RIDDEN TO RUIN: Used for Fun. Left in Pain.
This Giving Tuesday, help Brooke USA rescue, rehabilitate, and reform the care of horses and ponies used for Tourism and Entertainment across Kenya.
One Day. One Goal.
$100,000.00
Across Kenya, horses and ponies are used at beaches, festivals, trail sites, parks, and tourist attractions. What begins as a moment of fun for a visitor often comes at an unseen cost to the animal.
Many of these horses and ponies are:
Overworked for long hours
Underfed or malnourished
Lacking proper veterinary care
Injured from ill-fitting tack
Carrying riders far too young
Showing signs of exhaustion and chronic pain
Their suffering is often hidden behind the joy of a quick ride — but it is real, and it is preventable.
This means:
Your $25 becomes $50
Your $100 becomes $200
Your $250 becomes $500
During these three hours, your gift can be matched twice while additional match funds remain:
10:00 a.m. EST/8 a.m MST/7 a.m. PST — Extra $5,000 match
3:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. MST/12:00 p.m. PST — Extra $5,000 match
7:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. MST/4:00 p.m. PST — Extra $5,000 match
Donating during a Power Hour maximizes your impact.
Thank you to our generous donors for making these matches possible!
Every dollar today helps break the cycle of pain and creates a more compassionate future.
Your Giving Tuesday donation powers Brooke USA’s “Ridden to Ruin: Used for Fun. Left in Pain.” initiative, which provides:
Emergency Rescue
For animals found starving, injured, abused, or too weak to work.
Veterinary Care
Treatment for wounds, infections, lameness, malnutrition, and long-term injury.
Rehabilitation
Nutritious feed, rest, medical follow-up, and safe recovery.
Owner Education & Training
Practical, humane training that helps owners improve care while still supporting their families.
Advocacy & Reform
Guiding communities, leaders, and authorities to establish enforceable welfare standards across Kenya.
Your compassion helps both the horses and the people who rely on them to earn a living.
A Story of Rescue & Rehabilitation: The Mombasa Beach Horses
Here are real, recent accounts from our partners KSPCA and Brooke East Africa teams who responded to an emergency case on the beaches of Mombasa.
Stories From Mombasa Beach
“She was working blind.”
One pony arrived nearly blind from a severe eye infection left untreated for far too long. Still, she was being ridden daily in the heat — unable to see, struggling to stay on her feet. She was in such advanced pain and decline that she had to be humanely euthanized.
No animal should reach this level of suffering.
“They were just babies.”
Several of the ponies seized were far too young to be ridden — some barely old enough to be weaned. Their frames were small, their joints undeveloped, and their bodies stunted from chronic malnutrition.
Yet they were saddled daily to carry full-grown adults along the shoreline.
“Four were pregnant.”
Four of the rescued ponies were found to be pregnant — still being ridden while in extremely poor condition. Their thin bodies fought to sustain both themselves and their unborn foals.
“None of them were fit to work.”
Upon examination, none of the 11 ponies rescued were in suitable condition for work.
Many were underweight, suffering from infections, untreated wounds, or joint injuries caused by overuse. Their hooves were in poor shape, their bodies weak, their spirits depleted.
“We lost two more… even with care.”
Despite immediate treatment and weeks of vet care, two ponies passed away from complications caused by long-term mistreatment and malnutrition.
Their bodies simply could not recover from the years of neglect.
“For the survivors, recovery is slow — but possible.”
The remaining ponies are now receiving:
Nutritional support
Wound care
Veterinary treatment
Rest, safety, and socialization
Monitoring as they heal physically and emotionally
Their future is brighter now — but only because compassionate donors made intervention possible. Help us reach more equines affected and their owners before it gets to this point.
FAQs for Giving Tuesday
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Yes. Every dollar is matched up to $50,000 thanks to The Holly Fund’s anchor gift.
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Three times during Giving Tuesday (10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m.), an additional $5,000 match becomes available. During these hours, your donation can be matched twice.
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Absolutely. Horses and people are interconnected. We provide humane education and guidance to help owners improve care while still supporting their families.
HOW Will YOU CELEBRATE #GIVINGTUESDAY?
DONATE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Giving comes in all different forms, and one of the most immediate ways you can make a difference is through online giving today. Please donate today and impact the lives of working equines and the people who depend on them.
PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISING
Do you want to host a fundraiser for Brooke USA? It's as easy as building a Facebook Fundraiser, creating a CrowdRise account, and getting creative. There are multiple ways to raise funds and have fun doing it!
MAKE A GIFT IN HONOR OF SOMEONE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Your donation will impact the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules, as well as the people they serve in the developing world, all while bringing a smile to a loved one’s face this holiday season. Give the gift of change for the holidays.