JJ
JJ came into my life at a time when I was struggling immensely. He is the one who taught me about the healing properties animals provide and all of the wonderful ways they can help those in need!
I met JJ when I was 15 and he was 24. He is the first horse I ever worked with and he taught me everything that I know. I was lucky enough to lease JJ for just over one year, falling head over heels for my boy in that time.
Towards the end of our lease, JJ began to show even more signs of his age. As his arthritis and stomach issues progressed, he was unable to be ridden any longer and was therefore unable to make his owner money. At this time, his owner decided to sell him at meat price and demanded he be gone by the end of the month, just days after making the decision.
I was only 17 at the time and was unable to take JJ, despite how desperate I was to find a way to make it work. I kept track of him in his new situation and when they were no longer able to use him to pony their children, they decided to send JJ to a feedlot. Of course, this was not an option and I rushed to pick JJ up just six months after his first sale.
Thankfully, at this time JJ was able to come home to his forever. He was very underweight with severe worms, ulcers. long feet, terrible Cushings and untreated arthritis. In working closely with a vet, we were able to enjoy an incredible two years with JJ as the most amazing friend we could ask for. He lived his days as a happy, gentle pasture pet who protected his herd day in and day out, horses and humans alike.
In 2019, we made the decision to help JJ cross rainbow bridge at 28 due to intestinal cancer. JJ was surrounded with nothing but love and care, finally knowing he was home.
JJ taught us everything that we know and all the things we still use at the sanctuary. His legacy will live on forever as we honor his memory with our senior rescue program.
We love you, JJ. Forever and always
Promise
Promise is the horse who started the sanctuary. After losing JJ due to his owner selling because he could no longer be ridden, I made the decision to look for a horse of my own.
Shortly into my search, I met Promise. I fell in love with the skinny, kind mare that I had met when I tried her and made the decision to bring her home. The first day that Promise spent with us, she spent charging us and spooking at shadows. We had the vet out for an evaluation and learned that Promise had been heavily drugged when I met her.
Through a lot of research, we were able to piece together some of Promises' history, At just a year and a half old, Promise was barrel raced, resulting in severe impact founder and arthritis. Due to being ridden hard as just a yearling, Promise developed severe lameness and was then sent out to pasture for ten years, alone, with no care or interaction. At this point, Promise was sent to a kill pen where she was purchased by a very dishonest horse flipper who drugged and medicated Promise in order to make a quick sale, just two weeks after purchasing her.
When Promise came home, it was immediately clear that she had been abused and mistreated. She was terrified of men, covered in whip marks, and suffering from a broken leg. With vet intervention, positive reinforcement training, and a wonderful farrier, we have been able to help Promise be an incredible happy pasture friend!
Promise is truly the horse that opened my eyes to the cruelty that goes on within the animal world/industry. She is singlehandedly the horse that inspired Sacred Souls Sanctuary and has taught us so much about the way in which we approach/work with rescues.
We love you, sweet Promise girl!
Maximus
Maximus, affectionately known as Max, is an incredible 33" miniature gelding who came to us from a horse flipper. He is a permanent member of the sanctuary family, adopted shortly after arriving. When I met Max, I was immediately drawn to him as he stood in a corner and refused to interact, He was very clearly shy and shut down, and had been deemed "unattractive" due to his coloring and lack of personality at the time.
When evaluated by our vet upon arrival to the rescue, we learned that Maximus has a malformed tooth, a chronic hip injury, and moderate asthma & allergies. Thankfully, he allowed us to treat these ailments!
I worked with Max every day for months with no improvement, Max simply showing us time and time again that he was not ready or willing to interact with us. Only after deciding that Max could simply live his life as the wild pony he wanted to be did Max decide he enjoyed our company!
Now, four years into our journey together, Maximus is the most incredible teacher we could ask for. Max is constantly showing off his tricks (laying down, sitting, rearing on command, etc.), coming to nursing homes and schools, providing demos, and more. He loves to be in the spot light and is the most gentle, kind soul I have ever met!
