At the Horse Sanctuary
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One Year and An Announcement
One year ago today was one of the worst days of my life. On May 4, 2017, I lost one of my dearest friends in the world. Having been in the horse rescue world for almost a decade, I love each and every horse I care for with everything I have. They are my brothers Continue reading
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Three Months
Three months ago today, I lost my horse after a battle with laminitis. I finally wrote about it. ~ I have turned to words as a means of self-expression for as long as I can remember. The first thing I ever wanted to be in life was a writer. From the time I was a Continue reading
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The Weakest Step
I see her in the mountains. I see her in every saguaro and palo verde and creosote bush. I feel her in every breath of wind and in the sun on my face. I hear her charging across the sky. I look all around me and she is there, breathing life into my aching heart. Continue reading
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An Announcement: Sonora
She’s gone. My little girl, my sister from the moment our eyes met, my beautiful, young, wild and spirited mare joined the Great Herd today at 12:30. Her X-rays yesterday showed further rotation in both front feet and her coffin bones were actually starting to sink. She was losing weight, her poor legs shook with Continue reading
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A Living Nightmare
I debated even writing about this. About how we – in the last 48 hours – came to the edge of the abyss of losing Heighten. The edge of the freaking abyss. Neither Jim or I want to relive the nightmare that was Sunday afternoon and Sunday early evening and Sunday night and Monday in the Continue reading
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Head vs. Heart: A Follow Up
I believe in transparency. I believe in truth and integrity. I believe our family – be they donors, volunteers, Facebook friends, or longtime followers – have the right to know what goes on within our gates and our ventures and our decisions and our lives. Before anyone starts worrying, let me just say quickly that Continue reading
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Head vs. Heart
I walked into Jim’s house/Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary’s office on a Tuesday morning after I got back from Washington to collect a pile of mail that’d built up in my absence. It was December 27th, and we’d survived another Christmas. I’d been on pins and needles the whole morning, waiting to hear if anything had gone Continue reading
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A 10-Step Guide For Sucessfully Visiting a Nonprofit Horse Ranch
The holidays are approaching, which means families everywhere will soon be looking for fun outings and things to do together! As an employee and past volunteer of a nonprofit horse sanctuary, we so frequently get visitors that I thought I’d put together a helpful little guide to steer individuals in the right direction when it Continue reading
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Seven Years
Seven years ago today, I walked onto a horse ranch to begin a hundred hours of community service required for my high school graduation. I’d wanted to get a head start on my hours and complete some work during the summer before senior year. I figured I could do a few hours a week for Continue reading
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The Hardest Part
Raw. That is truly the only way I can describe this feeling: this feeling of having my heart ripped out, scraped roundly against the rough edges of a wall, then thrust back into my chest. And I can’t stop the pain. When you love the horses you care for with everything you have, you don’t Continue reading
Shorts and Snippets 