This enabled him to solicit monetary donations to support the horses, both those that he provides permanent sanctuary for and those that he adopts out to new “parents.” (He dislikes the word “owner” because it implies that horses are unfeeling objects to be possessed and used – or misused -- by humans.)

Finch is far from the strident animal-rights-activist type portrayed in the media. He thinks their brand of militancy, which sometimes employs violent tactics, hurts his cause: to restore dignity and basic rights to horses who have been treated inhumanely.

Sadly, Finch has seen a tripling in the number of horse abuse cases in the past five years. But he admits the increase could signal something good – “more awareness on the part of the public and more willingness to report the abuse, instead of ignoring it.” On the other hand, he notes, “it could be that the slow economy conditions and the emotional turmoil of more crowded populations are behind the rise in neglected and abused equines. Starvation is the main form the abuse takes, he says.

When Finch hears of a possible case of abuse and goes out to investigate, he tries to understand the stresses that the horse’s custodian may be facing. His initial approach is: “I’m there to help. I get on their level, on their side, so they don’t see me as a threat. Sometimes people are ignorant of how much food a horse needs to eat to maintain his weight. Other times they’re in financial straits. Either way, if they mean well, we can work together to solve the problem, and that’s the best thing we can do for the horse.” But if an owner becomes defensive and belligerent and is clearly abusing his horse on purpose, then Finch is forced to take the final step – get a warrant from the authorities to remove the animal (or animals) from danger.

Unlike many people he knows, Finch isn’t out to get revenge on the abusers. He believes they often are mentally imbalanced, perhaps from having been abused – or made to watch animals treated cruelly – when they were young. Criminal charges for the most egregious offenses are in order, he asserts, but mere punishment, such as jail time, won’t solve the problem. To Finch, only compassion and counseling for the offender and a sincere desire by the offender to correct his ways will stop the abusive behavior. Even if laws are stiffened to prevent violators from buying or breeding more animals, there is no guarantee that the laws will be obeyed or enforced.

Abuse of animals will cease when humans see themselves as being their caretakers, or stewards, instead of their superiors, hence their dominators, Finch observes. It would be a wonderful world, in his view, if “we all looked for opportunities to do good to animals, rather than valuing them based on how much money they can make for us, or how cool they can make us look astride them, or how powerful we feel when we order them around – and hurt them if they don’t obey us.”

Being with horses is a holy experience for Finch. “When so-called horse people look in a horse’s eyes, they see eyeballs,” he says. “When real horse people look in a horse’s eyes, they see the face of God. “My communion with horses,” he continues, “is a celebration of our lives on this earth together. That is my concept of the essence of God. He gives humans and horses the ability to enjoy each other, to feel united with each other, and in this way we feel completeness within ourselves.” The founder of Habitat for Horses is sure he gets more from the horses than he’s able to give them. “I provide them with grain, hay, water – the essentials. At the same time, they’re feeding me with what I need to survive. They’re feeding my spiritual being, my spiritual growth. Had I not taken them in, I would now be as starved as they were at one time.”

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