We are so thankful for Max and all that he does to teach both us and our program goers!
We love you, beautiful boy.
Rapunzel
Rapunzel was the most beautiful 26" dwarf miniature mare who we rescued from severe abuse and neglect. She came to us as a one on the body scale with a severe infection, overgrown feet, and unable to walk. She came to the sanctuary just two weeks after Maximus, the two of them immediately becoming best friends!
When Rapunzel was seized by animal control, she was one of ten horses still alive on a three-acre property, with over thirty horses who had died. The horses who survived were very fearful and unhealthy but were thankfully able to make full recoveries!
Rapunzel, because she had dwarfism, suffered from ailments including malformed teeth, malformed back legs, arthritis, cushings disease, chronic malnourishment, and more. We truly thought we were going to lose her when rescued, but this little fighter proved time and time again that she was not ready to stop fighting yet.
Rapunzel ruled the herd (well, in her mind anyways!) and loved attention more than any animal I have ever met, especially if it was coming from kids. She was always the first to greet newcomers at the gate, a welcoming whinny waiting on her lips. She was always the gentlest and kindest horse, but also so spunky and loved to play. Regardless of who is at the sanctuary, Rapunzel was always there to show unconditional love to whoever needed it. We miss her every day.
Rapunzel was always looking for cookies and hugs. She loved both people and other animals and always brought such a strong, healing aura to the sanctuary,
We love you, little fighter. Forever and always
Lyric
Lyric is an incredible 33" white miniature mare rescued from severe abuse, neglect, and overbreeding. In her short 12 years of life, Lyric had nine babies. Despite the horrible conditions in which she lived, Lyric remained the best mother she could be and took wonderful care of her babies.
Lyric has scars from cigarettes being put out on her chest and scars from where she was spurred by the adults that rode her on a regular basis. Due to her immense trauma, Lyric reverted back to being feral, completely unhandleable. Luckily, she was rescued by an incredible woman who helped her gain weight and safely have her last baby before reaching out to us to see if we had room for Lyric, as she needed much more mental help than she could provide at that time. We jumped on the opportunity to have Lyric join our forever herd and she is now a phenomenal teacher of consent at the sanctuary!
Lyric loves showing off her tricks, especially to kiddos! She continues to carry her incredible motherly spirit and loves to be surrounded by children. While she is still hesitant to trust new adults, she is always willing to provide comfort to a child in need.
Lyric, while being slow to trust, is incredible at teaching the value of working for relationships. As program goers continue to come, sitting with her, feeding her, and letting her take her time, they learn the importance of working hard to build strong bonds. Lyric is an incredible teacher and we are so thankful to have her!
We love you, mama Lyric!
Eclipse
Eclipse is an incredible soul, born to Lyric shortly after their rescuer took them home. She was fiercely protected by her mother, thus being unhandled until coming to the sanctuary at just under two years old. Standing at 33" tall, this little mini is FIERCE and SASSY!
Eclipse began training shortly after settling into the sanctuary and it was decided that she was a wonderful candidate for adoption! We got her halter broke, able to trailer, pick up her feet, taught her liberty work, helped her gain confidence, etc. and found her the perfect forever home!
Eclipse now lives just up the road from the sanctuary with her forever mama, a wonderful woman who is incredibly in love with both her sweet and sassy sides! Eclipse is a therapy horse in their program, teaching kiddos to love and care for horses appropriately!
We are so grateful that Eclipse found her forever person who loves her as much as we do!
We love you, sassy girl!
Luna
Luna was the first ever foster horse of Sacred Souls Sanctuary! This incredible girl came to us for just a few months while her amazing rescuer got her new rescue location set up for all the animals she has saved!
Luna was rescued by Kataluna Horsemanship at a slaughter auction completely malnourished and very lame. Thankfully, her wonderful rescuer was able to help her become happy and healthy before joining us for a short time!
In Lunas' short time with us, she taught us an endless amount about caring for rescued animals. Her gentle, loving heart had such an impact on us, showing us the true forgiving nature of the horse. and all the ways in which they can heal us as well.
