Equine Connection Center

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United States
Nokesville, VA
Equine Connection Center

Educational equine sanctuary offering you the opportunity to interact and build connection with rescue horses & donkeys in meaningful ways!

Offering tours, learning sessions in horsemanship, & mental health services for people of all ages/abilities. Rescue horses, donkeys, and mules partnering with people to support mutual wellness, personal growth, and positive relationships. Equine assisted learning and horsemanship lessons where participants learn and grow through true bonds built with our rescue animals.

06/09/2025

Who else is guilty of putting themself at the very bottom of their to-do list? 👋 It’s easy to get caught up in deadlines and responsibilities! But making time to check in with ourselves is essential to making sure we are active participants in life, not just going through the motions. Our recent wellness workshop, Discover Mindfulness Through Horses, offered participants the opportunity to slow down and rediscover their presence in the calm space of our herd. We all need connection, community, and purpose, and those are the things we strive to create here at ECC!

Thank you to the amazing women who came out to participate in this event with open hearts and minds! Thank you as well to Woodhouse Spa - Gainesville for generously providing self-care swag bags for us to share! Keep an eye out for more to come from that partnership!

Curious what horses might have to offer you? Explore our Horse-Guided Wellness Sessions for a customized, one-on-one experience: https://www.equineconnectioncenter.com/workshops and keep an eye out for our next wellness workshop coming this Fall.

05/25/2025

Our annual dental day was a big success this past week! A HUGE thank you to our amazing smile sponsors: Trista Johnson, Madeline Walker, Nicole Itz, June Avery, Lara Oliveira, Lindsay Drake, Emily Sergent, Melinda Tomaino, and Lee & Adrienne Johnson! We raised $810 toward the final bill of $880! Contributions toward larger expenses like this make it possible for us to offer the BEST care to our herd, as well as for us to continue to grow as a sanctuary!

Thank you also to Katie with Equine Dental Solutions w/ Katie Herman for providing such skilled and caring service! Having providers you can trust is worth its weight in gold!! Cyrus, Otis, Dylan, Vinny, Huckabee, Hudson, and River all received routine dental maintenance, while Pete and Sullivan needed additional care to treat aged and worn teeth.

(Just in case you are wondering why Coleman, Leo, Remi weren't included, they needed care outside our annual appointment and were already done! And Bravo is not quite old enough yet 😊)

05/20/2025

Update: We have met our goal! Our team is incredibly grateful for the generosity of our supporters! We look forward to giving all our Smile Sponsors a shoutout when we share dental updates later this week! Fingers crossed for no cavities 😉

Can you believe PETE is still looking for a Smile Sponsor for Thursday's equine dental appointments? 🦷🪥 We are in need of three more Smile Sponsors to help us cover the cost of these important preventative care appointments for our herd. Smile Sponsors are welcome to join in on the fun Thursday to observe!

05/12/2025

Updated 5/20: Thank you to our new Smile Sponsors! We are looking for THREE more to have our herd fully supported!

The dentist isn’t usually a favorite appointment, but we sure are excited to have our horses’ dentist visiting soon! And you can be a part of it! Become a Smile Sponsor and help provide this important medical care to a rescue horse or donkey! A contribution of $80 covers the routine dental care for the equine resident of your choice AND gives you the opportunity to observe a procedure on May 22nd!

The following ECC residents still need Smile Sponsors:
🔲 Sullivan
🔲 Hudson
🔲 Pete
✅ Dylan: sponsored by Melinda Tomaino
✅ Huckabee: sponsored by Trista Johnson
✅ River: sponsored by June Avery
✅ Cyrus: sponsored by Emily Sergent
✅ Otis: sponsored by Lee & Adrienne Johnson
✅ Vinny: sponsored by Lee & Adrienne Johnson

Contributions in any amount are greatly appreciated - every dollar counts! Please contribute today: https://buy.stripe.com/cN23dZd7PasG8SIbIP

04/21/2025

Spring has sprung and we are enjoying the longer days and warm sunshine! Enjoy these fun photos from volunteers and recent visitors 🥰 We'd love to see YOU soon ~ book a session on our website and mark your calendars for Saturday, 4/26 to come by our annual open house, Horse Sanctuary Open House - Visit Equine Connection Center

04/15/2025

It’s giving those 90’s ads with the chihuahua 🤣

River wants to know if he can have a bite… I guess a little nibble of lettuce is fair compensation for being so cute, right?!

