National Equine Resource Network

This is such an incredible organization. Ran with heart and the ultimate in integrity. Have worked with nern on many projects and will continue to do so.

Well organized gelding clinics with dedicated staff of volunteers. I will not hesitate to work with NERN again in the future.

I have worked with NERN for many years and they are a wonderful organization. Their gelding clinics are so needed and so reasonable and the vet and staff are just amazing. We recently took in a rescued donkey, he has been very special needs since he arrived at our rescue almost a year ago (at barely 4 mo old). Their 1st priority was to make sure he was well taken care of and ready to travel before we headed the 3 hour trailer ride back home. Shirley is an angel to both the horses and their owners! NERN ROCKS!!!!!!!! Keep doing what you guys do. your awesome :) Hope to work with you again soon!!!

I was a Client a very happy one. My colt was given to me free to a good home. I was told he was a Gelding but found out after we picked him up he was not Gelded. The owner had contacted the National Equine Resource Network to have him Gelded but found he was Chryptorchid and they were not equipped at the time to deal with this situation. After we got him home I contacted the NERN also to find out when they could accommodate my colt. I was sorry to say it took over a year for them to actually have a Chryptorchid Clinic. I immediately signed up. I had my horse at a trainer and was lucky that they would let him take him in my stead. I didn't feel comfortable or qualified to deal with him in public. Dr. Eric called me prior to the Clinic asking me questions about his breed, age, health etc. and assured me they would take excellent care of him. My trainer Ty said the Clinic was very professional and they gave exact care for the horse after surgery. Sonny is healthy happy and still at the trainer for a few more months. However without the Clinic I could never have afforded the cost of castration. I thank Shirley, Dr Eric and the hole Network for what they are doing for us horse owners. I think it is important that we keep the breeding of horses to those horse with the linage and castrate others to keep down on the thousands of horses that are slaughtered every year because no one wants them. Castrating my horse made him a horse I can enjoy for many years to come. Without the Clinic I would have had to sell him or give him away. Claudia Soman

We have donated the use of our facility for multiple gelding clinics in East San Diego County and are incredibly grateful for the service that NERN provides to our community. Each clinic is professionally handled and the care given to all of the horses by the vets, assistants and volunteers is exemplary. The crew provides all services, set up and clean up and we hardly know they've been here. We enthusiastically support NERN's efforts to control the overpopulation of horses. The affordable castration of horses not only helps this mission, but also allows rescues to geld their colts and stallions which increases the chances they find forever homes.
Shirley works tirelessly to provide much needed care for horses in need, assist rescues and connect so many to a wealth of resources. Thank you Shirley and NERN for all you do!

I have had the honor of being a volunteer, when this group came to my area. I have also been a recipient of a very important program they offer. Their gelding clinics, which are beneficial in many ways. As horse owners are struggling with the high cost of feed, etc., so many young colts are not being gelded, due to cost. But, it is not just young colts. Some, are now breeding age stallions. The mannerisms between a gelding and a stallion can be great. The future of an unwanted stallion, can be bleak. These horses can also become a danger to anyone that does not have the experience to handle them. The horse "industry" is struggling with over population and unwanted horses. This program NERN offers, helps in preventing accidental pregnancy and gives the male horse, a better chance for a good life. It may also save the life of a human. This is a unique program they offer and I hope they can continue to expand this program to more counties and states.

Shirley Puga has been someone I have respected for many years. I have been involved in many aspects of horse rescue since 1993. As soon as I heard about NERN, I started supporting the great work they provide. The best and most impressive is the Gelding clinic. Preventing further unplanned breeding of countless horses. In turn, fewer horses are sent to slaughter. Something horse advocates appreciate far and wide. They do deserve recognition and I support NERN's work.

I am on the board of directors for the Coachella Valley Horse Rescue organization. We have volunteered with NERN and Shirley Puga at a local gelding clinic. The efforts and team work were extremely impressive. We are looking forward to volunteering at the next gelding clinic. This is a blessing to many who can't afford to pay the astronomic cost to geld their stallions. I hope NERN continues to get funded and supported. The horses that were gelded were handled very well and the outcome was wonderful.
Thank you for bringing this opportunity to our valley and we support you 100%.

As President and Founder of Safe Haven Horse Rescue in Cottonwood, Ca, I/we have worked with NERN and Shirley Puga for years! We have had the honor of hosting many of NERN's Gelding Clinics here in Northern California. The clinics are always full and staffed with wonderful volunteers and terrific veterinarians! We have several of Safe Haven's volunteers help with each event and have had nothing but great feedback from them! The horses are always well cared for and handled properly as well, which is what Safe Haven is all about! It's been wonderful being able to work with NERN and Shirley and with helping in slowing the overbreeding of horses. Thanks for all you do!