With the help of her incredible forever home, we were able to get her to her mamas' rescue location where she gets to spend her forever at Kataluna Horsemanship!
We love you, gorgeous Luna!
Banshee
Banshee is an incredible mare rescued in a joint save with Kataluna Horsemanship. Sacred Souls Sanctuary accompanied Kataluna to our local slaughter yard where both rescues bailed one life and the incredible Kataluna Horsemanship brought the girls to their rescue location until they found their forever homes!
Banshee greeted us immediately at the feedlot, following us up and down the rows of hundreds of horses. Regardless of where we were or what we were doing, Banshee was right behind us when we turned around.
It was very clearly a cry for help.
Banshee had been set to ship tp slaughter just two days later, but with the help of Kataluna, we were able to save Banshees' life and bring her to Katalunas' rescue location!
Banshee has found her forever home along with the horse Kataluna Horsemanship rescued that same day! They are such happy, loved girls thanks to the joint rescue with Kataluna!
We love you, sweet Banshee!
Nova
Nova is a wonderful nine year old, 17'2hh thoroughbred mare. She came to the sanctuary in November of 2019, with us being her ninth home in, at the time, only eight years.
Nova was bred and born in California, where she was abandoned due to behavioral complications. She was sent to a horse flipper and sold to a sweet woman in Washington State who kept Nova for multiple years, until an accident with Nova lead to the owner breaking her hip.
At this point, it was decided that Nova needed a home that could better help her and her wonderful person sent her to a trainer that specializes in horses with behavorial complications. Our founder, Bella, was looking for a personal horse at the time and was able to bring Nova into her family! She came to the sanctuary and has thrived ever since. We did quickly learn that Nova had very severe mental and physical trauma, as well as cancer. It was no fault of her amazing human or her wonderful trainer, just a result of her life before her former person rescued her.
At only eight years old, Nova suffers from melanoma cancer, In what is suspected to be an attempt to itch the melanoma, Nova fractured two vertebrae in her back and the decision was quickly made to bring Nova home and let her live out her days as a happy pasture friend!
Nova and Promise are best friends, living together in perfect harmony. These gorgeous girls really bring out the best in each other!
We love you, my girl!
Blitz
Blitz came to Sacred Souls Sanctuary at 26 years old after being severely neglected and underfed. He would frequently break through his fence at his former barn in an attempt to find food. After many calls to animal control, his former person thankfully made the decision to find him a suitable home.
When we brought Blitz home, he immediately saw vets and farriers who confirmed that he had been severely neglected. His hooves hadn't been trimmed in three years and he had been fed straw, living in a mud pit.
Upon rescue, we quickly learned that Blitz required a lot of special care and was a cryptorchid stallion. Thankfully, in spite of this, we were able to provide Blitz with a wonderful last year of life surrounded by nothing but love and kindness.
Despite the challenges that we faced with Blitz, he is missed dearly every day. He was a funny, loving horse with a lot to teach everyone around him. We are so thankful for the wonderful time we did have him.
We love you, Blitz. Forever and always,
Noelle
Noelle was the gentlest, kindest and most loving horse to ever exist. She was sent to a kill pen at 24 years old and was pulled by a man who used her extremely hard, even in her old age, and never even gave her a name. Six years later, she collapsed while being ridden and he planned to send her to auction.
Noelles' ad had been sent to me many times, but I truly didn't think we could find space at the time. When the time came for Noelle to be sent to auction, just three days before Christmas, I was unable to leave her there and we quickly jumped into action, saving Noelle with a bid well below meat price.
We loaded Noelle into the trailer in nothing but a bailing twine halter, and yet she followed us right in. Noelle collapsed immediately after unloading from the trailer, being unable to get up without help and yet falling again as soon as she was standing once more. Thankfully, the emergency vet was able to stabilize her with many emergency interventions and we were blessed with the most incredible two months with Noelle.
