Established in 1989 by Kathleen Schwartz Howe and husband Allan Schwartz, DEFHR began with Kathy’s own journey rehabilitating an abandoned buckskin gelding named Toby. Through community support of friends and equine professionals, Kathy nursed Toby back to health and inspired a collective idea that equine welfare was a community’s responsibility to both aid and prevent.

DEFHR has since evolved from a small nonprofit to a full-​scale rescue and rehabilitation facility that shelters an average of 130 equines a year, all funneled through animal protection authorities across Maryland and surrounding states. DEFHR is a national leader in equine rehabilitation practices and equine cruelty education.