Linda Richards
President and Founder
Safe Haven Horse Rescue and Sanctuary

I first met Shirley over the phone when she began NERN and I was program director of Stallion to Gelding Support, the first national organization dedicated to reducing the number of unwanted horses by providing gelding services to stallion owners. Shirley picked up the idea and before I knew it had held several clinics in California. Within less than a year, her organization was responsible for gelding more stallions than my program accomplished in three years. And NERN continues to be a strong and effective program. NERN is single-handedly making a huge positive difference in the lives of horses and their owners.

NERN is very proactive in helping in the lives of horses, by Gelding stallions we are helping to reduce the unwanted and slaughter bound horses in the USA.The benefit of the gelding program to equine welfare is proactive in the stopping of slaugher bound horses, The organization is professionally run with great community service the clinics are well organized.

We have hosted multiple gelding clinics at our farm and are incredibly grateful for the service that NERN provides to our community. Each clinic is professionally orchestrated and the care given to all of the horses by the vets, assistants and volunteers is absolutely top notch. Shirley is an amazing force of nature who works tirelessly to provide much needed care for horses in need, assist rescues and connect so many to a wealth of resources. We have adopted many animals that have come from deplorable situations of overbreeding and wholeheartedly support NERN's efforts to control the overpopulation of horses. The affordable castration of horses not only helps this mission, but also allows rescues to geld their colts and stallions which make the far more likely to find a permanent home.

I am a veterinarian and I work with several equine rescues as well as people who cannot afford to castrate their intact horses. The NERN program has filled a huge void and provided a needed service to my community. It is great to know this organization exists and provides sterilization to the needy.

NERN has been so beneficial to my horse rescue. They are a valuable resource from all aspects of understanding the situation that horses face, the people that are involved and how to best serve this passion for horse rescue. Shirley has been instrumental in assisting with the saving of so many horses that I have taken in as well as coordinating and donating her time and effort to conducting a low cost gelding clinic for my yearlings at my sanctuary. She is my go to source for all questions and advice for everything I have done to date and I know will always be there for me in the future. Wonderful work she and the NERN organization do for horses and horse owners! They truly make this world a better place for the equines and are instrumental in saving so many of them. Thank you from those of us who rely on your organization and from the thousands of Horses that are alive today because of your efforts!!

I have been a volunteer for NERN's gelding clinics for years and I thought I would take a moment to tell those that read these reviews what really is happening. If you're reading this, you're probably a horse person and have no doubt heard of all the issues with round ups of wild horses by the BLM as well as private owners turning their horses into the auction yards that will then end up in slaughter houses for human consumption in other countries. The whole idea behind NERN's gelding clinics is to make sure that it never gets to that point. Similar to spay/neuter clinics, NERN's gelding clinics offer low cost gelding to those who, though maybe not their fault, don't have the funds to get their horses gelded. It's not cheap. But NERN's network of Vet's and venues offers thousands of horse owners the opportunity that they probably otherwise would not have; a relatively cheap way of getting their horse gelded. And with that, keeping the unwanted horse population down. NERN has been forward thinking for years with this program. And in addition to the benefits to the horse population, it also allows the vets to give so many young up and coming veterinarian students hands on training in a procedure we all hope they will do many, many, many times over in their careers. So if you can, find out more about NERN and the gelding clinic program. Currently they operate throughout the southwest but imagine if it could go national. What a benefit to the horse community and the horse population all together. I will continue to volunteer with NERN for as long as they need me to. There is nothing better than knowing you helped make a difference in the world and NERN, at least in the horse world, has made a monumental impact. So do what you can to help. Donate, volunteer, fund raise, spread the word via social media. Do ANYTHING, but make sure you do SOMETHING !

As a horse rescuer myself NERN has helped us out many many times. By Shirley organizing and funding the gelding clinics it has given us better resources to have the males castrated. With the amount saved at her clinics we have been able help more animals. I recommend the NERN clinics to all I come in contact with and have also been able to transport and help other horse owners in my area with a much needed service. If it wasnt for her and the Love of the animals I would not be able to do what I do..
Thank You for What You Do...

I have donated time, money, and social media efforts to help this organization succeed. I love its founder and their mission and support them whole-heartedly. I wish them the best in the future missions and hopefully they can reduce unwanted horse numbers by their mission to castrate males.

Top Ridge Farms hosted a gelding clinic today for National Equine Resource Network. Happy to report 6 stallions are now geldings! We would like to thank Shirley Puga, Dr. Eric Davis and all the interns and volunteers for such a well run operation. I have never seen such a team work together for the help of horses. We hope to host clinics in the future!

