Short for Amazing Grace and that describes her to a T! She’s a tribute to the abuse she survived when she came to us. Gracie was on the “slaughter line” meaning she was going to be sold for meat because she was too temperamental and didn’t appear to like people or other horses. She was briefly used as a barrel horse but that was short-lived as she was difficult to control. They tried to breed her but that failed as well as she broke through a board fence, tearing her front shoulder open in the process.
Sadly this meant she was off to auction. Like many of our patients, Gracie’s responses were difficult to deal with and nobody really wanted to invest the time and effort it would take to heal what was wrong. At the end of the day, simply accepting her for who she is has made all the difference in the world.
If you can believe it, Gracie is now our top therapy horse! Endlessly patient and calm with the people she works with. It matters not to her if you take all day to accomplish what you’re trying to do as I think she knows that healing takes time and some steps are tougher than others.
She is also our “boss mare”. That is the matriarch of the herd who watches over everyone to keep them safe. This is common herd dynamics.
Missy is our oldest horse. She was bought for a young girl who rode her for a season and then quickly lost interest. Unfortunately Missy was abandoned in her stall, much like those Christmas puppies that end up in shelters by February.
Like Gracie, Missy was also used as a barrel horse so she had a lot to learn when we taught her English riding. Being a show horse just wasn’t her thing so we decided to use her as a therapy horse and she has been thriving ever since.
Missy has the most success with our psychotic and bipolar patients. She is a very gentle girl for new riders on our equestrian team as well!
Memphis, an Egyptian Arab, is a rare breed that came to us after being abandoned as a foal after a family divorce. The foster family that took him in was unable to cope with this breed’s temperament. It didn’t help that he was unable to fit in with their herd of horses, which led him to become scared and confused.
It took Memphis a year to get comfortable with humans again and even more time to decide that giving someone a ride on his back was an ok thing. He is by far our most sensitive horse during therapy sessions particularly with those suffering from anxiety, self-esteem issues, lack of confidence and grief.
Peppy, aka Geronimo is a retired hunter/jumper pony who now lives out his days grazing on pastures and giving pony rides, but Peppy did not start his life as such a success. Peppy spent his early years leased to a barn as a kid’s lesson horse in order to earn his keep. When it turned out he was too “green” (unexperienced) to be used as a lesson horse his original owner was forced to sell him to slaughter, because she couldn’t afford to keep him. Luckily for him he was bought for a young girl that was determined not to give up on him, no matter how many times he threw her off in tears. With training, patience and the love of a little girl, Peppy became a successful show pony soaring over 3-foot fences in the jumper ring. Due to his small size he tends to be the favorite for our smaller participants.
Preacher was abandoned in a makeshift pen in the southern Idaho desert after his owner was sentenced to jail time on unrelated charges. He and another horse were found penned in a remote spot in the middle of summer with no food, water or shelter. A hiker spotted the horses and they were rescued just in the nick of time. Preacher was then taken to a volunteer horse rescue facility that could not afford to feed him or provide for his veterinary needs. He came to us as an Eventer prospect, but has found his place in life as a pleasure riding horse and our tallest and goofiest therapy horse. If he were a human he’d be the class clown as he is always playing around and seems to actually chuckle at times!
Rusty is an Arabian and American Quarter horse cross who has one of the sweetest dispositions on the farm. While he tends to be bottom of the totem pole, he’s just happy to be part of the herd. Rusty started out his life very much alone and neglected until he was moved into our farm. He has slowly become a more sociable horse but still enjoys his alone time hanging out around the herd.