Noelle was blind, 30 years old with a severe sway back, beyond severe arthritis, a mouth infection, and heart failure. Despite all of this, Noelle remained the most gentle and loving soul I have ever met. She wanted to please people in every single thing she did and was truly the perfect horse.
Noelle is so, so loved and so, so missed, Her memory lives on in all of our rescues and I am so thankful that we had these wonderful times together. We love you so, so much, my sweet Noelle. Forever and always.
Maple
Maple is a beautiful dapple grey, registered Arabian mare. I learned about her presence at my local slaughter auction just five minutes before she was set to ship to slaughter. Unable to fathom this sweet five year old mare forced to face this fate, we placed a last minute bid at meat price and were immediately informed that Maple was ours.
We quickly picked Maple up, who gave us quite a run for our money getting into the trailer. Thankfully, she hauled beautifully once she loaded!
Once arriving at home, Maple entered training and was quickly evaluated as a perfect adoption candidate. She is such a special mare, so happy and calm in every way that we were able to find her the perfect forever home for her after training! After learning to w/t/c with a saddle on, stand for the farrier, lunge, etc. we hauled Maple 16 hours round trip to her forever home!
Maple taught us so much about working with rescues, as she required a fair amount of body work from being started terribly before being sent to auction. We are so thankful that we know this gorgeous girl and get to be a part of her story!
We love you, sweet Maple!
Kismet
Kismet is such a wonderful boy who brings so much joy to the lives of every single person who meets him! Affectionately known as Kiz, Kizzie, Kizzie Boy, goofy, and many more nicknames, Kismet is the funniest horse I have ever met. He LOVES to play, acts like a baby even though he's 17, and is the most gentle soul!
Kismet lived a life of very hard work and no affection, love, or care before being rescued by the wonderful woman who surrendered him to us.. He suffered greatly in multiple former homes before thankfully being rescued by a wonderful woman who did so much for him!
Upon realizing they were not compatible, his sweet owner surrendered him to Sacred Souls Sanctuary. We are so thankful, as this sweet boy brings nothing but happiness to our lives!
Kismet does suffer from chronic ulcers, arthritis, multiple broken bones from former accidents, and a lot of mental trauma, but he doesn't let it phase him. He is always so gentle and kind, always putting his handler first and making sure we're safe!
KIz has made leaps and bounds and is now a happy, willing light work partner! I am so thankful for this wonderful time I am getting to spend with my boy!
We love you, our incredible boy!
Ember
Ember is truly a one of a kind horse! She is beyond confident, happy, and loving. I have never met quite such a special filly!
Ember was being sold at a slaughter auction over a state away and had no bidders other than Sacred Souls Sanctuary and the kill buyer. In a moment of panic, despite never having rescued a baby and our state being in a state of emergency due to severe winter weather, we bid on Tag 135.
Just a day later, our incredible hauler braved the storm on a trip that took 24 hours instead of the 12 it should have taken. Thanks to her and her husband, Ember got home to us safely and has been in training ever sense!
Ember has proved to be an INCREDIBLE companion, very easy to train and loving. We are so excited to be part of this wonderful mares' journey as we work to find her the perfect forever home for her!
We love you so much, brave girl!
Josephine
Josephine, affectionately known as JoJo, is the sweetest and most gentle horse that I have ever met. We rescued JoJo just moments before she was purchased by a kill buyer at a slaughter auction over a state away. She has not had it easy since joining the sanctuary, but she is still endlessly kind and loving!
When JoJo arrived, she was completely emaciated, covered in fungus, suffering from chronic laminitis and arthritis, fighting a severe upper respiratory infection, and more. Despite this, she allowed us to treat her daily (even though it was very unpleasant for her) and still chose to love us and trust us.
Typically, we do not adopt senior or pasture sound horses out. In fact, we never have! However, a lovely woman and her incredible four year old daughter fell head over heals in love with JoJo while helping with her care while in quarantine and asked if we would consider allowing them to adopt her. The answer, of course, was an astounding YES! JoJo will remain with the sanctuary until her health is 100% recovered, at which point she will officially join her forever family!
We love you so, so much JoJo!