Our non-profit group, P.E.T.S. assisted National Equine Resource Network when they provided a low-cost gelding clinic here in Red Bluff, California. I am the President of P.E.T.S. and helped organize some of our volunteers to assist. I was very impressed with the good work NERN does. There is a strong need for gelding clinics in rural areas and without NERN, it wouldn't happen. They were efficient, pleasant, well-organized and with their help over 20 horses were gelded on the day we assisted. I and the other volunteers were delighted to help and look forward to the day they return.

i own a boarding facility in the desert area of palm springs, ca. one of my clients abandoned a young stud colt at my barn leaving a huge bill. this little guy came into the barn under two years old and unbroke. after alot of thought i decided that his only hope for a future would be to geld him. the expense was too much for my budget, however, and i was stuck trying to figure something out when my ranch hand told me she had discovered the National Equine Resourse Network online and that i should check it out.
i went on their website and discovered they were offering a low cost gelding clinic in temecula and i signed up! i took him there and the procedure was performed professionally and expertly and this horse is now in training and will make someone a wonderful mount....
i was so impressed that i volunteered my barn for a clinic here in the coachella valley and shirley puga (the founder) after inspecting my place, agreed that it was a perfect location and there was a great need for the service in this area. she organized everything and the clinic went off without a hitch and we got eighteen horses gelded that day. she is the only person i know that is actively trying to help horse owners neuter their animals at an affordable cost. she is a real hero and so is the doctor she works with.
i will volunteer again if she needs the help.
thank you for your dedication and tireless efforts!
toni maira
laughing stock farm
sky valley, ca.

I am so impressed with the actions and broad reach of this organization - I would love to see their work have an even broader impact as its vision intends!

This organization is top notch. The founder is dedicated to reducing the number of horses that may go to slaughter or become neglected by offering low cost gelding clinics. I have worked with NERN for 4 of these clinics and they are extremely well run, horses are treated like royalty with each having an assigned handler throughout the process.. and the horse owners are very pleased with the results. I would recommend this organization for donors, volunteers, and anuone needing the services of low cost gelding!

As an animal control officer and horse rescue member, I'm always looking for ways to improve the lives of horses in our community. I recently had the experience of volunteering at a local low cost gelding clinic with NERN. 24 stallions were gelded including 9 with retained testicles which would normally be prohibitively expensive. It was a 12 hour day for me and much longer for the NERN volunteers. From the first moment I arrived soon after sunrise, until the end of a very long day I was nothing but impressed. Everyone from the vet and vet students to the rest of the team was hard working, pleasant, patient and kind. In spite of the long hours and hard work, I never heard a raised word to horse or human. The horses were handled gently, safely and professionally and the students gained valuable skills. Best of all 24 horses are now able to live much more social lives without adding to the overpopulation of unwanted horses. I could not have been more impressed.

"The dedication and passion for equine welfare shown by NERN's Executive Director is unparalleled. Her goal is to create proactive programs to help horses, horse owners and horse rescues/sanctuaries. With her determination, talent and professionalism, I have no doubt she will make it a better, safer world for equines across the country."

I have worked with Shirley Puga for over 5 years in the field of horse rescue. She and her organization are professional, ethical and caring. I would highly recommend NERN to anyone.

Professional, well organized and thorough. Excellent follow-through.

R-VETS has worked with NERN for two years now. One of the many things that National Equine Resource Network’s program aims to do is provide low cost gelding clinics to the public. Un-castrated horses are much more likely to become unwanted at some point in their life. To this end Shirley Puga works tirelessly organizing venues and finding clients in need. In comparison to other equine non-profits with whom we have worked her organizational ability and efficiency make this our favorite program.

I had the pleasure of working with Shirley Puga And NERN earlier this year in a gelding clinic in Northern California. We here at Napa Valley Horse Rescue took in 3 wild stallions from a big quarter horse dispersal that were all headed to slaughter. These horses were untouchable and the local vets wanted 6-900 dollars a horse for the gelding process. there was no way our rescue could afford this. I had been working with these stallions for a few months by the time NERN held the Gelding clinic, but they were still pretty wild and untrusting as well as barely halterbroke. Shirley, Dr. Davis, his anesthesiologist and vet students made this gelding process such a breeze for us and the horses. They sedated the most skitish one in the trailer and we led them all out with ease. They also had their feet trimmed and teeth checked while they were down!! As soon as the process was done we let the horses recover and loaded them right back up and headed home. Dr Davis made a personal ranch call which was way over and above to check on one of the geldings that had extra swelling and he fixed the problem is seconds. This non-profit has made a huge contribution to our state and fellow horseman by offering this wonderful service to those who cannot afford the high prices of services to geld stallions to stop the unwanted backyard breeding and overpopulation we are having in the horse community. Thankyou Shirley and NERN for all you do for all of us.... Your hard work and selfless generosity is making a huge difference in all of our comunities that have the pleasure of working with your group. Again, from our hearts.... Thank you...

