To get to the new home of the Horse Rescue Society of B.C.鈥檚 Thrift Barn Loft in 91原创, look for a small sign on the side of 16th Avenue pointing south down 242nd Street.

A short distance down the road, the store is inside a stable where some of the horses the society has saved reside, up a flight of stairs at the back to an upper floor, where bargains await for horse and rider, including racks of riding and farm clothing, barn and riding boots and shoes, books, tack, and horse-themed small household items and curios.

It is a well-organized mix of donated items and bargains bought for resale by Sylvia Stark, the society director at large who runs the store.

At its new location for about a year, Stark thinks the new site is 鈥減erfect.鈥�

鈥淚t had the right atmosphere,鈥� Stark remarked. 鈥淚 loved the opportunity for people to walk through the barn and have the horses kind of greet them on their way up. It really worked out to be a nice venue for us and the feedback that we got was very positive.鈥�

Funds from the store support the society, a registered charity devoted to rescuing abused and neglected horses and raising public awareness.

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Stark said the loft is a good place to shop for horse-related gifts.

鈥淥ur prices are ridiculously good if I may say so,鈥� Stark commented, stressing the store doesn鈥檛 sell non-equestrian items.

The retired Air Canada flight attendant taught herself how to use power tools for the first time to build shelves and display spaces, with some assistance.

鈥淚t was very rewarding,鈥� Stark remarked.

鈥淚 have to say I had some help,鈥� she added. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to pretend I did everything by myself, but I learned a lot.鈥�

Society president and managing director Sharon Wells explained the 91原创-based organization has been around since 1984

鈥淭hey did a lot of advocating and testifying at trials against abusers [in the beginning],鈥� Wells recalled.

Then, they began providing a home to horses rescued from farms that produced Pregnant Mares鈥� Urine (PMU) for manufacturers of estrogen and hormone-replacement drugs, by keeping mares constantly pregnant and collecting their estrogen-rich urine.

鈥淭he PMU farms weren鈥檛 a nice place for horses, that鈥檚 for sure,鈥� Wells recalled. 鈥淭he horse protection society sponsored some of them, and found some new homes for them.鈥�

But there were a 鈥渇ew left over that were more difficult to place,鈥� and they ended up staying with the society, which now takes in other kinds of hardship or hard-to-place horses.

鈥淲e mostly have old horses who just can鈥檛 be placed anymore,鈥� Wells summarized.

At any given time, there are 10 horses at the society, the maximum they have space for.

Current residents include a senior horse, who is going blind, but still gets around with the help of another, smaller horse with a heart murmur, who acts as her seeing-eye guide.

鈥淪he鈥檚 a very sweet little horse but there鈥檚 no way that we can really place her because her diet鈥檚 expensive and and her heart murmur means that you have to be so careful,鈥� Wells explained.

Store hours are Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is .

To donate, or volunteer, or find out more, information is available online at . or at the Horse Protection Society of B.C. .

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