Our horses usually present to us in some form of malnutrition and/or in need of medical care. The horse may have been abused or neglected and in need of emotional care as well.
The Three Ways We Help Our Horses:
1) Physical
The horse may be in need of medical care for general neglect and/or a disease that has been left untreated. Many are malnourished and significantly underweight.
2) Abuse and Neglect
Because of neglect or abuse, the horse may have trust issues. Commonly the horse will avoid making eye contact, looking the other way or at the ground. Their contact with humans may have not been kind, and they have learned not to trust people. This trust must be earned by us humans.
Luckily, horses have a forgiving nature if the right amount of patience and gentleness is used. We do not push the horse in any way. We let him progress at his own speed. We can’t demand trust or loyalty, it must be carefully cultivated over time.
3) Emotional
The horse may have not been abused, but he may have been neglected or unloved. We see horses that will not take a treat as one has never been offered to them before.
We see horses that recoil from our touch because a loving hand has never been placed on them. They were ignored or used as a beast of burden.
We feel it is equally important that each horse feel loved and wanted. While you can train a horse to do what you want because you make him, you get a much more responsive horse when the horse WANTS to follow your lead.
This feeling of love can be a foreign concept to the horse initially. But we love our horses and we want them to know it. It’s why we do what we do.
Also, we get horses from owners that have died or became unable to care for their beloved friends because of illness or financial/emotional stress. We feel a sacred honor in assuming responsibility for these horses.
We provide great comfort to the previous owners or family of the deceased owners when they know their cherished creature will be well taken care of. And not just fed and housed, but also have its emotional and psychological needs met. It is vitally important to these owners that they know their horse will be loved as they loved them.
We collaborate with Heartland Equine Rescue in our rehabilitation efforts. HER is a volunteer-led group that helps and adopts horses in southern Indiana and the surrounding states.
