Paradise Waits Mustang Sanctuary

12/03/2024

Cedars last day at Fox-Bell with trainer Colton. 🙌🏽
First afternoon back at the sanctuary, already at the gate asking for treats. 🧡

12/03/2024

By Paradise Waits Mustang Sanctuary

12/03/2024

Welcome to our 24/25 Winter Hay fundraiser, Our goal is to fill our barn and feed room for this upcoming winter. Fundraising and donations are the life force of our rescue and we cannot survive without the support of our community near and far. Hay prices have sky rocketed in the last five years mak...

12/03/2024

Happy Giving Tuesday! There are so many ways you can give that help and support the herd at Paradise Waits.
#1 We are always looking for volunteers, whether it’s weekly, daily, monthly we’d love to have you, we always need help, whether it’s actual physical labor or helping with some of our other non physical needs, there’s always something that needs to be done.
#2 Sharing! Sharing our posts, sharing our mission, it’s the simplest easiest action you can take that is helpful and meaningful, it helps us get the word out about who we are and what we do.
#3 Host a fundraising event! If you have a space to host an event we’d love to talk! If you have experience fundraising and love horses we’d love to talk!
#4 Have fun! While our roots in this work stem from fun, we all know that anything horse related comes with a certain amount of literal blood, sweat and tears, the absolute end game if joy, it’s fun, horses are fun, they are majestic sentient beings and we strive to create an environment where they experience freedom to play and when they play we’re all having fun. ♥️

Please contact us if you’re interested in learning more about our organization. 🙏🏽

12/02/2024

Best intentions were interrupted by wound care for Luna…
As well as timed out posting issues and all that.
TBC…

12/02/2024

Today I’m going to post each horse in order of arrival into my care.
Whizetta Lou AKA Jetta was a client horse that wasn’t a good fit for her new owner, at 24 and lots of old injuries from reining, being a cutting horse, lots of long distance rides and just life was at risk of being sold as a barrel horse.
I purchased her for $1 ~
I was not quite where I wanted to be to own a horse again but her and I had an undeniable connection and I couldn’t let her get passed around anymore at her age. You know what they say, that most horses will go through seven owners. She’d already had several and I kept hearing, she doesn’t connect with people, she’s too smart, she’s this, that, and the other…
As much as nobody connected with her there are a few folks (past owners) out there that found her here and follow her journey.
She is a classic American Quarter Horse with incredible genetics out of Whiz Rocket Bar and Miss Big Time Lovey grand dam Etta Lou. She is, too smart, one of the most fit and athletic mares I’ve ever known. She is kind, also bossy, incredible with small children, very giving of her energy to those in need of a little horse medicine. She is wise and independent and very much a lead mare, she shares that role with her Mustang best friend Peggy O.
At 29 she’s still fierce but you can see she creeping in, I cherish everyday with her.

#

11/30/2024

11/30/2024

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11/28/2024

A throwback 🧡

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Growing up immersed in native culture (my step dad is native) Thanksgiving has always been a conundrum in my family but like most native families we take the opportunity to celebrate family and give thanks for the many blessings we receive throughout the year.

I am so thankful for this life with these horses and for all of you our beautiful followers and friends that are on this journey with us. I always say we couldn’t do it without you and that’s the absolute truth. Our two most senior mares, the Mustang and the quarter horse, Peggy O and Jetta give me reasons to be thankful every single day, before these two came into my life Paradise Waits was just a dream.

All of us, the herd and humans at Paradise Waits wish you the best day, whether you’re celebrating with friends, family, your animals or going on a solo adventure, may you feel love in your heart!

Have a grateful day, Vanessa, Christie, Paige, Lily, Noah, the Suagee’s 🧡

11/28/2024

Something amazing happened today, well a few really cool things happened but the thing that I’ve been wanting to help Cedar with for two years finally happened! A massage and some fascial release! Some of you may know that I have a background in equine bodywork and rehabilitation. Specifically I’m certified in equine massage and Structural Integration.
One of my biggest joys here, is being able to work on the horses that come into our rescue, to have them in my care daily and really having the opportunity to watch them move is a gift. Most of the horses here have had extensive bodywork and some of them ask for it regularly, Willow, Jetta, Luna, Jasper, Cosmo. Undoing years of fascial knots, scar tissue, emotional and physical holding in any horse is so cool and a way I love to give back to our herd they are such incredible animals and healers in their own right.
Today I haltered Cedar in his stall and we headed out for a five minute walk to the round pen, it was sunny and quite and he was such a good boy and happy to be casually walking down the road. We played at liberty a little in the round pen and then we just hung out in the sun. When it felt right I started putting my hands on him, I worked on his neck and shoulders, neck crease and legs. I kept going back to his neck. Eventually I went to his barrel, I palpated his back, his withers and eventually his hind end. I focused on my breathing, deep belly breathing, releasing all that stagnation in my lungs. Cedar payed attention and let it all unfold. When he moved away I stopped and waited till he was ready to continue. There have been several times I’ve teared up this month watching this little mustang leave his fear behind, realizing that he can have a voice and opinions and not be beaten or injured for them. Watching him willingly participate with his trainer has been so cool to watch.
I’m so grateful to Shelby at and their trainer Colton, he’s a gem and I hope we can continue to work with him in the future! 🙌🏽

