Equine Spirit Sanctuary

08/24/2024

Sad, sad story about our dear friend Twuana, founder of Loving Thunder therapeutic riding center. She has months of healing ahead after a totally preventable accident caused by a reckless, rude, inconsiderate (I could go on and on!) bicyclist. No excuse. Our best wishes and prayers are with Twuana as she recuperates.

Certain road signs are up in Corrales for a reason – there's a good chance you could come across a horse in your daily commute.

07/19/2024

The way you look at things is not simply a private matter. Your outlook actually and concretely affects what goes on. When you give in to helplessness, you collude with despair and add to it. When you take back your power and choose to see the possibilities for healing and transformation, your creativity awakens and flows to become an active force of renewal and encouragement in the world. In this way, even in your own hidden life, you can become a powerful agent of transformation in a broken, darkened world. There is a huge force field that opens when intention focuses and directs itself toward transformation.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from his books, Benedictus (Europe) / To Bless the Space Between Us (US)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

Lahinch, Co Clare, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

07/19/2024

I wish I could go to this workshop! Dora (and Steve) have taken care of our horses here at ESS for the last couple of years. I always learn something from Dora when she's here. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be to do a full clinic with her and Steve. I highly recommend going if you can!

ATTENTION HORSE OWNERS:

*THIS* is the hoof clinic you've been waiting for! Come spend four learning-filled days in a beautiful setting discussing the hoof care topics *YOU* have been asking for. Learn proper barefoot hoof care from a whole-horse perspective from experienced technical educators with over 40 years experience in educating horse owners from around the world.

You'll spend your mornings in air-conditioned comfort discovering what affects hoof health & form with regard to trimming philosophy, anatomy, biomechanics, horse/rider asymmetry, diet, and more. Find out how to identify & address hoof abnormalities & pathologies. And schedule *YOUR* horse for a special diagnostic & assistance session as well!

Afternoons are reserved for learning how to properly trim, along with a host of extras: tool selection & use, shoe removal, lower leg dissection, hoof boot selection & fitting, and tool sharpening.

We'll also have some special training & trimming demonstrations on live horses, including how to successfully train your horse to pick up his feet, and proper horse & trimmer positioning for safe and successful hoof care.

We have options for everyone, including those who aren't interested in learning to trim but want expert help in sorting out their horse's foot problems. And we've made accommodations & transportation options easy, with meals included regardless of where you stay.

And...we promise not to leave you hanging after the workshop is over; help is always available, should you need even more personalized assistance later on!

Check out https://enlightenedequineworkshops.com/ for all the details, but sign up soon - attendance is strictly limited to *only twelve new students* to ensure plenty of quality one-on-one instruction time.

07/04/2024

I love this song. We try hard here at ESS to listen to our horses.

07/04/2024

Happy holiday today! It's been a super busy summer here at ESS. News and photos to come soon!

05/22/2024

Open House this Saturday at ESS

Happy spring into summer! Our Spring Open House is this Saturday. Traditionally this day is the official start of our summer programs. We have some new kids' groups that will be coming out to learn all about horses and lots of great opportunities for new volunteers to learn horse skills with our her...

05/08/2024

Lessons with Blanco and new Blanco.

05/06/2024

The past couple months have been super busy here at ESS. I haven't had time to post much on this page. Someone actually asked me if we were still open! Yes - we are! We are busy preparing the horses for the coming summer programs, doing spring cleaning, brushing endless clumps of hair off the horses as they shed their winter coats, cleaning tack and equipment, tending to new horses, old horses, etc. etc. So much to do!

05/06/2024

May Greetings from ESS

Volunteer training sessions begin this week! Volunteer training days will be held every Tuesday in May, from 1 to 3 p.m. If you know anyone that may be interested in helping out with our programs, please pass this message on. We have a lot of great program activities in the works. Everything from ki...

03/31/2024

This is so sad and frustrating.

