SoCal Animal Rescue

08/21/2026

Rescue work is it's own reward. Sometimes, it all comes together. Today CeCe chose her forever family. . I watched it happen. She turned from me to them and made her choice. I can't tell you how satisfying this is. This is what we do. This is why we do it. vaya con dios chica. 💕🙏🥰

06/08/2026

What's up with Lou? Sounds like she's living the life of Reily!

04/12/2026

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1492074009141821&id=100050177093034&mibextid=wwXIfr
This is a real truth and so well said. 100% credit to Tim Anderson for saying it so well. Read the post if you are considering horse rescue. 🥰

I’m going to say something that a lot of people don’t want to hear, but it needs to be said anyway.
Not everyone should be rescuing horses.
And before someone jumps in with feelings and hashtags and “but I saved him,” let’s be clear about something—I’m not talking about intentions. I’m talking about outcomes. Because in the real world, intentions don’t matter nearly as much as results. And the results I see from this “rescue first, figure it out later” mindset are not heartwarming. They’re not inspiring. They’re not success stories.
They are horses getting worse.
They are horses becoming dangerous.
They are horses being passed from person to person until eventually nobody wants them.
And in a lot of cases, they end up destroyed.
That is the reality that people don’t want to talk about.
And I’ll tell you something else that should really make people stop and think—the questions I get tell me a lot. I’m not just getting questions about complex training problems. I’m getting basic horsemanship questions from people who have already “rescued” a horse. Basic knowledge. Basic handling. The kind of things you should already understand before you ever consider taking on a problem horse.
That tells me something very clearly.
A lot of people rescuing horses don’t even have the skill set for a well broke horse… let alone one with issues.
That’s not an opinion. That’s what the questions themselves show.
I get messages like this constantly. Someone rescues a horse with a past, with issues, with baggage—and now the horse is pushing into their space, ignoring pressure, pinning its ears, threatening to strike. And they’re confused. They’re overwhelmed. They’re looking for a quick fix to a problem that didn’t happen overnight and won’t be solved overnight.
But here’s the part that needs to be said clearly:
That situation didn’t just happen to you.
You helped create it.
Not because you’re a bad person. But because you stepped into something you weren’t prepared for.
A horse that comes with problems requires more skill, not less. It requires better timing, better feel, better decision making. It requires someone who understands pressure, release, boundaries, and leadership at a high level. What it does not need is someone learning those things for the first time while trying to “save” it.
That’s where this whole “pet them broke” culture has done real damage.
Somewhere along the way, people started believing that kindness replaces structure. That love replaces leadership. That if you’re just patient enough, soft enough, gentle enough, the horse will figure it out.
That’s not training. That’s avoidance.
And horses don’t learn clarity from avoidance. They learn confusion.
So what happens?
The horse learns it can ignore you.
Then it learns it can push into your space.
Then it learns it can threaten you.
And eventually, it learns it can control you.
And once a horse figures out it can control a human, that is a very dangerous place to be.
Now you don’t just have a “rescued horse.”
You have a problem horse.
And here’s the part that should bother people the most—because it bothers me.
That horse didn’t start there.
That horse gave warnings.
Subtle at first. Then less subtle. Then obvious.
But those warnings were missed, excused, or misunderstood. People called it personality. They called it trauma. They called it “he just needs time.”
Meanwhile, the behavior was growing.
Because earlier is kinder.
Earlier is gentler.
Earlier is safer.
But earlier requires knowledge.
And that’s the piece that keeps getting ignored.
Rescuing a horse is not about giving it a soft place to land. It’s about giving it the structure and leadership it needs to become safe, usable, and successful. If you can’t do that, then you’re not rescuing it—you’re delaying its outcome.
And sometimes, you’re making that outcome worse.
That’s the uncomfortable truth.
I know people don’t like hearing that. I know it sounds harsh. But pretending otherwise doesn’t help the horse. It just makes people feel better while the horse’s situation declines.
Because here’s what happens next in these situations.
The horse escalates.
The person gets scared.
The horse gets labeled.
And now the horse that might have been fixable in the beginning is significantly harder to fix… if it’s fixable at all.
And eventually, someone with actual experience has to step in and undo not just the horse’s original issues, but everything that was added on top of it.
Or worse—nobody steps in.
And the horse pays the price.
That’s the part people need to sit with.
Because this isn’t about being mean to people. It’s about being honest about consequences.
If you truly care about horses, then you have to care about what actually helps them—not what feels good to you.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for a horse is not take it home.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is put it with someone who has the skill set to help it.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is admit you’re not there yet.
That’s not failure. That’s responsibility.
And here’s the part I want people to really think about if they’re serious about helping horses.
If you want to rescue horses, then earn the right to do it.
Develop your skills first.
Get to the point where you can take a well broke horse and make it better—not just ride it, not just get along with it, but improve it. Learn timing. Learn feel. Learn how to set boundaries and enforce them correctly. Learn how to recognize problems early and address them before they grow.
Put yourself in situations where you are learning under someone who knows more than you. Spend time around good horses and good trainers. Build your ability before you take on something that requires it.
Because rescuing a horse without the skill to help it isn’t kindness.
It’s risk.
And it’s a risk the horse ends up paying for.
But this idea that anyone with good intentions should be rescuing horses needs to stop.
Because the horses are the ones paying for that belief.
And they pay for it with their behavior, their reputation, their opportunities… and sometimes their lives.
So if you’re thinking about rescuing a horse, ask yourself a real question—not an emotional one.
Do you have the skill to make that horse better?
Not love it. Not feed it. Not feel sorry for it.
Make it better.
Safer. More responsive. More willing. More usable.
Because if the answer is no, then the most responsible thing you can do isn’t to take it home.
It’s to make sure it ends up with someone who can actually help it.
That’s what real horsemanship looks like.
And that’s what real responsibility looks like.

03/25/2026

https://www.facebook.com/100acrewoodhorsefarm/posts/pfbid0wgYaeEm1x8nqksAmgv6ARodE7r1aVkDDnMKTXiWvs7AzTMT6VPe3syrFdHCrUqp6l

All four are rescues from tecate horse rescue. What an incredible day. 🥰

We attended CGA time chasers today. We had a great time and we can’t wait to go back 😎

12/17/2025

My daughter rescued this horse. She has made a true difference in our lives 💕🙏😎