Roadrunners raffle helps Jewels of the Desert | News

The nonprofit Jewels of the Desert Horse Rescue is raffling a Roadrunners gift bag with four tickets.

The money goes toward the rescue’s cause.

In October 2023, Mary Houshiar rescued her first horse, Jewel, who was neglected and starving. Jewel’s story inspired Houshiar to establish Jewels of the Desert Horse Rescue and Sanctuary in January.  

According to her, the mission is to “rescue horses in need, regardless of their circumstances. Whether they are severely malnourished, require medical assistance, or their families are facing hardships, we provide these horses with a chance at happiness.”  

Since its inception, Houshiar has rescued 20 horses and placed 14 in forever homes. Currently, there are four horses in rescue and one in sanctuary.

“We receive daily calls for new intakes,” Houshair said.

“We are currently focused on providing medical care to the horses in our rescue to prepare them for adoption.

“Jewels of the Desert has Amazon and Chewy wish lists for items needed for daily care, and we hope to raise enough funds to purchase larger tires for our trailer to transport our largest horse to the veterinarian.” 

Jewels of the Desert operates solely on volunteers and donations. In October and November, the rescue faced several expensive veterinary visits, including the loss of Jewel.  

Each horse in rescue needs to be healthy to be adopted.  

Several of the horses in their care have complex medical issues that require ongoing treatment, such as arthritis, laminitis and ringbone. 

One horse, Tonto, needs an ultrasound to determine the cause of his lameness. Additionally, Jewels of the Desert spends $950 on hay monthly. The volunteers are optimistic that the raffle will help offset some of these costs, enable them to continue caring for the five horses currently in their care, and rescue more horses.

Those interested in donating money or purchasing raffle tickets, visit jewelsofthedeserthorses.org.