In 2022 we shared that we secured $350k in recurring state funding for the Equine Shelter Rescue Fund (ESRF) thanks to contributions from six compassionate state legislators. In order for that $350k to recur, just like any recurring appropriation, this amount needed to be added to the NM Livestock Board (NMLB)’s agency budget through the legislative budgeting process. Unfortunately, for the past two years, the NMLB has chosen not to include this in their budget request, so the equine shelters have not received this recurring funding. To make things worse, no other legislative appropriation was made to the ESRF this year. Read more about this issue in our new APV Blog article: Equine Shelter Rescue Fund: https://bit.ly/3J0Gwak

This is a devastating blow to NM’s twelve licensed equine shelters, all of which are non-profit organizations who struggle to make ends meet while caring for surrendered, neglected, and abused equines. We are determined to work with NMLB and legislators to correct this wrong. In the meantime, your help is desperately needed!

YOU are the shelters’ last hope of receiving funding from the ESRF this year! Your decision to put your state tax refund to go towards the ESRF, or to make a separate donation to the ESRF, will make a big difference for horses, donkeys, and mules. Visit our ESRF tax checkoff page through the the following link to learn how, and to download the necessary PIT-D form to include in your tax paperwork. https://bit.ly/3Tg4rbS

And, to make a direct donation, mail a check payable to “New Mexico Livestock Board” with “Equine Shelter Rescue Fund” in the memo to:

New Mexico Livestock Board
2105 Osuna Rd. NE Building South
Albuquerque, NM 87113

Help equines with your state tax return: https://bit.ly/3Tg4rbS

03/31/2024

03/22/2024

Ruth, Teresa and Kim attended the Taos Chamber's event at Youth Heartline last night. It was great to reconnect with many other people in the community who are doing so much to help local children and families, and to meet new people as well. ESS had hosted a visit with a group of kids from Youth Heartline last year. The director told about how after that visit the same kids were out on a hike one day and came across some trail riders. They started talking about the horses and if the horses were happy and what their ears were showing, interest, etc. Things they'd learned from their visit at ESS! That was pretty special.

02/29/2024

I sure don't understand how stuff like this happens. For the first time in history, in 2022, horse rescues got a helping hand from our state with funding approved in the budget for rescues. It was supposed to be ongoing. Every year. But the full fund was only allotted one time, the first year it was approved. Now it's history. No more. I just don't get it. Of course, we'll carry on and do what we always do in tough times - work harder to provide for our rescues. But yes, we need your help. Please!

New Mexico's horse shelters desperately need your help now!

In 2022 we shared that we secured $350k in recurring state funding for the Equine Shelter Rescue Fund (ESRF) thanks to contributions from six compassionate state legislators. In order for that $350k to recur, just like any recurring appropriation, this amount needed to be added to the NM Livestock Board (NMLB)’s agency budget through the legislative budgeting process. Unfortunately, for the past two years, the NMLB has chosen not to include this in their budget request, so the equine shelters have not received this recurring funding. To make things worse, no other legislative appropriation was made to the ESRF this year. (We hope to share more details and explanations on this process at a later date.)

This is a devastating blow to NM’s twelve licensed equine shelters, all of which are non-profit organizations that struggle to make ends meet while caring for surrendered, neglected, and abused equines. We are determined to work with NMLB and legislators to correct this wrong. In the meantime, your help is desperately needed!

YOU are the shelters’ last hope of receiving funding from the ESRF this year! Your decision to put your state tax refund to go towards the ESRF, or to make a separate donation to the ESRF, will make a big difference for horses, donkeys, and mules. Visit our ESRF Tax Checkoff page to learn how, and to download the necessary PIT-D form to include in your tax paperwork. https://bit.ly/3Tg4rbS]

02/14/2024

02/14/2024

Happy Valentine's Day!

Briefly... Here's the scoop - the 2023 wrap-up report and plans for 2024 are posted on our website now, along with an additional handout that contains general ESS information and some stats from last year. Click here to go to the News page to access the links to open the files. Or click on the butto...

12/31/2023

We did it! Thank you to everyone who donated to our Year End Matchings Funds. We have met and passed our goal! But it's not too late to donate. Additional donations today will also be matched, up to an additional $1,500! To donate, go to https://www.equinespiritsanctuary.org/news/2023-yearend-fundraiser
This is such a wonderful way to end 2023. THANK YOU!

12/25/2023

Countdown to Christmas - December 25th! Merry, merry Christmas to all our ESS friends! I hope you've enjoyed meeting some of our equines. There's a few more who have stories to tell also. Come out and meet the rest of the herd someday!

12/24/2023

Have you ever heard the legends about the Taos hum? We discovered the secret here at ESS. Check it out!

