Kataluna Horse Rescue

09/16/2025

Aurora Borealis, aka Bo❤️
Do you recognize where this name comes from?
For those of you who have followed along for a while now, you may remember Aurora, a Belgian mare who was dumped at a feedlot when she was crippled and desperately needed help. She was spray painted with red X’s on her body and tagged for slaughter. I saw something in her eyes, we stepped up to help and brought her into Kataluna. The night we had rescued her something truly magical happened. On our home farm which I have grown up on and learned almost everything from these horses, we had a once in a lifetime phenomenon witnessing the true northern lights, or aurora borealis. I had loved the name Aurora since I was young and we’ve had many horses come and go but I just never felt it was the right fit, until her. Our Aurora.

We did everything we could to give Aurora a happy healthy life. She was such a special girl who truly touched every soul she met. She also had a small spot amidst her blaze which is not a very common marking, they called it “gods thumbprint” as the old tale goes a horse who carry’s gods thumbprint is one who was touched by the savior himself, signifying this horse is know for her loyalty, courage, and bravery.

That indeed she was.

She made it with us another several months but unfortunately the damages her body faced before our care, grew to strong, and we laid her to rest peacefully here on our farm. Her ashes are buried with Lunas in our memorial garden.

Flash forward several months later, I came across a sweet old Belgian at a feedlot, skin and bones, they said her baby was taken off her and she was brought to the lot the next day. The light in her eyes was nearly gone but you could see she still had a small sparkle of hope. That same thing in her eyes that I saw in Aurora, no matter how shut down her body was. And you know what I noticed right away? She had that very same thumbprint. A very special marking, for a very special horse. We pulled her immediately and brought her home. She’s been so closed off but trying so hard to see and feel the love she is getting now, and will continue to get for the rest of her life, but it will take time. And that’s okay, because time is all we’ve got now.

So in honor of our Aurora, as our first Belgian mare we’ve rescued since Aurora, we welcome Bo to the herd❤️

📸 4Strides Photography

09/11/2025

Today, right now, In a world where we are seeing so much hate, so much negativity and so much heartbreak, I hope despite it all, we can do our best in these darkest moments to remember the good. There. Is. Good. Somewhere.
When the media is so loud and the negativity is constantly being thrown in your face, it’s honestly really hard to focus on anything else. You feel like you’re drowning and there’s nothing left to do but fall. If you’re anything like me, we tend to dwell and spiral down the hole of the things that really don’t feel good, because it always seems to stand out above the rest. The heartbreaks, the tension, the anger, the people who don’t agree because gosh forbid any of us have our own opinions and our own thoughts. We are all human. Let’s not forget that.

I hope today you can do your best to remember no matter how loud people may get in trying to take your voice, that voice is the only thing you get to truly share of your own in this world. That’s why for every single one of these animals who comes through our doors, we do our best to be that voice for them, just as I would hope any one of you would do for a any other living breathing loving soul that you cared about.

Today as you try your best to hold onto that good, just remember how blessed we are to live every day with the power of choice to show up and be the best version of ourselves we can be, for us, and for everyone around us.

09/10/2025

Introducing sweet Callisto🌙✨
Callisto is another one of our draft horses we rescued most recently from a kill pen out of Texas. She is here because of our boy Rainier, and when she was brought to my attention knowing she needed help, the moment I saw her, I saw a face that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. A face that I missed so so dearly. My Luna. Luna as many of you know is the reason this whole rescue is what it is today. Luna and I lived seven good years together, when we were told we would only get one, before she peacefully left this earth nearly two years ago. Her spirit still lives on in every single horse who comes through our doors, and Callisto’s face, her big ears, and her kind timid eyes, just reminded me so much of Luna and her expressions when I first met her in those pens all those years ago. The feeling was instant and I knew she needed help. I knew she needed to come home.

She loaded up on our trailer and very quickly we started to address everything she needed help with, both mentally and physically. Callisto is an absolute love and truly just wants to soak up all your attention. She has no reason to be that loving after everything people have put her through, but she still is. She was underweight to the point you could count every one of her ribs, however her belly was quite low hanging which raised concerns of her carrying a foal. On top of that, she is completely blind in her left eye, with noticeable pain and irritation which may mean the eye likely needs to be removed. We are still doing a few more evaluations with our veterinarian before making any final decisions.

We have both ultrasound, and run bloodwork for Callisto on her pregnancy however both have been inconclusive so we will check her again after a month to see if any noticeable changes arise, as well as keep very close eyes on her body and temperament. We still have a lot of unanswered questions we are working to solve with this sweet mare, but what matters most is she’s in the best hands now, getting the best care and enjoying every moment of what she wants most, love❤️

📸 4Strides Photography

09/09/2025

✨An Evening Under the Luna 2025✨
What an incredible night from start to finish, I am just left speechless at the amount of love, support, and generosity that came out here on our home farm over the weekend.
We hosted our second annual silent auction fundraiser “An Evening Under the Luna” which is our biggest one time fundraiser of the year. We had live music, games, catered dinner, amazing auction items, a live Liberty demo, an incredible heartfelt mini documentary, and so much more. Last year for our first ever event, we sold out on tickets a month before! This year due to high demand, we doubled our seats and STILL sold out with a full room of horse lovers and supporters🥹 to say my heart was full to the brim would be an understatement.

