http://www.secondchanceranch.co/

Second Chance Ranch, South Fork, CO (2025)

07/31/2025

8 years ago today, I was on my way to Mongolia for the world’s longest and wildest horse race — the Mongol Derby. 630 miles. 28 semi-feral horses. Zero cell service. And I knew after mile 50… I was not going to be competitive 😂

Between my legendary lack of direction and the challenge of picking fit horses off a line of 75, I spent the first 4.5 days riding solo, surviving and soaking it all in. At one point I gave my horse to help a struggling rider, ran out of water in the desert, and learned what real thirst feels like. Worth it.

Then I found Taylor Dolak in the distance — my riding buddy for 300+ miles. We got hit by hail and lightning, a horse collapsed under us (he was fine), and we still managed to ride 100 miles in one day. Unforgettable.

We galloped with wild herds, were shadowed by golden eagles, and slept to the sound of hundreds of hooves shaking the ground. I met kind, generous people who didn’t share a language but shared everything they had — especially their horses.

I got kicked, flipped on, bolted with, and still rode some of the most incredible horses I’ve ever known. The Derby broke me open in the best way. It led me to work with Mustangs… and even to my husband.

If something is calling you — even if it terrifies you — go. Just go. Ask questions later. Have a good attitude. Embrace the suck. Enjoy the ride. I’m sooo glad I did ❤️

07/19/2025

Couldn’t be prouder of this beautiful sister. Calliope is about ready to start thinking about hoof handling — I am itching beyond itching to give those footies a much needed trim 🤪

Callie is finally convinced that spa days and being touched are heaven, and comes waltzing up to get her treatment like a true queen 👸🏽 For how cautious she’s been these past few months, she’s truly dropping her walls now and the expression in her eye has made a complete 180. I love watching these babes figure out that domestic life is actually quite wonderful.

We walked around the neighborhood yesterday for the first time — had multiple cars zoom up from behind us, and Calliope didn’t bat an eye. She loved getting out to see the sights, including our neighbor’s horses who greeted her with zoomies and neigh-neighs 🥰 I’m very much looking forward to getting her out on the trail in the next week with Vince and I.

Callie is on free choice hay now and is getting 12 lbs of soaked senior per day… I’d like to see her gain another 50 pounds. Overall, she’s looking and feeling amazing and I just couldn’t be more in love with this perfect 🦄

Potential adopters out there… stay tuned 🥰❤️

07/10/2025

“The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr. ❤️

I’ll never forget this horse. Margaret. She came to Second Chance Ranch in 2023 for extreme aggressive behavior that was putting the safety of her handlers at risk.

She’d been severely mistreated, being confined to a 12x12 stall that was never cleaned. Living in her own filth, with humans who resorted to physical abuse before giving up on her entirely. Thankfully, some former connections of mine found her in this condition (at a preeminent breeder of Arabian horses, no less), brought her home, and eventually sent her to us for a second chance.

Margaret had taken on so much insecurity and fear from years of maltreatment that expressed itself as aggression. I try to remind myself daily that anger is fear turned sideways. This was absolutely the case with Margaret — can you blame her? Margaret made a 180 in the several months that we had her, and turned into an absolutely stellar partner on trail. Thanks to: diligent training, compassionate care, and quiet leadership.

“The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.” This MLK quote sums up everything for me in relation to horses. If you want an equine partner that will ride through fire for you, you damn well better be willing to do the same for them. If you don’t have the answers, ask for help from someone who does. Put the horse’s needs before your own. Rule out any potential physical problems that could be negatively impacting your horse’s emotional state.

Horses have stood by our species for thousands of years. I am sick and tired of the “beasts of burden” narrative — though the days of pulling carriages and plowing fields may be largely behind them, these magnificent animals are still viewed as beasts of burden in relation to human pleasure. And when the horse can’t perform because their needs aren’t being met, we are so ready to discard them and move onto the next “thing.”

Horses have served us for so long. I think we need to shift the narrative and ask, “how can I serve you?”

And in this service to the purest creature there is, we are healed. These animals are still here to make us better.

07/06/2025

Hands down, one of the happiest moments for me with our Mustangs is watching them enjoy the beauty of life as nature intended… with other horses.