12/24/2023

Countdown to Christmas – December 24 – meet BB and Rosie.
These two sweet miniature horses have been a part of the ESS sanctuary herd for several years. BB had lived her first 10 years or so of her life in Kentucky, on lush pastures and had suffered from founder issues for a long time. She has four little club feet that will never look normal, but she is sound and pain free. She was extremely timid and difficult to catch when she first arrived, but over the years she has learned to trust people and enjoy being groomed, and especially loves special bodywork sessions.
Rosie originally came from out east also. In her life there she’d been a brood mare and a party horse, going to kids’ birthday parties for pony rides and pulling a cart. But when she arrived in Taos, she was extremely traumatized and basically shut down. It took years for little Rosie to start having confidence in herself and life again. We don’t know what happened to her, but it was bad enough that she went through periods of being painfully thin and bad skin allergies due to stress and poor health. She is doing well now, aside from still being a bit timid. She has friends and family here at ESS, her weight and health are good, and she has a sweet nature that her horse and donkey friends love.

12/23/2023

Countdown to Christmas – December 23 – meet Frosty.
Frosty came to ESS in the fall of 2021, with the assistance of the local brand inspector after Frosty had been found wandering around eating along the roadside ditches. He was skin and bones. Clearly he was starving. But the biggest issue was that he needed dental work. Our veterinarian floated his teeth and a couple weeks later he had a loose tooth pulled.
We put him on a mash diet consisting of beet pulp pellets, alfalfa pellets and Equine Senior grain mixed with water to make a soft mash that he could easily eat, along with Platinum Wellness nutritional supplement. It didn’t take long for him to gain weight.
When he came he was wearing a fairly new set of shoes, which we immediately pulled. This horse wasn’t going to be doing any work anytime soon.
Over the past three years we’ve worked through his anxiety issues, head shy issues, and various other health issues including a cancerous tumor that was removed (common for Appaloosas), a bout with “shivers”, and a case of thumps. He’s a tough horse!
Frosty is still pretty timid and not confident enough to enjoy a lot of people attention, but our biggest challenge now is keeping him from getting too heavy. He eats mash as his primary food source, twice a day, because his teeth can’t handle chewing hay well enough to swallow it. So he chews and spits it out, typical of an older horse. We figure he’s around 28 years old, and he is a horse in sanctuary here.

12/22/2023

Countdown to Christmas. December 22 – meet Mocha.
Mocha is a beautiful Arabian gelding in his late teens. Like many of our rescues we will never know his life story, just bits and pieces that we’ve learned from previous owners. What we do know is that Mocha first came to Taos after being adopted from a rescue in Colorado, to be a companion to an elderly horse. When that horse passed on, Mocha went to a new family in the hopes that he’d be a riding horse. But that didn’t work out. Mocha simply shut down under saddle. Clearly he’d been a riding horse at some point in his life, but he was very uncomfortable. I hoped that with rehab bodywork he’d someday be a riding horse again. He has an incredibly beautiful disposition and, despite a history of ending up in a horse rescue twice, he trusts people and has a willing attitude. Turns out that Mocha appears to have a condition called kissing spine, where the spinous processes and adjacent musculature in the back are damaged, causing back pain that ends any career as a riding horse.
Mocha is getting more comfortable with rehab work here. It’s a slow process, but he does not need to be on pain meds and is being given all the time and care he needs, as a part of the ESS sanctuary* family. *Sanctuary means that he is not available to be adopted out, but will stay at ESS getting the care he needs and being allowed to just be a horse. Mocha is lucky to have a wonderful sponsor who covers his basic costs, including a great nutritional joint supplement.

12/21/2023

Countdown to Christmas - December 21 - introducing Tico:
Tico is our newest horse. He is a BLM mustang, from the El Rito area herd, that had been adopted by a lady from Colorado. His owner was looking for a home this year for Tico where he could work with kids.
Tico is in his early teens, and is the perfect size for a kids’ lesson horse. He has a ways to go in his training but he seems to have the aptitude to be a good program horse. He loves attention and tries very hard to do whatever you ask of him. Sometimes he tries too hard and gets anxious. But overall he’s got lots of potential and personality plus. Tico came at a time when we had to say goodbye to a couple of our dear ESS horses, and he is working hard to fill the void that they left. Watch for Tico to shine next summer!