I even get to share with you something so truly special, not only did we get to celebrate with our entire community of people, while being right here on our farm surrounded by our horses here in the present moment, but as soon as the event started to come to an end, things fell quiet, and the bliss of such a beautiful evening was in full effect, something magical happened.

You all have heard me talk about the old cowboy saying that “thunder is a horses hoofbeat in heaven”. Well, right as our event came to an close, the sky started to light up and the low powerful rumbles of our first thunderstorm of the year kicked in. The timing was impeccable. I truly think this was our heavenly herds way of saying “congratulations, you did it, now it’s time to go help more just like us”. I definitely shed many tears of gratitude that night for this life I am so blessed to live and love.

The night started, and ended beautifully thanks to this entire community that came together. Our goal this year was to raise $125k which although we didn’t quite reach, we still came pretty dang close with a just shy total of $110,000. That is absolutely truly INCREDIBLE because that means we get to continue saving, and litteraly changing the lives, of horses and animals in need for another year to come🥹 so with every last ounce of my heart, thank you to everyone who made this possible❤️ More photos to come soon and We can’t wait to see you all again next year!!

I also want to thank a few of our amazing sponsors who showed their support for the evening G*i Interiors https://gai-interiors.com and Spineworks Issaquah https://www.spineworksissaquah.com!

As well as our in kind sponsors JC Horse Training - Juliette Cimetiere .restrooms, The Design Paige LLC, Monroe Co-op, and Lydia's Cakes & Confections!
As well as our photographers and videographer 4Strides Photography and Sarah Rosioru this couldn’t have been as successful without each of you!!

09/06/2025

I know this isn’t the most glamorous photo ever, but I wanted to share something today with you all on a very big day, that I thought was just so truly special for so many reasons🥺

Yesterday I introduced one of the newest herd members here at Kataluna, our big friendly giant Rainier, and why we chose that name for him. Well, for those of you who don’t know, today is the day of our biggest fundraising event of the year. It’s our silent auction fundraiser called “An Evening Under the Luna” inspired by the mare who started it all and the reason why we are all here today, my sweet girl Luna. This is only our second year hosting this event but last year was such a huge success we knew this was something to continue in the cards for the future, to help continue to do more good, and to raise awareness for the reality of the horse industry❤️‍🩹

Almost one year ago after our first fundraiser, we were already planning for year two, and for this second year we decided to make the theme “black and white” and created this photo of Luna in the full moon, looking over the nighttime glow of Mount Rainier.

Exactly one year later, on the eve of this event, never did I think we would have this horse in our home at the exact same time. I took this photo last night of an almost full moon, looking over the glow of OUR Rainier🥺😭❤️

How special is that?! I just knew in my heart it was our herd looking over us and cheering us on, ready to help guide us as we go into a whole new year of giving horses a second chance. I can’t wait for this evening and to share it all with you❤️

09/05/2025

Our biggest of our gentle giants, Rainier❤️

Over the next few posts I will be introducing our most recent group of rescues. We started off with Emet who has now crossed the rainbow bridge, so now I’d like to introduce you to the reason why our drafties are here and made it home safe❤️ Rainier is a Percheron gelding who stands over 19hh tall (the largest horse we’ve ever had here at Kataluna).

Mount Rainier is one of the largest mountains in Washington State where our home farm is. Since he’s a WA boy now and forever, and we’re about to climb some serious mountains together, we thought Rainier was fitting for him. The name also comes from German heritage meaning “wise warrior” which is exactly who he is sharing to be. He was bought by a kill buyer at a sale and transported to a feedlot in Texas where he was brought to my attention. He had neglected feet and was severely underweight (literally needing to gain a good 500lbs). Something about his face and the expression in his eyes stood out so deeply in my soul. It’s the same expression that has brought in so many of our horses here over the years. I made the decision to try and fundraise for him, and then I saw two other drafts were there with him (Bo and Callisto, who so fondly resembled Aurora and Luna). All three came home to Kataluna, but it all started with him.

As soon as we met him, we were immediately captivated, not necessarily by his size, but his big ole heart. For being so massive, he is so kind, so gentle, and so aware. All he wanted was love.

