Illinois Equine Humane Center ILEHC
Welcome Back Grazing Pastures!

Every Horse has an Owner.
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Every Owner has a Responsibility.

RESCUE, REHABILITATION, ADOPT/FOSTER/SANCTUARY

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IT'S ABOUT THE HORSES AND THE VOLUNTEERS WHO CARE FOR THEM EVERY... SINGLE... DAY...




ILEHC SPRING OPEN HOUSE AND TACK SALE
SATURDAY, APRIL 9 - THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED

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Lots of tack for sale.  Lunch items will be available for purchase with all proceeds benefitting the ILEHC rescue horses.  Spring scavenger hunt for the kids.
47W635 Beith Road, Maple Park


ILEHC - YEAR IN REVIEW 2021

Holiday Gathering and Tack Sale - December 2021

Special thank you to all who attended ILEHC's holiday gathering and tack sale on December 4.   Thank you to Santa and Zingy the Holiday Horse (who was amazing and loved all the attention and peppermints).   
ILEHC's Holiday Newsletter is below



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​4th ANNUAL CHARITY SILENT AUCTION

is Closed and a Success



Thank you to all who attended in person or were busy bidding on-line.  We are particularly appreciative to GFL Environmental for sponsoring our flagstone event and also volunteering the morning of to assist with preparations!  Outpatience you rocked it and Hat Trick BBQ Company was delicious.  Please visit Our Partners page to see a listing of all those who helped!  So much time by many volunteers to make this event a success.  Thank you all as well.  

It all just works; volunteers, loyal ILEHC supporters, and sponsors; all for the care of ILEHC rescue horses.  




​APRIL AND JUNE 2021 TACK SALES
Thanks to ALL


Many thanks to ILEHC friend, Tanya Wilbur for hosting the "WINE FOR A CAUSE" fundraiser.  


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It is ALWAYS Hay Time!

PictureChappy
The Illinois Equine Humane Center (ILEHC) is always in need of hay - so let's gallop into action to raise the funds we need to purchase hay for the year. Please help us increase our financial funds so that we may stock up on this much needed and consumed item.

The ILEHC current hay price is $7 a bale (April 2022), we are in need of your financial support to help us continue to provide a safety net for the horses in our care and for the horses we will be called upon to assist throughout the year. You can help ensure that ILEHC can meet these essential needs by donating to our HAY FUND today.

To make an online donation,  click on the “Donate” link above. To mail your donation, please send to:
ILEHC, 47W635 Beith Road, Maple Park, IL 60151.

​On behalf of the horses, we thank you very much for your kindness and generosity!


​Volunteering - Good for the Soul

PictureCasper inspecting the work done!
Thanks to all who commit their time to the ILEHC and assist in morning (starting at 8:30am) and afternoon (starting at 3:30 to 4pm) chores along with those who tend to the grounds and fences.  We are always looking for volunteers, so if you have time and would like to work with a GREAT group of individuals, please email us at volunteerilehc@gmail.com.  Thank you!! 

 


Visitors ALWAYS Welcome!


47W635 Beith Road 

Maple Park, IL 60151
815-761-4937
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Please call to make an appointment.




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Be sure to tell all of your friends!
ILEHC rescues, rehabilitates and then places horses in proper homes.  Please see horses available for adoption, fostering or sponsoring at this website.
​Horses Available For Adoption 



Thank You! 


We cannot say it enough, but thank you to all ILEHC volunteers and supporters.  We could not continue our mission of horse rescue, rehabilitation and adoption without you.  




ILEHC and Founder, Gail Vacca Featured in America's Best Racing  

PictureConti's Whirl after arriving at the ILEHC
After showing horses as a child and later transitioning into becoming a racehorse trainer, Gail Vacca had a strong background with horses before starting the Illinois Equine Humane Center (ILEHC) in 2008.  As a teenager, Vacca spent summers at Rockingham Park cooling out racehorses to earn extra money so she could afford to show her horses in top level hunter and jumper shows. That experience found her spending more time at the track as the years went on. “I just fell in love with the horses; the beauty and the athleticism of the racehorses. It’s an addiction,” Vacca said. “I did that during summers when I was a kid then when I got out of high school, I kind of spent a little more time at the track. I was a groom for a couple years and then that evolved into me getting my trainer’s license when I was 24.”

During her time as a trainer, people would come to Vacca with horses who needed to be rehabilitated or rehomed. That eventually turned into Vacca rescuing retired racehorses and finding them new homes before starting ILEHC. “It was just kind of a natural progression of things with me for being involved and advocating for racehorse welfare while racing and after racing for all those years just kind of evolved into me ultimately opening my own facility,” said Vacca. ILEHC gets horses from both the track and neglect cases, so depending on the situation horses can go through the program in only a few weeks or they can stay for the rest of their lives. Horses who can’t be ridden generally go on ILEHC’s permanent resident list but in some cases those horses will be adopted out if the right non-riding home comes along. However, if the horse is healthy, it will be ridden a few times to figure out what it is best suited for.  See more at:


http://www.americasbestracing.net/en/the-latest/aftercare/2015/2/18/program-spotlight-illinois-equine-humane-center/#sthash.I62HNHY6.dpuf

PictureCody the Reindeer Pony
That is the end of this page but there is so much more to see!  
Go to Photos, Horses to Adopt/Foster/Sponsor, How to Help/Events to learn about volunteering or ILEHC's 2022 Event Schedule. 
 

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