04/07/2025

Check out Remi’s 1-month before and after glow up! 🤩✨🩵

It’s been about six weeks now since Remi arrived at ECC, and we are so excited to share the progress he made in the first month as a side by side! Look at him filling out! Our personal favorite being the start of some actual b***y cheeks there haha!

Thank you all for cheering Remi on as he acclimates to life in sanctuary and endeavors to gain healthy fat reserves and new muscle (hundreds of pounds worth 🤞). Remi is now on premium senior grain, alfalfa hay, and a weight builder supplement. Contributions toward these expenses are always so appreciated and can be made via our website or Venmo.

04/01/2025

Did you know that April became Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month back in 2006, thanks to an ASPCA awareness campaign? Join us by "going orange" this month! Share this post, display or wear orange, and make contributions to your favorite animal welfare organizations if you can!

Pictured: Remi, a 24 year old Arabian horse who came to live in sanctuary here at ECC in February. Contribute to Remi's care fund as he recovers from neglect: https://buy.stripe.com/3cs4i3c3LasGed25ko

03/29/2025

Sage advice from a one eyed, spotted pony wearing a stretchy sloth-print fly mask! Pete is unapologetically himself, every.single.day. There’s a little something we can all learn from that mindset 😋

03/23/2025

Leo seems pretty proud to call Equine Connection Center his home! We strive to create a place for horses and people to belong and be part of a supportive community. With each new addition, we always find ourselves wondering how we ever did things before them!

Come visit us to see what we are all about! Maybe YOU are our next herd member 🩵

03/05/2025

Equine Connection Center is proud to announce our membership with The Homes for Horses Coalition. Membership with organizations such as this means that ECC is committed to meeting a high standard of care for our equine residents and to the important, shared mission of ending horse slaughter. Learn more in the publication below!

03/04/2025

Remi’s Story

We are often asked “how” horses end up in bad situations. The reality is that there are so few systemic supports for horses and owners, that it is all too common. It does happen that horses experience willful abuse and neglect, or they are sold at auction to ill-intended buyers (ECC has residents from both of these backstories). But it is even more often that horses are simply the victims of unfortunate circumstances.

Remi is a 24 year old Arabian cross gelding. He has been privately owned by one family for most of his life. He falls into the latter category where a series of unfortunate circumstances, including less than ideal care over the years due to under-educated ownership followed by more recent family challenges that left him under-conditioned and to fend for himself this winter.

Remi’s condition was discovered a few weeks ago by a neighbor, who graciously took him in to provide food, water, and immediate veterinary care. He had been living off the land for food, with his only water source being a stream, for at least the last several months. His companion horse died years ago and so he’s been very alone for quite some time.

With a body score of about a 2 on a scale of 9, overgrown hooves, and teeth that likely require significant dental work, Remi’s body shows the impact that lack of proper care can have. He has never been “unloved”; his family was grateful to allow ECC to take him in. But this case and many others like it show the need for improved community support for horse owners. This is the work we hope to support through our participation in the Virginia Partnership for Horses. It also highlights the amazing things we can do when help out our neighbor’s like Remi’s angel did for him.

It is because of YOUR support that we were able to say “yes” to accepting Remi as a sanctuary resident. It is a privilege to be able to offer the best of care and a safe landing spot for these animals in need. We will continue to share his progress over the coming weeks and months. We hope before long, you’ll hardly recognize him!

Want to help support Remi’s rehabilitation? Please consider making a contribution via Venmo to or via our website at https://buy.stripe.com/3cs4i3c3LasGed25ko

Address

14420 Owls Nest Road
Nokesville, VA
20181

Telephone

+17039801032

Website

http://equineconnectioncenter.com/

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