broken bones to prove it. "I did give up things," Beye-Barwick said. "People couldn't understand that the horses came first." ONLINE Want to know more about FRIENDS? Watch a video report at Sun- Sentinel.com/equinevirus INFORMATIONAL BOX: EQUINE INFECTIOUS ANEMIA Equine infectious anemia, or EIA, is a viral disease for which there is no vaccine or cure. The disease is spread by horseflies. According to state law, horses that test positive must be killed or kept in permanent quarantine, even if they show no symptoms. In Florida, about 130,000 horses are tested each year. Some horses carry the virus antibodies but are not sick and may never become ill. The virus is not transmitted to people. HOW YOU CAN HELP: The Florida Research Institute for Equine Nurturing, Development and Safety, or FRIENDS, is the only public rescue ranch for EIA- positive horses. FRIENDS offers sponsorships or "adoptions." Adoptive families, who pay $150 to $400 a month, can visit, ride and care for the horses. Thirteen horses are currently available for sponsorship. For information, go to www.eiahorses.org or call 954-492-0168. | MEMBERS AND THEIR HORSES!! | OTHER RANCH ANIMALS !! | JUST THE HORSES !!! | NEWS CASTS LOCAL STATIONS & NEWSPAPERS | Halloween and Valentine's Day Photos | CHRISTMAS PARTY 2008 | F.R.I.E.N.D.S. 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