Delilah
Delilah came to the sanctuary at 36 years old. She had served her entire life both as a trail horse and a kid's lesson horse until one day, her body became too weak to carry a rider. At this point, she was posted for free on craigslist.
This horse was so special that she somehow pulled on the heart strings of the local kill buyer, who texted me on simple sentence: "giving you first dibs on this one". I've dealt with this man many times, working hard to outbid him at auction, and I have never seen him behave with such kindness.
Delilah was just that special.
I picked Delilah up that same day and got to spend a wonderful three months with her. We went for walks every single day, all the barn kids would feed her treats and groom her, and she got warm mash every two hours.
Delilah let us know that it was her time in the same way she did everything else: with grace and compassion. There was never any doubt when it came to decisions regarding Delilah: she knew what she wanted, and she knew how to tell you.
I miss Delilah every single day, but I am eternally grateful for the time I was fortunate enough to spend by her side.
Dolly
Dolly is a special case. She is a 16-year-old registered quarter horse who comes from a background where she was loved and cared for, but her needs were unable to be met. Because of this, her former person made the incredibly selfless decision to find her a home that could provide her with what she needs.
Enter: my trainer. Her former person sent Dolly to an incredible trainer to help her find some confidence in herself and learn to be a good equine citizen. She knew that I am always open to bringing horses into the sanctuary and asked if I would be interested in Dolly, who is an incredible horse but needed some time to decompress.
The answer was a resounding yes and Dolly joined the forever herd of Sacred Souls Sanctuary! She is my heart and soul, and we would do anything for each other -and I am the luckiest woman in the world to have a partnership with her.
Forever and always, Dolly girl.
Sangria
Scrolling through the website of one of two of the only legitimate slaughter feedlots in Washington is never a good idea for a horse rescuer. It's an even worse idea for a horse person who rescues seniors and pasture sound horses.
Sangria was both of the above. She was one of the most injured, neglected horses I have ever seen throughout my rescue career. Her back leg was broken, she was malnourished, and she was blind.
In spite of this, after a life of service, Sangria was sent to be slaughtered because she could no longer be ridden. I was viscerally sick when I saw her on the feedlot and there was no way that I was leaving without her. She came home with me the day I learned about her, and I was blessed to have two months with her.
While our time together was short, our love was endless. Sangria was the fiercest and strongest horse I have ever had the honor of learning from, and I will cherish the lessons she taught me forever.
We love you always, Sangria.
Oliver
Oliver is an unusual case. Most of our rescues come from cases of neglect and abuse, and while that was the first short portion of his life, he has spent the last years as an incredibly loved and cherished member of an incredible family. His family rehabilitated him from the brink of behavioral euthanasia to the incredible, beginner safe horse that he is today through endless amounts of love and patience.
As we all know, life sometimes changes unexpectedly and the phenomenal family who owned Oliver asked if our sanctuary had room. We did and were able to bring him home less than a month later!
Oliver, affectionately known as Ollie, has only been with us a short time but has shown us that he is such a gentleman. We cannot get enough of his friendly, extraverted personality!
Ollie has quickly become a large piece of my heart and has the rest of his life to enjoy sanctuary living.
Welcome home, Ollie!
Athena
Athena is a beautiful senior arabian mare who joined the sanctuary from an elderly family who loved her deeply but was no longer able to care for her needs. She had been alone for many years without handling, vet, farrier, or dental care. Since coming to Sacred Souls Sanctuary, Athena has gained over 100 pounds! She still has a way to go before being at a healthy weight but has come so far and we are so proud of her progress already.
Athena was very hesitant to interact with people and other horses upon her arrival after so long in solitude and it has been an honor to watch her blossom under the love and care she deserves. She is now the very first horse to greet me at the gate, she comes running with a whinny on her lips the second she sees my car and making it impossible to leave! Her in-your-pocket personality and gentle nature have made her a quick favorite around the sanctuary and among those in our therapeutic programs. We are so blessed to love her and to receive her love in return.
Welcome to your forever, Athena!