HORSE THEFT VICTIMS NEVER STOP ASKING WHY

Every year on September 26^th, our founders commemorate the day Idaho was stolen from a farm in Shelby, NC in 1997. It was this theft, the first ever to be issued as an alert on the internet, the Idaho Alert, that laid the foundation for Stolen Horse International and eventual recovery of the mare on September 17^th, 1998, and incorporation as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

We’re thrilled that Stolen Horse International, also known as NetPosse, has helped with thousands of cases, many of which have come home, over 23 years with the aid of hundreds of volunteers assisting in our efforts to bring horses home. We are proclaiming September to be Stolen Horse Awareness Month for stolen and missing horses. 

We hope that our organization offers both a way for horse lovers to have an emotional connection to what happened in the past, the reunions we have assisted and to be challenged into thinking about how they can help us in shaping the future by volunteering to help with daily activities and social shares on the internet.

“I think that the reason there is a need for an organization that helps horse owners with educational resources and search and recovery tools is that our lessons are timeless. We are living through a period of a lot of social change, which often leads to horses missing in various circumstances. Stolen Horse International has lessons that are apt for these times we’re living in, and for all instances where horses end up missing,” says founder Debi Metcalfe.

She continues, “And we strive to help victims who, like myself, never stop asking ‘why me’ or stop looking in horse trailers and pastures for their horses years and even decades after they disappear.”

We also hope that our accomplishments not only inspire more volunteers to step forward but to also help us with much-needed donations.

Here are just a few:

• First to issue a stolen horse alert on the internet
• First to help bring many missing and stolen horses home
• First to sell microchip kits online directly to horse owners (It was not the microchip companies)
• First to provide a dedicated website to assist stolen horse victims
• First to provide a searchable database for missing, lost, found, and stolen horses
• First to provide educational resources on a website
• First to develop an all equine ID record keeping registry to help horse owners prove ownership and keep valuable records on their horses—NetPosse ID
• First to develop a searchable Horse Auction Resource database online
• First on Facebook to offer a stolen horse resource
• First on Facebook with the only page, Stolen Horse International-NetPosse.com (with over 51,000 followers) backed by decades of experience and the inspiration to dozens of other groups
• First to teach the world extensively about horse theft through the news media including but not limited to TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, etc.
• The first organization to offer educational seminars and clinics at horse expos, conferences, meetings, horse clubs, and more
• Has 23 years of experience working with victims with missing, lost, found, and stolen equines
• Is fully supported by volunteers, fees on the website, NetPosse Store sales, and donations.
• Received the award—Best Use of Social Media in North America
• The book, "Horse Theft--Been There, Done That", was written by Debi Metcalfe and has sold out of print.

There’s a lot to learn by visiting our website and our Facebook page over and over again, and by looking at the stories from different perspectives: the perspectives of the victims, the onlookers, the average horse owner, and the volunteers. We hope you will check us out soon.