On horse named Belle was cared for until her death by Connecticut Draft Horse Rescue in Haddam Neck after arriving there from a slaughter auction two years ago. The organization is devoted to saving ill-treated horses, and now Maple and Main is having an art show to benefit their efforts Saturday, June 29.
Chapin, a horse lover and advanced watercolor student in Bivenne Staiger’s watercolor class at Maple and Main shared the story of Belle and other abused horses at the Haddam Neck farm with her fellow students. They all decided to “paint with a purpose” as a way to bring attention to the plight of these creatures and have done a series of beautiful and poignant paintings of the horses at the rescue farm.
A special reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on June 29, and the paintings along with limited edition prints will be available with 50 percent of all proceeds going to the organization. (Any art still available after that evening will go up for silent auction bidding on the CDHR Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/CDHRauctionpage The auction will end on July 20th.)
Assisted by many dedicated volunteers, CDHR http://www.ctdraftrescue.com offers a necessary transition in expansive fields to approximately a dozen rescued horses, providing them with any necessary medical care and lots of attention in the hope of finding loving new homes for them.