The Healing Power of Horses

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit Humanity for Horses.  I have supported this sanctuary for years but had never visited them.  Located near Mt. Shasta, CA, Humanity for Horses is a non-profit sanctuary that rescues abused and neglected horses, as well as those destined for the slaughterhouse.

Near the entrance to Humanity for Horses

Each of the 406 horses here have been nursed back to health and will live out their lives at the sanctuary. As we walked around meeting some of the horses, I couldn’t help but feel the peaceful and loving environment that had been created here.  The horses glowed – they were healthy, well-fed, and exercised.  Most were curious and ran to the fence to say hello as we walked by.

It didn’t take long for me to wish that we had more carrots!

In addition to the horses, there are about 200 other animals who call the sanctuary their home: goats, llamas, alpacas, mules, donkeys, chickens, sheep, geese, cats, dogs…every time I turned around there was another animal wanting to say hello.

Me and Tenderness sharing a tender moment

I was there for several hours and gave as much love as I possibly could to each animal I encountered. The amount of love I got back from them was incredible.  I was filled to the brim with it all.  As we finished up our tour, we stopped to say hello to some donkeys.  One of them came to me and rested his head against mine.  His name? Tenderness.  And he lives up to it!

It was a truly magical day.

If you want to see more, please visit the Humanity for Horses website.  They have a page dedicated to each horse that gives a bit of the backstory of the horse.  And, if you feel inclined, you can donate to them directly from the site.  Taking care of this many animals takes a lot of work and food – they go through 10,000 bales of hay alone each month!