We have been working with National Equine resource Network (NERN) for about two years. They are an outstanding nonprofit that has truly helped many. They do fantastic work to prevent unnecessary breeding by holding low cost gelding clinics in cities all over. Oakdale Equine Rescue has benefited enormously from these clinics, as the cost for gelding even one horse can be extremely expensive. Without NERN it would be very difficult for our rescue to continue to commit to rescuing young colts or mature stallions, that would that need to be gelded, we just would not be able to afford it.

We are grateful for everything NERN has done to help us, as well as other rescues like us, and so many others.

Jeannine Etheridge
President of Oakdale Equine Rescue

As the operator of a nonprofit equine rescue sanctuary, I am very aware of the need for an organization such as the National Equine Research Network created specifically to support our work. Therefore I am pleased to provide our endorsement for this grant.

Shirley Puga is by far the most knowledgable and professional individual in our industry. NERN fills a much needed role in supporting the rescues that serve unwanted and slaughter bound horses. The non profit is well run, fiscally responsible and responsive to the needs of the community that it serves. Shirley is of impeccable moral character and always approaches situations from a place of candor, honesty and integrity. The organization is mission focused and proactive in resolving problems and issues. In the 4 years that I have beed associated with the work of NERN, my respect and admiration for tho organization and its leadership continues to grow. Special accolades certainly need to be paid to the innovative programs such as the low cost gelding clinics, which exemplifies the proactive mindset of this organizations leadership. Susan Peirce, President Red Bucket Equine Rescue

I have been working with NERN for over a year, and in that time 250 horses have been gelded through NERN's low cost gelding clinic program. In my conversations with the horse owners that have benefited from this program, I'm struck by the profound difference NERN is making in the lives of horses and their people. The gratitude expressed for the program is overwhelming, and need for it is urgent. NERN's executive director, Shirley Puga, does a fantastic job in partnering with local veterinarians, volunteers, and rescues to provide this outstanding service - the cost of which would ordinarily be out of reach for many, many people. I am proud to be a part of it.

I run an equine business with integrity being my value. I would never associate with anyone who might tarnish the reputation I have built. But when NERN asked me to become a board member, I jumped at the chance! NERN stands for integrity and ethical treatment of all animals.

I have watched the coordinated efforts of Shirley Puga - Executive Director, volunteers, veterinarians and equine rescues work jointly to set a priority of gelding to limit the number of unwanted foals over the last several years. NERN in and of itself is to be commended for being at the forefront in the Western United States in coordinating efforts to aid people in finding gelding at an affordable cost. The amount of rescues that have reduced the numbers of horses going to slaughter that Shirley herself facilitated is extremely significant. They have responded to emerging issues within the equine industry with innovative programs and continue to stay at the forefront of doing what's best and doing what's right. Whether it's initiating emergency hay funds, or responding to needs from rescues via grant funding, they have always placed equine welfare as their top priority.

NERN's philosophy and approach to equine issues is unique and creative. Their Low Cost Gelding Clinics are the best way to tackle the surge of unwanted horses in our country. Rescues are overflowing with horses and too many are going to auction and eventually to the slaughter houses in Mexico and Canada. By tackling this problem at the ground level, NERN is helping not on the horses but the horse owner who cannot afford the expensive surgical procedure to sterilize a horse. I applaud their foresight and energy. NERN is an outstanding nonprofit and has incredible ideas for expansion and benefiting the entire equine community. This is one group I am proud to support!

Currently there is a huge problem with over breeding horses in our country. Most of this is done for profit with little regard for the horse's welfare. Because of their size, long term commitment and need for large spaces, many of these horses are unable to find a long term and stable homes and the consequences are devastating—starvation, abuse, slaughter. National Equine Resource Network (NERN) has stepped up to fill a void needed in sterilizing horses that would typically continue to breed, offsetting this terrible cycle. NERN makes it very easy for individual horse owners to participate, often going to them as opposed to them having to make long road trips for this type of service. I appreciate NERN filling this unique niche to care for and prevent suffering of unwanted horses.

NERN's innovative and proactive program addresses a animal welfare and economic problem that, outside the equine community, tends to get insufficient attention. A combination of economic downturns, increased feed costs, indiscriminant breeding, and closure of equine slaughter facilities has lead to a serious problem that impacts not only the lives of unwanted horses, but animal control facilities, local governments, and public safety . The veterinary profession is willing to help and people who care for and rescue the abandoned animals need the services. Shirley Puga's tireless efforts to bring these groups together through NERN has been a model of how to attack a problem efficiently and successfully. This is because she uses a combination of donor funding, veterinary volunteers, and low cost fees to the horse guardians. The result is hundreds of successfully sterilized male horses, who now have a far better chance of adoption and a permanent home. As a by product it has also resulted in a great deal of student training, in a time when support of veterinary education is under server cuts.