I turned Calliope out with my 🌶️ Little Chief yesterday, and watching her get to be a horse again after everything she’s been through this past year is already the highlight of my month. Chief tried to show off, stomping his little feet like a big, studly stallion… but Calliope saw right through it 😂 This morning, they are nuzzling each other and munching on breakfast side-by-side.

Shortly after Independence Day, it’s important to reflect on an enormous injustice in our country [sorry, I know there are 1,000+ other things we all need to be worried about right now 😬🤦🏼‍♀️] — the plight of the American Mustang. Let me say, I don’t believe that anything expresses the spirit of the West like the Mustang, no matter what lens you view our country through. I can’t imagine a more perfect metaphor for the American spirit than the wild horses who have called it home since long before our country’s inception.

These horses are rounded up and confined to overcrowded government holding pens. Herds are being completely removed from the wild in the interest of cattle grazing permits on public land. Though this land is ours, and these horses are ours, goverment lobbyists and big agriculture have decided otherwise. The animals are considered a “nuisance,” standing in the way of the all-powerful dollar. How many of us humans are considered irrelevant by those in power? When will we see our freedom taken away? 🤔

Calliope and Pip are two of the lucky ones, rounded up at the age of 3 when they were still young enough to forge a different path. Many of these horses have spent 20-30 years in the wild, only to spend their last remaining years separated from their families and under a constant barrage of stress/fear.

End of rant.

Hence why, getting to reintroduce a Mustang to a small semblance of freedom in a domestic setting is so fulfilling. I wish I could do more, but it’s something. I want every horse that comes through these gates to experience the joy of life, free from fear, with autonomy and connection.

The pursuit of happiness, if you will. 🇺🇸

This chapter of Calliope’s life is just beginning, but I see the flicker of happiness in her eye which tells me that we are headed in the right direction. ❤️

07/02/2025

Maybe some of us devote ourselves to animals because, deep down, we're trying to heal the parts of ourselves that were once left unwanted, unloved, or alone. Maybe we show up for them because no one showed up for us when we needed it most.

Maybe some of us do this because we spent years trying to save people — people who didn't want help, who couldn't be saved, or who broke us in the process. And in animals, we found trust and love that never asked us to be anything but present.

Maybe we save them because they can't speak, but they feel everything. Because they don't pretend or manipulate. Because they just want safety, kindness, and a place to belong — just like we did.

Or maybe, we devote ourselves to them simply because they matter. Because their lives are precious and worth protecting. And they deserve to know that someone cares.

Calliope 💙

06/18/2025

Excited to share that has our next subject lined up, to be coming to the farm this upcoming Fall once we have a spot for him 😍❤️

Everyone, meet “Oakley.” This beautiful guy is a 15.3h (and growing 😬) 3-year-old draft cross. Oakley is currently living with some wonderful humans who live locally that initially picked him up at the Stroud, Oklahoma auction in the hopes of giving him a second chance. These folks definitely did this boy an amazing service by taking him out of that environment and offering him safety.

Oakley hasn’t made the progress his rescuers were hoping for in the year that they’ve had him, having been completely unhandled when they brought him home and riddled with lots of fear. I met this guy a few weeks ago, and it was hard to tell whether his caution is a result of trauma or simply lack of knowing. He presents like most Mustangs I’ve known, so I’m leaning towards the latter. We’ll figure it out once he comes on over!

I am finding more and more that Second Chance Ranch is turning into a community endeavor — I only learned about Oakley through a sweet mutual connection here on Facebook. I hate social media, I really do, but I have to admit that its powers for good are undeniable. Thankful that horses keep bringing good people into my life and re-instilling a small amount of my faith in our species.

Can’t wait to bring Oakley in and be a part of his progress. His glow-up is going to be epic… just wait until his shoulders come in, those hooves are trimmed, and his coat is covered in dapples! Hope and dream is that he’ll be available for adoption towards the end of 2026 ❤️

I will update once the 🦅 has 🛬 sometime this September or October. Stay tuned!

06/13/2025

Had some beautiful horse ladies help me with the kids this morning 😍 And a wonderful time was had by all.

Second Chance Ranch

07/31/2025

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