OUR HISTORY
The United Pegasus Foundation was founded in 1994 by Helen Meredith. She is an avid equestrian that was moved to start the foundation after seeing a news story about the feedlots in Southern California. Watching race horses being discarded sold to killer buyers inspired Helen to start saving these noble equines in her half-acre back yard. This became the cornerstone of UPF. Through hard work and diligence, the United Pegasus Foundation grew. With the help of fundraising and public support, the United Pegasus Foundation moved from Helens backyard to Mira Loma, CA in 1995. In 1998, the United Pegasus Foundation moved to two locations, one in Tehachapi where they purchased a 20-acre piece of property and to Hemet, CA where a board member let them have use of 15 acres. In 2002, they consolidated all of the horses into the Tehachapi, CA ranch due to flooding that was occurring at the Hemet Ranch. In 2016, the United Pegasus Foundation purchased an additional 27 acres in San Jacinto, CA and now maintains 2 properties with the capacity for nearly 200 horses. In 2020 we sold and purchased a new piece property in Tehachapi, CA with the intention of consolidating all of our horses into one ranch. A former equestrian center, this property will be under construction for the next few years as we slowly and methodically merge all of our horses from our original locations to this 40+ acre facility.
The United Pegasus Foundation and others were influential in making major auction houses in California set upset prices that was more than the current meat market price. This helped stop cattle trucks showing up at major auctions picking up people’s horses who sold far below what they were anticipating, therefore interrupting for a time, the pipeline of slaughter bound horses. The United Pegasus Foundation realized early on that we could not do this by ourselves. We work with a network of other rescues to ensure that we are able to help as many equines as we can, find second careers or retirement homes.
in 1996, the United Pegasus Foundation’s President began rescuing Premarin mares and foals. We called this “Horses helping Horses”’ Over the years, we rescued thousands of Premarin mares/babies and facilitated their adoptions throughout the United States. This rescue effort helped the United Pegasus Foundation to rescue and care for even more thoroughbreds. The wide spread publicity our efforts helped cripple the Premarin industry in Canada and educate the public to alternatives to hormone replacement therapies that do not involve using pregnant mares. The byproduct of this drug was thousands of unwanted babies being born as well as the suffering of the mare being hooked up to urine collection devices during the duration of her pregnancy. The end game for all of these Premarin mares and foals was a final trip to a slaughterhouse in Canada or Japan. Once the drug companies started to withdrawl from the Premarin industry, the United Pegasus Foundation refocused back to thoroughbred rescue, rehabilitation, re-homing and retirement.
The United Pegasus Foundation has stepped up several times in our history to help out other horse rescues that have either decided to downsize or were going under due to lack of funds. Through the years we have taken in or have found homes for hundreds of horses that found themselves at the mercy of a failed rescue or underfunded hoarding situations.
Being one of the largest and oldest thoroughbred rescues in the United States, our president is constantly fielding calls and helping others when it comes to helping horses in need or newly formed rescues and 501c3 organizations that have questions or may need some advice. It is not about how big we can make the United Pegasus Foundation, its about how impactful we can be to inspire others to help fulfill our mission.
Our goals are very simple, every year raise money to help current and future horses that we intake. We need help every year for general funding which covers hay, grain, senior feed, veterinary care and supplies, vaccines and wormers, insurance and payroll costs. These are set costs. The more money raised, the more we are able to provide retirement or rehabilitation that these equine athletes so desperately deserve at the end of their careers, no matter how long or lucrative their career may have been. In other words, providing dignity to an athlete which once represented the “sport of kings”.
The United Pegasus Foundation has been a 501(c)3 non-profit organization since 1994. We are accredited by the TAA(Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance) and CARMA(California Equine Retirement Management Account).
