By Nicole DePalma

“A good man will take care of his horses and dogs not only while they are young but also when they are old and past service.” Plutarch, 100 A.D.

This is the quote you will find when you go to the website of This Old Horse rescue and sanctuary, based out of Hastings, Minnesota.

Perhaps many of you horse enthusiasts in our Central States Area are already aware of This Old Horse (TOH) and its story. But if not, let me introduce you to an amazing organization and the good works it does on behalf of horses in need of special care.

Ms. Nancy Turner is the force of nature behind TOH. Nancy’s lifetime wish had always been to have a horse of her own, and once an adult, Nancy’s wish came true. Nancy, at one point, had volunteered with a therapeutic riding program that had a high turnover rate of retiring horses to make way for more athletically capable horses. Nancy took two of these “retirees” to her private farm, considering it a privilege to honor their years of service with the love and care of a forever home.

Nancy then decided to approach the director of the program to ask if it could be considered to retire their horses in place, since the land, volunteers, donors, and history were already established. Unfortunately, Nancy’s idea was dismissed as she was told that retired horses would not be generating revenue to the program, and would become costs the director was not interested in taking on.

But where Nancy’s discouragement and disappointment ended with this effort, another opportunity appeared. You see, Nancy had come to imagine a sanctuary for retired working horses, and a wishbone, yes, a wishbone became the spark that set Nancy off turning another wish into reality.

Nancy encountered a rotisserie chicken’s wishbone that popped out on the bird and landed on her kitchen counter. Nancy said in that moment, the air in the room seemed to shift. Nancy said she was thinking of a place where her sanctuary needed to happen. But Nancy then recalled that she asked other people to hold a wishbone with her as she was wishing to help her wishes come true. Nancy knew right then that a “place” could not help her hold her wishbone, but a community could! Nancy’s sanctuary did not need a place as much as it needed a community of other people who longed, imagined, and wished for a horse in their lives. The wish, indeed, the mission for Nancy now became to connect horse lovers with horses in need. And now…serendipity… Along a highway drive, Nancy spotted a For Sale sign. This For Sale sign was advertising a 48 acre Throughbred breeding facility which operated many years ago, but now had become run down and neglected. Nancy loved it. However, there were some “details” that needed to be dealt with; she had no money, no plan, nor any idea of how this would all work out. Unwavering, Nancy contacted the realtor, toured the property, and learned that the seller was willing to take a small down payment, with a five year balloon payment. Nancy knew her wish had five years to sink or swim. She and her husband, Tom, underwrote a lot of the initial start-up financially and with sweat equity.

Now, onto “work the plan, and plan the work”. In the first phase of planning, the idea was to have 12 boarders at the property, and boarding fees would contribute to overhead, and then bring on 12 retired horses who were sound, and capable of light work. Walk-trot, and groundwork lessons could then supplement the costs of their care. Several of the first retired horses came from the therapeutic riding program Nancy was associated with, and volunteers from that program followed the horses over to Nancy’s fledging organization.

Nancy will tell you that volunteers have been the most important donors, generating funds, talents, and time. TOH has unlimited roles for volunteers. TOH is always looking for other organizations to underwrite programs and seeks sustaining corporate sponsorships and individual gifts. TOH’s foster network allows TOH to serve even more horses. By creating a place that is safe and welcoming, volunteers of varied backgrounds stepped up to meet TOH needs over the years. By presenting horses as powerful, not pitiful, and generating a respect and reverence for the paths each horse has taken to arrive at TOH, volunteers in some instances, have come to learn that no experience may be necessary, as the horses would teach them what they needed to know. The more people that help, the more horses are helped.

Just as there are countless opportunities for humans to interact with the horses of TOH, there are countless opportunities for future programs and outreach. Looking through TOH’s website, you will find information about the “Wells Creek Wild Mustang Sanctuary” and the new “Sweet Serenity Mustang Mare Sanctuary”. You can also learn about TOH’s “This Little Horse” and “Racehorse Reimagined” programs. What is so interesting about these examples is that through funding by sponsors, paid therapy and ambassador visits and other industry’s involvement, these projects mesh with the long-term commitment TOH makes to each horse it takes on.

Looking to the future, any project that is taken on is viewed as an entrepreneurial model. Funding, space, and leaders are approached through the lens of an identified need, and with a reasonable expectation of viability. Opportunities are seen all around to improve equine welfare. Viable programs will continue to be taken on as long as they are true to TOH’s mission, which is helping horses in transition.

Nancy tells me that ultimately the need for TOH’s mission should be finite, that there should be an end to unwanted, neglected, and discarded horses. Until then, success for TOH will be the sustainable legacy of its mission. The next generation of leaders will understand the “big idea” and commit to to carry on the dignity and respect of horses in need. When the “finite” arrives, Nancy relates that TOH will “happily and joyfully close our doors”.

As we conclude, Nancy says, “Our message, our branding, our story is to focus on each horse as beautiful and worthy of our care and compassion.”.

If you would like to learn more about TOH, its programs, or how you can get involved, please visit its website at www.thisoldhorse.org. There, you will find its telephone number, address, email address, and hours. You may also send an email on their “contact us” page.

We are all drawn to Cross Roads magazine because of our shared love of and interest in the amazing horse. Each horse is amazing in its own way. Just like each of you reading this story, we all have been deeply touched by horses. TOH lives and breaths our shared “horse love”, and like the “good man” Plutarch speaks of in the opening quote of this story, TOH will take care of horses, “…when they are old and past service.”.Happy Riding To You

Nancy Turner is the founder and President of This Old Horse, Inc. in Hastings, MN. Founded in 2012, This Old Horse provides rescue, retirement and transition support focused on older and special needs horses through their farms and foster network and is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, an ASPCA/ The Right Horse Adoption Partner and an Equus Foundation Guardian. This Old Horse is the lead agency in Minnesota’s Racehorse Reimagined collaboration to promote safe transitions and lifespan support for Minnesota’s racehorses.In addition to her volunteer work with This Old Horse, she operates group homes and family support services for children and adults with significant intellectual and physical disabilities, cares for 15 of her own horses on her private horse farm and is the head of Special Olympics Equestrian delegation. She is a board member of the Minnesota Horse Welfare Coalition and on the Advisory Board of Fleet of Angels.