Equine Spirit Sanctuary

09/02/2025

Labor Day Greetings from ESS

End of summer and start of autumn updates!

07/10/2025

Dora has been trimming our horses for the past few years now. We really appreciate all the expertise and experience she brings to help ESS provide the best care possible for our herd.

06/07/2025

A beautiful poem for those of us who are of the older generation 💝

🤍 Once, I flew on the wings of the wind…
When hooves thundered in rhythm with my heartbeat,
When I greeted every sunrise from the saddle — free, strong, and full of joy.

Now, my knees aren’t what they used to be.
The saddle feels heavier with the years,
And galloping is just a sweet memory deep within my soul.
But you know what? That no longer matters.

Because you, my faithful friend, are still by my side.
You don’t touch my body — you touch my soul.
You still listen. You wait. You love.

I may no longer race across the open fields…
But my heart still soars.
Because true love doesn’t fade with age or time.
You were with me in my youth — and you’ve stayed.
You are mine. Forever. ❤️

05/26/2025

Remembering our heroes. Humans. Horses. Remembering our loved ones today.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1RS7dJAAmc/

"I Waited in the Stillness”
I waited in the stillness, where the meadow meets the mist,
Where morning light would linger, and your hands had once been kissed.
You left me there with promises, though none were ever said,
Just quiet in your footsteps, and warmth where you had tread.

I heard you in the silence, in the sighing of the trees,
In stories shaped from starlight, and carried on the breeze.
You called me without calling, you knew I’d understand,
That bonds aren't made with bridles, but the softness of your hand.

You never said goodbye to me, but neither did you stay,
Just turned your face toward duty, and slowly rode away.
And I, too proud to follow, stood still with aching grace—
My loyalty unbroken, though time may dull my trace.

Now years have drawn like winter’s breath, your hair is touched with snow,
But here I am, a shadow still, where only you would know.
You kneel and touch the earth for me, the grave where I now lie,
But I am not beneath you — I’m the wind that’s drifting by.

So if you hear me one last time, in rustling grass or rain,
Know I would carry you once more, through fire, fear, and pain.
And though my hooves no longer strike the ground beneath the blue,
I waited in the stillness — I was always waiting for you.

Remembering all the horses who lost their Lives in War on Memorial Day

05/19/2025

May Greetings from ESS

You're invited to our Annual Spring Open House

05/13/2025

This is why we do what we do here at ESS 🥰

04/23/2025

What if?

What if horses didn’t have to cry ?

What if pain wasn’t the teacher we relied on?

These are the questions I ask myself almost every day.

Because the greatest gift horses have ever given me isn't about riding or ribbons—it’s the invitation to stop thinking. To slow down. To listen. To trust something older and wiser than words.

They’ve taught me to observe with my senses, not just my eyes. To feel energy shift before movement even begins. To let go of ego, and simply be present.

Each horse that arrives brings a mystery. I never know what I’ll face. But when the horse begins to trust, when we cross that invisible bridge, something beautiful happens. The confusion fades. The mask falls. And I see the horse's truth, clear as day.

I’ve faced some truly mind-bending situations. Cases others gave up on. Horses labeled as dangerous, neurologic, beyond repair. No drugs. No diagnostic machines. No degrees on my wall. Just deep trust, careful observation, and a training philosophy that honors the body’s natural design.With a clear understanding the horse creates the right dynamics and they stop crying.

Today, another so-called “hopeless” horse left my barn. For the first time in three years, he walked without pain. His seizures have stopped. He can feel his own feet. His fear of people is melting away. He wants to connect.

He was diagnosed with Wobbler Syndrome. But the cause? Man-made.
Not nature, not genetics—training methods. Overbending. Tying down or up. Hobbles. Young bodies forced into shapes they weren’t ready to hold.

This is the real epidemic. Not just wobblers—but a loss of wisdom. We’ve trusted devices and formulas over relationship balance and respect We’ve forgotten how to see. How to feel. How to wait.

It’s fulfilling to help these horses find themselves again. But I shouldn’t have to do this.

So I’m asking you to sit with this:

What would change if we trained horses who never had to cry?
What if balance, not dominance, guided our hands?
What if we taught our kids to listen before they ask a horse to obey?

The answers are in the questions.
The healing starts with wonder.

Have you ever had a moment where a horse taught you to pause and everything changed?
I'd love to hear your story in the comments.

04/20/2025

Happy Easter and April News!

Easter 2025 at Equine Spirit Sanctuary Notes from the field, shared by the horses

04/10/2025

Something we do not want to think about right now. But we have to.

The possibility of a recession from a very micro-viewpoint……….

If we go into a recession, horses will die.

Some people will not be able to afford the monthly costs of keeping their one, two or three horses. Normal, regular people who have their horses for pleasure, be it regular riding, some small shows & events or simply because they love them. People who sacrifice creature comforts, now, so their charges are well cared for.

I know this from experience.

During the Great Recession, from 2007-09, we (Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary) took in a number of those very horses. And each & every one of them came in with a sad story – a story of financial distress, a foreclosure on their home, their people having to move to other places to take whatever job came their way.

I was fielding numerous calls every week, sometimes two or three a day. For months & months & months.

And, because my heart is probably larger than my brain, we maxed out at 33 horses on the ranch. Too many, really.

Because each & every one of those horses came with a price tag: feed, supplements, medical supplies, farrier work, more manure that had to be paid for to be hauled away & more. It got to the point where I lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering whether we’d survive or not. I was buying two days’ worth of hay at a time because that’s all the money I had. Naturally, donations had dwindled & we didn’t have the number of donators that we do today.

To stay comfortably afloat & to give our existing herd the best we possibly can, we are – for all intents & purposes – full. We can take in no more.

And I know that I’m not alone in feeling this way. I know that there are hundreds of rescues & sanctuaries all across this land that are feeling the same way I am: that our phones will be ringing off the hook & that we’ll have to deliver bad news. And, just like with us, every dollar taken in is precious & none of us have vast stores of money to pay for all of the added expenses that would surely come our way when horses find themselves without homes because desperate people will no longer be able to keep their loved ones.

Yes, I realize that our very, very little tiny part of the world that is the rescuing of & caring for horses is but a small pittance compared to the overall damage that a recession would bring but it’s our world. The world we live in.

And my heart breaks for all of the horses that may find themselves in the most challenging times of their precious lives. And for those who won’t be able to find shelter & solace.

And for those who didn’t need to die.

02/14/2025

Celebrating our love of horses today with the drawing for the "My Spirit is Wild" print by Barbara Meikle. Congratulations to Debbie Devine, who got the winning ticket!
Thank you, Barbara for donating this print to ESS. All proceeds from ticket sales support the programs and care of our herd. Thank you everyone that participated in this fundraiser!

02/11/2025

Don't miss the chance of own a beautiful art print by Barbara Meikle! Tickets available through Feb. 13th. Click here for details - https://www.equinespiritsanctuary.org/news/raffle

01/12/2025

January Greetings from Equine Spirit Sanctuary

Welcome 2025!!! Yes, a new year has begun with a couple special happenings here at ESS to get us through the winter cold and snow and ... oops - we haven't seen any real snow yet here this winter. But it has been a bit cold after some very unexpected weeks of daytime temperatures that were a bit too...