Pretty quickly we began to notice some other things that needed some serious medical help. He has a massive piece of his hind hoof missing, and he had some concerning wheezing with a slightly bloody nose in his left nostril. The breathing restriction seemed to only be on one side, and would get worse/bleed more when he would put his head down (say to graze or rest), which grew concern there might be something more going on in his sinus. Upon vet evaluation and x rays, our worries were confirmed and he has what we believe is a massive tumor in his left sinus area. Either a tumor or possible major abscess but that being less likely.

We’ve started him on some medication to see if we notice any positive difference moving forward, but due to the location of the mass, surgery is not really an option and finding a solution is still in the works. As of right now it’s not something that is overly life threatening. He won’t be running any races or packing through the mountains ever but we knew he would most likely end up being a glorified pasture pal anyway. We just feel so grateful to have Rainier here to help him on his healing journey. The fact that he has been through all that he has, and is still as genuine and loving as he is, just makes my heart ache, because he deserved so much more than what he was given. But we’ve got him now❤️

09/03/2025

He’s with our heavenly herd now❤️‍🩹
His body was so ready. He let go so fast. It honestly felt like a wave of peace seeing him so still. Angus, his buddy who was still in his paddock, was so calm during the whole process, until we all finally walked away from his body. Angus then started pacing & calling loudly as if he was alerting us his friend was missing. I brought him over to see Emet, let him sniff him and know he is okay now. It is so so important for them to say their goodbyes too. Immediately Angus’s angst turned to quiet. I left him loose as I started arranging Emet’s flowers, which is how we memorialize and honor all our horses who pass on with us, so Angus could have some time with him too. He could have walked anywhere but rather he stood over his friend for about five minutes straight, so still, until he was ready, and he calmly walked himself right back to his paddock. That’s all he wanted was to say goodbye.

People keep saying “I’m so sorry for your loss”, but the way I think about it is not in the form of loss. Rather, gain. Emet gained his wings, he is no longer hurting, no longer suffering. No longer known as a number, ever again. When a horse is taken to an auction, they are stripped of everything they’ve known. Their home, their herd, and even their name, in most cases.

When Emet came home, we found out he was one of those horses who never even had that opportunity in the first place. He was branded with the number “293” to fit into his job. On his certification paperwork for the sale, under “breed, registration, size, name”… His name was written as 293.

So not only was he brought to a sale in crippling conditions, reduced to a number in the sea of hundreds, but he’s been a number before. He was known as his number. It couldn’t help but make me wonder if he’d even, ever been given a name before. But we brought him home and got rid of that first number, we gave him a name, Emet. Emet is Hebrew for “faithful”. Old faithful as he was. And now, he is home for good, finally rid of that last number. Forever. Rest in peace sweet boy, you are home now.

09/02/2025

I told you all last week that I was going to go through and introduce all of our most recent rescues, so I want to start us with a very special old man. This is Emet. And this is Emet’s last day on this earth.

Yes you read that correctly. This sweet old senior gelding is going to be joining our heavenly herd today. This is not an easy topic that people like to discuss, but I think it’s one that needs to be brought to light, for Emet’s sake, and every horse who’s ever been in Emet’s shoes.

Emet is a mid twenties gelding who we learned came from a well populated “guided trail riding horse company” that we met at last month’s horse auction. When Emet entered the ring, we all knew what this outcome was likely going to be. He was underweight, shoed on all fours, stumbled in on his own front feet, and basically just hobbled in circles. We didn’t know if he was neurological or something was broken but we knew it wasn’t good. Not a hand went up when he came into the ring, not a single hand but ours. Despite what we thought the outcome would be, he deserved better. He worked his whole life, branded and claimed by several people when he could work, but in the end, when he needed people most, not a soul stood up for him. Instead he was brought to a sale, marked with another number glued onto his body (let alone the numbers already branded on his body), and sold with money in their pocket.

Think about that, you go on vacation, you pay to have a adventurous horse back riding experience, you think “what a good horse” after he carries you so carefully through woods, canyons, valleys, etc. it makes for such a memorable moment of your life. I remember the name of the first horse I ever rode on a guided trail ride. I was four years old and his name was Dinky. Did I ever think Dinky would end up dumped at a sale, hardly able to walk and stand, at the end of his life after making so many of those memories for so many people, now alone? No… so to think here we are now, with “horse number 293” who now has a name, has a home, and has a whole family ready to wish him well. You bet I’d do it again in a heart beat.

When we brought Emet home and he was evaluated by our vet, after a few basics tests we very quickly realized Emet is riddled with arthritis, his body is so painful and he has hardly any control over his movements, we knew the kindest thing was to give him a few good days of love, grooming and endless meals, then help him on his way.

I know euthanasia is a scary word. But in all my experience in running this rescue, it’s not a bad word. If anything, it’s a way we can help these horses to be free of their pain once and for all. To help them run and play again like they were young, to never have to worry about missing another meal or knowing what it’s like to be home. Please do the right thing for your animals when you know it’s time. They’ve given every ounce of who they are for you, it’s the least we can do in return.

