You can lead Sherman to water, but you can’t make him drink.
“He has a unique personality to say the least,” said Bebe Edwards, the horse’s owner.
Edwards adopted Sherman, also known as “The Shermanator” and “Squirmin’ Sherman,” from the Horse Protection Association of Florida, which will host Horses Helping Horses on Saturday.
Although the fundraiser is in its seventh year, this year’s event will cater to the general public rather than just horse enthusiasts, said Karen Curran, the volunteer coordinator.
The change is an effort to compete for a $10,000 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, she said.
“It used to be for those in the know,” Curran said. “Now it’s an event everybody can enjoy.”
Canterbury Showplace, located at 23100 W. Newberry Road, will start hosting the silent auction, wine-and-cheese party, demonstrations and pony rides at 8 a.m.
It will end, Curran said, when the horses get tired in the early evening.
The HPAF rescues abandoned, neglected, and abused horses and nurses them back to health at its farm in Micanopy, Curran said.
She said it costs about $8,000 a month to feed the about 70 horses that currently live on the farm.
“We survive on grant money, donations and gifts from the public,” she said. “Every cent goes right back to the horses.”
Sherman the horse will accompany his owner to the event, where she will talk about their adoption experience.
“It’s like meeting a guy for the first time,” Edwards said. “I don’t even know what drew me in. He knows I’m his person.”
Horses Helping Horses
Canterbury Showplace
23100 W. Newberry Road
8 a.m. to early evening
Horse Protection
Association of Florida
352-466-4366