12/20/2023

Countdown to Christmas - December 20, featuring Gypsy. Gypsy, a Quarter horse/Arabian mix, came to ESS in 2010. She was an owner surrender due to the owner not being able to give her the care that she needed. Gypsy's history was typical of many owner surrenders. She had not suffered any bad abuse, but there were a few incidents with her initial training. She had been started under saddle but she had thrown the trainer when his chaps rubbed up against the fence, spooking her. She wasn't ridden again after that. She'd also flipped over backwards when tied to a tree. So, understandably, she came with a paranoia of strange noises and being tied. At ESS she learned to trust, relax, and over the years became a well trained riding horse for more experienced riders and solid program horse for unmounted work. Now, in her mid 20s, she is enjoying her retirement and is included in some of our classes for unmounted work.

12/19/2023

Countdown to Christmas - December 19 - meet Poncho, our Peruvian Paso gelding. Poncho came to ESS in early 2020. In his mid 20s, he was pretty much over his working days. I didn't know much about this breed, other than they are super smooth gaited riding horses, with a history of being easy going and hard working. Poncho spent much of his time just sleeping as he settled in. I wasn't sure how much longer he'd be with us, but he perked up and turned out to be a solid program horse for very easy lessons. He clearly enjoyed being part of the ESS family. Last year he started showing more signs of slowing down and aging, soundness issues so we quit riding him completely. He was lying down a lot again. I put him on a good joint supplement. One day I realized that I hadn't seen him lying down hardly any. In fact, he had perked up a lot! So just to see how he'd do, I tried riding him again. He did great, so he got to be a part of the kids' programs this past summer. He was wonderful and it was a joy to see him so healthy and moving so well again, at nearly 30 years of age.

12/18/2023

Countdown to Christmas - December 18. Meet Hope. Hope came to ESS in 2013, barely a week old. Her mother had gotten hit by a car, leaving Hope orphaned and alone, and dogs attacked her. She was rescued by a man driving home from work who saw the dogs tearing into her. He picked her up and tended to her, saving her life. But her wounds from the dog bites were deep and severe, all over her body and became badly infected. He brought her to ESS and for the next few months we fed her milk replacement every two to three hours and did daily wound care along with lots of TLC. I knew when she came that her chances of recovery were slim. And the vet couldn't come out for a couple days. I named her Hope, because I hoped that the vet would not say that it was too late to save this precious foal. Hope is still with us, our baby. She grew up to be a sassy, sweet, sometimes ornery, always confident, opinionated mare with a mind of her own!

12/18/2023

A few photos from the Dec. 16th Holiday Open Barn. It was the busiest, best weather day of the three this year and we had lots of wonderful visitors. If you missed the Open Barns this year, you are welcome to come out and visit ESS on our regular open days (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm). Our holiday decorations are (almost) as beautiful as our sweet horses and donkeys (and the silly llama!).

12/17/2023

Countdown to Christmas. Dec. 17, featuring Hava.
Hava came to ESS in 2010 as an owner surrender. This sweet pony has been a part of our kids' programs since then, with a couple years off after she had a Cushings related founder episode. With careful hoof care and rehab, she is doing great again. Hava is now 18 years old.

12/16/2023

Countdown to Christmas. Dec. 16, meet Blanco. Blanco came to ESS in January 2022 with a nasty barbed wire cut on his hind ankle. It was infected and needed daily wound care, cleaning, medication and bandaging. He was super sweet to work with and after nearly 8 months, the injury healed (as much as it could) and he began training as a program horse. He has become a safe, solid, dependable horse for kids' lead line lessons and pony rides. Blanco is a super star at the Holiday Open Barns now!

12/15/2023

Countdown to Christmas! Starting today, we will be posting a photo of one or more of the ESS herd because ... well because! For those who cannot make it here to meet these sweet equines in person and anyone who wants to know a bit more. The most common thing visitors want to know when they see our horses is their story. And they all have a story. Some people would like to know where their donations go. We're happy to show them! Today we remember Bindy.

12/15/2023

Yesterday outdoors was frightful... but inside was quite delightful! Penelope and Marley enjoyed checking out the classroom after getting their holiday suits on. For some reason Marley's fits tighter. Penelope's is a bit looser this year. Clearly Marley needs a bit more work and less goodies! TOMORROW - DEC. 16 - our last 2023 Holiday Open Barn from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hope you can join us!