Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue

I brought my lady to a fingerprinting event on March 8th, we had an amazing time . I never told her it was in a heated horse stable, she loves horses, it was just a fun evening thank you Deanna and staff.

My son has autism and numerous behavioral deficits and anxieties, including a fear of the outdoors and bugs. He participated in Lucky Orphans' equine psychotherapy sessions, which were run by an equine specialist (trained in using horses to help people overcome mental health issues), as well as a PhD-level psychologist. Both incredible women.

The specialists worked together to target my son's key deficits using casual, yet structured activities with the horses (grooming a horse, giving a horse a bath, watching how horses communicate with each other, etc.) They also spent time talking to him at the beginning and end of each session, to reinforce what he was learning. Each task focused on a specific deficit. My son went from wanting to leave early the first session, to staying the full hour and, on top of that, asking if he could walk his horse from the big indoor barn, down a long path to the horse's stable (regardless of the fact that he was outside among the bugs).

The horses soothed my son's anxieties and helped him enjoy being outdoors again, in a relatively short amount of time. He really opened up to both of the women, and he doesn't usually do that with people. I would definitely recommend this facility, its specialists and their intensive equine psychotherapy program to anyone who is struggling. It's amazing how using horses allows this therapeutic approach to work when other things don't.

After one visit to Lucky Orphans, I have been beck several times with no intention to stop. There is such a profound sense of peace and healing just from walking through the farm. Now add to this the kindest, most caring, and selfless people you have ever come across. From the youth programs and summer camp, the Country Club weekly events, or the equine therapy; Lucky Orphans has, and continues to rescue horses and give them a place of peace and recovery to live, and the horses in turn are the focal point for the programs that help people heal and find peace of their own.

I have been a horse person all my life and have owned my own farms and horses in the past. As a recent retiree from the academic world, I started volunteering at Lucky Orphans in January. In spite of having many years of horsemanship experience, I was still required to go through several sessions of volunteer training to learn correct and safe methods of beginner horse handling and care. I have been impressed with the priority given to teaching safety for both horse and handler. I have been at a lot of farms and stables over the years where there is very little supervision. Guidelines of the Certified Horsemanship Association are followed closely at Lucky Orphans.

There are a lot of horses on the property. In an ideal situation, there would be 2 acres per horse. There are not many places in the country where that happens. These are horses with injuries that otherwise might not have found a home, as well as race horses and aged horses that nobody wants to support financially now that they cannot do the jobs they once did. Deanna and Klarissa work with an amazing crew of volunteers that love the animals and love what they are doing. Financial donations can always go a long way towards making more of a difference to these animals.

Owning and managing a farm is a 24/7 job. Living in a small apartment over a barn is not a luxurious life style, but it does speak to a mission of caring for animals who might otherwise be out of luck.

Just an amazing labor of love and service to rescued horses. We did a tour of the property and my daughter spent a bliss filled hour grooming and learning how to walk and direct the horse she selected in their ring. Memorable!