Know Your Neighbors – Kurt Davis
Thank you to Clark Semmes for this 3rd installment of his 2,361 part series, Know Your Neighbors:
Every horse has a story. Hawk was in the military and worked pulling caissons at Arlington National Cemetery, King hauled vegetables for an Arabber, and Shadow guided a cart for the Amish. But once these horses were no longer able to do their jobs, they faced a common future – they were all going to be destroyed. Today Hawk, King, Shadow, and 49 other horses are living out their lives in a beautiful and bucolic setting thanks to Mount Washingtonian Kurt Davis and the HorseNet Horse Rescue program.
Kurt first fell in love with horses while growing up in Colorado, but had to put aside his interest for 30 years while he ran a successful advertising agency in D.C. After moving to Mt. Washington with his partner Mark Paul, Kurt began volunteering at HorseNet’s Mt. Airy farm. While the work can be hard (stalls are cleaned daily, horses are fed and watered twice a day) Kurt found that he enjoyed it, and he was soon asked to manage daily operations on his days at the farm.
On a recent visit to HorseNet’s Mt. Airy farm, Kurt’s beloved Briard, Lucy, dashed about while Kurt showed off the farm’s 63 acres of fields and barns, and the 53 horses that live there. One special barn near a small hilltop is reserved for the farm’s 13 blind horses. While some of the horses at the farm were rescued when they could no longer perform their jobs, others were the victims of cruel neglect. Kurt pointed out one horse that was so malnourished when it arrived that its rib cage was clearly visible.
When not volunteering at the Mt. Airy farm or the MDSPCA, Kurt can be found at his home on Pill Hill. Anyone interested in adopting or sponsoring a horse, donating to the HorseNet Horse Rescue program, or volunteering at their Mt. Airy or New Windsor farms, should visit their website . If you plan to visit one of the farms during the holiday season, you might want to bring a peppermint candy cane. Kurt reports that the horses love them.
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