04/13/2025
This is one of the hardest, most gut-wrenching posts Iâve ever had to write.
After four incredible years of building our little rescue here in Placerita Canyon, the City of Santa Clarita is forcing us off the land we lease â a quiet, privately leased parcel nestled within the Equestrian Special Standards District. Not because of a complaint. Not because weâve caused harm. But because of an unreasonable line in the city code that states animals arenât allowed on parcels without a residential dwelling⌠even though this land is literally zoned for equestrian use.
I grew up in this canyon. My parents have lived here for 30 years. This land, these hills, this community â itâs part of my bones. And when we found this little parcel, it felt like coming home. I literally had my own horses here and my grandfather's retired horses here on this exact parcel when I was a kid. We chose it because it was peaceful, because it wasnât near anyone who might take issue with what we do, and because the neighbors in this canyon are some of the most supportive, kind, and open-hearted people youâll ever meet.
Our rescue is home to about a dozen precious horses â most of them over 20 years old, a few well into their 30s. Many of these horses were once wild, roaming free on open ranges before they were rounded up and brought into our human world. And here, with us, theyâve learned how to coexist peacefully â not through force, but through patience, understanding, and non-invasive, compassionate methods. They arenât just animals to us. Theyâre souls weâve promised to care for. Horses whoâve spent their lives carrying people through trails, lessons, and pastures, and now deserve soft land beneath their hooves, gentle hands to brush their coats, and a safe place to rest.
But this place has become more than just a sanctuary for horses â itâs a refuge for people too. We offer lessons for beginner children and adults. We open our gates to those navigating grief, anxiety, loneliness, or heartbreak. And somehow, in the peace of the canyon, with the quiet wisdom of an old horse beside them, people find connection. They find healing. They find belonging in a world that so often offers the opposite.
There are so few places left in Southern California â or even the United States â where you can experience the simple, grounding peace that comes from caring for these incredible animals. From feeling the earth under your boots, from being part of something meaningful. And now, because of one line in the city code that makes no sense when applied to equestrian-zoned land, weâre being told we have to leave.
Itâs a devastating blow. Not just to us, but to the community thatâs quietly grown around this place. The people who stop by just to breathe a little easier. The children who learn courage here. The volunteers who find purpose here. The hearts that find healing here.
We are now desperately searching for a new home â a safe place for these old horses, and for the people who need them. But places like this are vanishing, and time is heartbreakingly short.
If youâve ever believed in what we do⌠if youâve ever felt the peace of this canyon⌠if youâve ever smiled watching a child meet a horse for the first time⌠we need you now.
Help us fight for these horses. Help us keep this work alive. Help us remind the world that compassion, connection, and community should matter more than bureaucracy.
If you have land, connections, resources, ideas â or the ability to donate â please, please reach out.
We are heartbroken. But we are not done.
Thank you for hearing our hearts. And thank you, from the bottom of mine, for standing beside us.
- Tami
Founder and Executive Director
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PayPal.me/mustangsmend
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