📸Photograph by 4Strides Photography

08/28/2025

They are here thanks to my incredible friends who help me through this rescue mission, they made it home and are settling in calmly thanks to our incredible hauler who drove cross country to bring them to safety, they have all been health evaluated and are on the road to recovery thanks to our amazing veterinarian and her team, they are SAFE and they are HOME thanks to this Kataluna family❤️

I will introduce each horse a bit more in depth in their own individual posts over the next few days. But for now, my heart in full in welcoming Rainier, Callisto, Bo, Loretta, Bambi, Angus & Emit to the herd❤️ no longer just numbers, no longer at risk of a horrible uncertain death. They have names and they have home.

08/24/2025

Our sweet gentle giants are almost home🥹❤️ We finally had the pleasure of meet them first hand over the weekend on their journey back to Kataluna. I had no idea what to expect with these three as they came in, as we had only gotten to know their faces through pictures.
Although to meet them in person, knowing everything they have gone through, was such an emotional moment. It always is, but especially this one in particular.

We met them after a long day at the auction yard, where there’s so much going on behind the scenes. We were exhausted, and so were these horses. But right off the bat, going into their pen, these gentle giants were *so* kind. They had no reason to be that kind, that friendly, and enjoy pets from our hands and brushes, after humans had truly failed them. But they were right there, ready to try again, and that strength and willingness is what encourages me so much to do the same for them. Keep trying.

Horse auctions are a very particular environment, no matter where you go. The tension in the horse pens knowing what some of these horses have been through before getting dropped off, but in some cases, it’s also very tense among people.

In the auction world, we often find rescues are looked down upon. Maybe it’s partially culture because we are “breaking tradition”, maybe it’s egos that are hard to be put aside because it’s hard to admit when something isn’t right and it’s considered “weak” to wear your heart on your sleeve.
I also know it’s also partially because there are a people who claim to be associated with a rescue “title” & say they help horses, when in reality they are ones who are corrupt, pocketing donors money and causing trouble for the sale yard when they just the the middle man. Therefore leaving the real rescues a massive mess to clean up and much harder wall to breakthrough and try to actually do some good. I’ve experienced it at nearly every auction I’ve ever attended.

Anyone is welcome at any public horse sale. Some of them are actually very kind and welcoming environments. But it’s soon as that word “rescue” is involved, it’s like everyone’s guard goes up. But why? A huge part of why I commit to this industry, of course is to help change the lives of as many horses as we can for the better, but I’m also hoping we can change the views of as many people as we can that we are in this for the right reasons, so that we can continue to help more.
“Rescue” doesn’t have to be alarming, it doesn’t have to be a scam, it doesn’t have to mean drama and a fight, but just like with every single other thing on this planet earth, there are the good people who are trying to do the right thing, and there are the not so good people who take advantage.

I want to show them that there *IS* good.

Of course we make mistakes and we learn, we are still human, but how we all choose to move forward and make a positive impact, I hope is what every person in that environment will remember us for. The horses are the real, and the only, reason we are here. This is truly all for them.

08/21/2025

Sometimes late at night I’ll lay awake scrolling on my phone to drown the noise, blur the thoughts, let it all mush together just for a few short moments when the world is quiet. Sometimes I scroll through rescue videos, sometimes seeing old friends new lives, sometimes watching videos that make me smile or laugh, and sometimes I read posts like this that bring up so many feelings I may have never know how to explain, but someone else has put them into words. This is one of those messages with such power, that I know resonates with myself and so many others. These horses are so similar to us, in so many ways we may never know.

💛 When she flinches, I remember.

A hand reaches for her mouth.
She tilts her head away —
but the bit is slid in anyway.
Her body is no longer hers.

I know that feeling.
The air shifts.
The body remembers before the mind can speak.

They call her willing when she obeys.
Difficult when she resists.
I have worn those words too.

They speak over her as though she isn’t there —
as though her breath doesn’t matter,
as though the tension in her body is just “resistance to be broken.”

“She just needs to learn who’s boss.”
“She has to respect you.”
I’ve heard those words,
with different nouns, in different rooms.

She has been taught that safety lies in compliance.
So have I.

When she freezes under a touch she cannot escape,
I feel the tightness in my own chest.
When she tests the rope and finds no slack,
I feel the limits I’ve been told not to push.

Her story and mine are not the same —
but the echoes are familiar.

And when I fight for her right to move without fear,
to speak without punishment,
I am also fighting for my own.

02/13/2025

What’s cuter than a baby donkey wearing heart sunglasses on Valentine’s Day?…. Absolutely nothing this is as cute as it gets🥹💖 featuring the best photobomb of all time in the third picture😂 Hard to believe this was already a full year ago with baby Aretha & Elton! Who have both been adopted into the most incredible and loving homes we could ask for!❤️