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Gabe was one of the first horses I met at Days End Farm Horse Rescue when I first started volunteering and he had immediately caught my eye. He was too high level for me then – a brand new volunteer with no previous horse experience at all.

Cancer and turning 50 shook me into a now or never moment. My daughter was 16 and riding at least three times a week always asking me when I was going to get my own horse, so I could trail ride with her and it hit me… now was the time!

The lesson program would get a lot of “retiree” racehorses and give them a second career, however, in Mogul’s case, it was his third. He was so much fun to ride…even though he had no idea why he was no longer supposed to just go as fast as he could. I was the third person to ride him at our barn, but the first to ask to do it again…

Cicada Faith was about 1 1/2 to 2 years old in a kill pen waiting to be shipped to slaughter when I found her. A Facebook group had posted her picture online and I immediately fell in love, however, I was not looking for a second horse at the time…

Rex’s story with me begins in October of 2015. I follow Central Virginia Horse Rescue, diligently, on Facebook. Have for over 7 years. This particular day, I saw a post where they were involved in rescuing over 80 horses from a farm in Virginia. It was a huge undertaking…

Wiley arrived at the school I work for with another 10 quarter horses from a trail riding company that shut down locally. As we assessed the horses to see if they would fit the needs of our riding program, I realized that Wiley would not. He was not a…

We knew that we wanted to adopt a rescue horse from the very beginning because there are just so many great horses out there that need rescuing. However, it seemed that no one had Arabians available for adoption. We even tried the local auction and…

In 2012 I was a working student at a local hunter/jumper and dressage barn. A new boarder had come in with a hot and sensitive OTTB mare named Leda. She had been off the track for some time and had transitioned into an eventing career with…

As I began getting my confidence in riding back after three strokes, I was looking for a horse who is sure-footed and could help me with my balance. In nursing school at the time, I knew I needed a laid-back horse who did not mind me not showing up every…