All horses are assured a hopeful, compassionate plan of care at This Old Horse, a program that helps not only horses but people, too.
Patrick Metzger showed up for his first volunteer shift at This Old Horse looking for two things: an opportunity to volunteer for a cause he supported and a hope to become part of a welcoming community that shared his interests.
What he was not seeking—or expecting—was love.
A Warm Welcome
By his own admission, Patrick was struggling with feelings of depression and felt doing something physical and useful might help.
On his first day joining the crew for morning chores at This Old Horse’s flagship barn, Wishbone Ranch in Hastings, MN, he was warmly welcomed, fondly embraced and made to feel his help was highly valued and appreciated by the other volunteers. After chores and the post-chore social ‘gathering’ for snacks and beverages, he was introduced to an old mare named Gypsy and handed a brush.
Patrick spent the next two hours with her. He learned her tragic life story of repeated abandonment, abuse and neglect which had caused her to lose vision in both eyes due to trauma. He also learned how, after being abandoned and left to fend for herself, she was eventually rounded up with a group of wild mustangs.
Heart Horse
And yet here she was, nearly 30 years old, calmly munching hay and basking in his comforting care. She accepted his kind touch and soothing voice as he praised her courage, marveling at the strength and will it took her to survive as well as her gentle kindness and reception to him — a stranger — after a lifetime of betrayal at the hands of humans. Imagine such a forgiving heart, she was truly an inspiration.
Patrick was drawn to her again and again and eventually, with the encouragement of his volunteer crewmates, he adopted her. Gypsy died a few years later with her beloved and bereft Patrick at her side. Patrick loves the mission and the horses of This Old Horse and while he has not found another love to take Gypsy’s place, he continues his commitment to all the horses there in her honor.
The Adoptable Horse
There is a lot of discussion and opinion among equine welfare providers around defining an ‘adoptable horse’. With economic pressures and limited capacity, there are many highly reputable organizations that base their admissions and even euthanasia decisions on whether they consider a horse ‘adoptable’ or not as defined by a horse’s soundness and rideability, attributes generally equated with value. If these organizations’ target market for adopters are riders, unrideable horses, by definition, are not considered adoptable.
This Old Horse specializes in older and special needs horses. The average age of their horses is 21 years. Yet, their adoption rates rival those of rescue organizations who would undoubtedly exclude most of the horses who come to This Old Horse. Because the target adopter market of This Old Horse is horse lovers, not just equestrians.
Volunteers From All Backgrounds
This Old Horse welcomes volunteers with no previous horse experience. They figure if someone is interested enough to come to the barn, the horses there will do the rest. Volunteers are matched to tasks based on their skill and comfort level and are given opportunities to learn as they go.
Pat Gwynn is a 76-year-old woman, a long-time volunteer at This Old Horse. Pat, like many people, had dreamed of owning a horse of her own all her life. The stars never aligned for that to happen, but she got her horse ‘fix’ through her volunteer role.
Then she met a 25-year-old off track Standardbred harness horse named Miss Lucy Brown. The mare had ended up in the slaughter pipeline before fate intervened and brought her to This Old Horse. After an unremarkable racing career, then a grueling cart horse career, Miss Lucy Brown was depressed, distressed and malnourished. As Lucy healed, both physically and emotionally, Pat fell in love with the gentle mare, her lovely greying face and scarred body a testament to a hard life. Pat loved Lucy. In August, she adopted her. And said she felt as though she won the lottery.
The Right Fit
This Old Horse has made hundreds of successful adoption matches, each as unique and unexpected as the next. What’s their secret? Ask anyone and the emphatic and undisputed answer is love. The community that comprises This Old Horse simply loves horses, all horses. Despite their condition or prognosis, each horse is assured a hopeful, compassionate, optimistic plan of care.
This Old Horse has a signature slogan “Love is Good”. It is a reminder that each horse is guaranteed, regardless of its condition and prognosis, that it will be loved. Good food, good medical care, safe shelter is essential, but their secret ingredient is simply loving that horse.
Everyone is welcome at This Old Horse, both horse and human. Horses who join the This Old Horse family stay as long as they need to. If a new owner of an adopted horse has a change in circumstances, the horse is welcomed back to the program without hesitation.
Everyone Wins
What started as a small retirement program in 2012 has evolved into rescue, recovery and racehorse transition. More than 700 horses representing 59 breeds have been helped by This Old Horse. More than 30 of their horses are blind. They manage 11 farms serving an average of 210 horses each day. Two of their farms are sanctuaries for wild horses, including one that is a sanctuary for 19 rescued wild stallions, one-third of whom are blind.
Every time a horse is helped, humans are helped, as well. The referring owners are relieved that their horse has a safe harbor, and the This Old Horse community experiences the thrill of hope whenever a new horse joins the family.
Gypsy, a blind and abandoned old mare healed Patrick’s soul.
Lucy, an old battered, grey-faced mare made Pat’s dream come true.
See what This Old Horse can do? Love is good.
