by Rita Thompson-Tinsley
When Kathy Oliver was a kid, she spent her time working in a boarding facility. She remembers being very sad whenever her favorite older horses were hauled off, never to return. As an adult, she never forgot that feeling, so after raising kids and living her life, she decided that her passion could be put to good use serving the needs of the equine universe.
Man Against Horse.
Photo courtesy Susan
Kordish Cowgirl Photography.
With the help of special grants and donations, Sacred Peaks Equine Sanctuary in Flagstaff became a 501(c)3, in order to foster and rehabilitate horses rescued from the slaughter pipeline. They also strive to raise awareness of the equine slaughter industry in the US and promote adoption of horses at risk for slaughter and measures to reduce over-breeding of horses resulting in overpopulation and inhumane treatment.
The Flagstaff facility, which is spread out over 10 acres, includes Oliver‘s residence, a barn for boarding that serves to help support the rescue, and a series of large-sized pens with run-in sheds for the rescues. She currently has 7 horses and 2 donkeys, but at times she has had many more mouths to feed. Kathy has been able to adopt out 7 previous rescues.
The facility has a big hay barn so that she is able to get good hay prices by buying in quantity, and a nice arena for hosting horse clinics which help to fund the sanctuary.
One of the grants for Sacred Peaks helps to pay training fees, though Kathy works with many of the rescues. Donations are critical for feed, dentals, and proper health and hoof care for each animal.
When contemplating the situation of rescue horses, Kathy has determined that in the majority of “kill pen” horse auction cases, the horse has merely ended up in the wrong hands. Many horse owners who resort to auctioning off their unwanted horse do not realize the likelihood of their horse going to slaughter. Many others simply don‘t care. Oliver has the uncomparable ability to spot a horse‘s qualities, abilities, and probabilities. She sees through their current state and sees a future.
confidence with Dr. Tesky.
Photo courtesy Kathy Oliver.
While having the Arabian rescue Alchemy transported, she recognized his lack of confidence and didn‘t want that to be an issue traveling to her facility. So, Kathy brought in another rescue, a small mustang, Timber, to be Alchemy‘s traveling companion.
As fate would have it, Timber soon became Kathy‘s favorite mount and after months of time on the trail, Timber and Kathy were partners in the annual Man Against Horse Race at Mingus Mountain in October.
Many of the equine rescues at Sacred Peaks are performing an invaluable purpose by serving as therapy animals for another non-profit organization,15 Hands & Hearts. They offer physical therapy using the equine environment and equine movement as a treatment tool. They set up shop at Sacred Peaks Equine Sanctuary on a regular schedule for children and adults with mental health and physical disabilities.
serving as a therapy horse.
Photo courtesy Mardi Devolites.
Another rescue equine with lots of pizazz and personality plus is Chaco the donkey. Standard-size Chaco is well trained to pack and likely drives as well. Soon, he too will be hitting the therapy circuit.
Kathy Oliver has discovered what it takes to develop and operate an effective equine rescue. It takes a whole lot of vision and a world full of hope to impactfully turn around the unfortunate path of too many ‘misplaced horses’.
To learn more about Sacred Peaks Equine Sanctuary, Like them on Facebook.