11/27/2024

Young herd. ♥️
It’s so nice to see some color in the sky this morning! We’re finally getting a break from the excessive downpours out here, hopefully we’ll dry out a little before the next system moved in.
Blankets are off the seniors and if you need me I’ll be tending your Jasper’s mane.

11/27/2024

Heart of gold 💛

11/26/2024

Our beautiful senior, Kix ~ AKA El Dorado or Bodhi, Golden boy, Kixsy boy, Girafficorn.
We welcomed Kix into our Senior sanctuary herd two years ago. Kix has a mostly unknown past except for the year and a half leading up to his rescue, during that time he’d gone through auction with undisclosed cataracts, to an older man that didn’t know and thought that all of Kix’s behavior was “crazy” after attempting to beat him into submission for months he was going to take him back to auction but for reasons we’ll never know he dumped him at a boarding facility, where he arrived with whip marks all over his hind end and completely freaked out. Little did he know he landed in a safe place for the time being. The kind hearted woman who ran the facility wasn’t in a position to take in this big freaked out horse but what she did next probably saved him from the slaughter pipeline.
She gave him time to decompress, she showed him kindness, her and her daughter named him Kix. She
started letting him into the arena, she got to know him, she realized that he might have vision issues. She had him vetted and sure enough he had cataracts in both eyes and he was completely night blind.
She had intended to work with him and potentially sell him to offset the cost of giving him one of her open stalls but finding out he was mostly blind was going to make this difficult.
Anyone looking for a 1350 Lb. mostly blind senior blm mustang? Nope.
She started looking for a rescue or sanctuary, not having any luck she was facing her only other option, taking Kix auction, disclosing his cataracts and praying that someone would take pitty on this big beautiful golden boy, but we all know what would’ve happened, right? Fortunately a local woman in our community heard about him and she sent our info to the woman in possession of Kix. Long story short, after meetings, discussions and uncomfortable decisions, we said yes to bringing Kix to the sanctuary.
At the time of Kix’s arrival we had a solid team of helpers and energy flowing into the sanctuary but it all took a turn on the trip to get Kix, it was as if I’d traded all my helpers for him. Kix was a catalyst for huge change.
TBC…

Photo: Julie Lawrence

11/25/2024

Last week completely kicked my ass, emotionally and physically, yesterday I had to pull it together after being sick with a nasty cold since last Thursday night.
Sickness ~ a reminder from the universe that I’m not Superwoman and also, take your damn vitamins!
Last Thursday night I was asked to do a wellness check on a horse out my way, I went ahead and hooked up the trailer and headed out. I’ll get into this a little more in another post and needless to say I didn’t leave here behind.
I have a tendency to mostly share the good stuff, the wins, the sunny days and rainbows and feel good photos.
I wish there were 4 of me.
Running a sanctuary is so hard, taking care of 12 ~ 1000 Lb. sentient beings in one of rainiest places in the PNW is next level difficult! Doing this mostly by myself is a lot, thank goodness for the helpers I do have when I have them!
And… if I’d known then, what I know now…
Let me remind you that doing this here wasn’t the plan.
Anyhow, as I sit in the recliner that used to be Grandpa Meyer’s, with Clavey, one of my rescue kitties curled up on my lap, finishing my reheated coffee from this morning and trying to restore enough energy to get on with my day, I feel so much gratitude that I get to do this, it’s sloppy and imperfect and not at all how I wish it could be but what is perfection, to me it’s blue skies and sagebrush, wide open spaces with wild horses running free ~ and hay that doesn’t cost you your first born child.
A barn full of quality hay we don’t have to worry about molding would be nice!
Anyhow, this is my midday ramble, no direction whatsoever, this mare though, she stirred up so much for me and I reflected on everything wrong and everything right about different kinds of horse people. There are all kinds and we are not all alike that’s for damn sure! I have been blessed to meet the absolute best and the worst of the worst and they’ve all taught me so much.
This sweet girl is safe now, she couldn’t stay here and it broke my heart a little but she went back to the rescue she came from and they’ll let her decompress and then start looking for a new forever home for her. 🙏🏽
It you have any questions about her feel free to message me.