What do you consider a rescue?
I'll go first with my opinion from mild to worst.
I got two half-feral mares from a lady who had become elderly and disabled and could not care for her horses, so she turned them out into a field during the year it took to find someone to accept them. They had healthy body condition and hooves. That was not a rescue.
I bought a slightly thin under muscled horse with hooves due for a trim, specifically because I knew it was once well trained. Fed and trimmed for a few months and now I have a good horse. That is NOT a rescue, it's an investment.
I got two horses that had a BCS of 1, no hay or food, broken teeth from eating their wooden fence, missing half a hoof from a catastrophic abscess. Carried out a refeeding program, dental care, hoof care, and reconditioning, and over a year later, they were finally healthy and sound again.. THAT is a rescue.
(Note), I then sold one of those horses to a new owner. That new owner did not rescue that horse, just because it used to be a rescue. They just bought a perfectly healthy horse.
What are your thoughts?