They came to us with different stories, different challenges, and plenty of personality.
We wouldn't change a thing.
PERFECTLY IMPERFECT.
AND PERFECTLY PERFECT
JUST AS THEY ARE.
MEET THE HERD
Some hearts need time before they are ready to let you in.
Etta came to us wild, shy, and completely unhandled. A wild Alpine mare from Northeast Arizona, she is happiest roaming the paddocks, where she has the freedom to decide how close she wants to be and when.
Her relationship with people is still developing. She is slowly learning that we can be trusted, but Etta reminds us every day that trust cannot be demanded or rushed. It is earned quietly, patiently, and on her terms. Every small step toward us means something because she is the one choosing to take it.
With the younger horses, however, Etta has revealed another side of herself. She has become a gentle, steady presence for our yearlings and an especially important figure in Mateo's life. After losing his own mama at such a young age, Mateo has adopted Etta as his surrogate mama. She tolerates his antics, corrects him when necessary, and gives him something every young horse needs: another horse to learn from.
There is something beautiful about watching a mare who remains cautious with people so willingly make room for the youngsters who need her.
Etta is beautiful, gentle, kind, and so very loved. We don't know how long it will take before she fully trusts us, and that's okay. She doesn't have to become anything other than exactly who she is.
Wild Alpine Mare
ETTA
Some lives are with us for years. Others only for a moment. Both can leave a mark forever.
Dolly’s journey to us began at an auction, where she was acquired by the owner of the boarding facility severely underweight and in need of care. With time, good nutrition, and attention, she was brought back to a healthy weight. Beneath it all was a striking buckskin mare with a golden coat, raven mane and tail, and the kindest disposition.
As Dolly grew healthier, her rescuer discovered she was pregnant. The entire barn buzzed with excitement as everyone waited to welcome the newest member of the family. Sadly, that excitement turned to heartbreak when Dolly gave birth to a beautiful little filly who did not survive the delivery.
We named her Baby Selah. Selah, a word found throughout the Psalms, calls us to pause and reflect. Her name reminds us to stop, remember, and hold close the lives entrusted to us, no matter how brief their time may be.
Dolly eventually became part of the Healing Wild Hearts family. Here, she has a place to continue healing, to simply be a horse, and perhaps to put those maternal instincts to work nurturing, and occasionally scolding, our naughty yearlings.
BUCKSKIN MARE
dolly
Sometimes surviving is only the beginning. Then comes the chance to live.
Shimmer was orphaned when she was just a few weeks old. Her beginning was anything but easy. She spent months in the hospital battling pneumonia and bastard strangles, and there were many difficult conversations about whether she would survive.
But Shimmer wasn't finished.
Today, she is a strong, healthy yearling who frolics through the paddock with the rest of the herd and seeks out her best friend, Pony Girl, for special pets, treats, and a little companionship.
Around here, we sometimes call her LEGS, because this girl has legs for days. With her beautiful black-and-white patchwork coat, sweet disposition, and exceptionally sharp mind, Shimmer is hard to miss and even harder not to love.
After everything she endured so early in life, we are grateful to watch her simply get to be young, healthy, curious, and happy.
YEARLING FILLY
Shimmer
The ones we love never really leave us. Sometimes, they show up in who we become.
Born in the first week of August 2025, he traveled from one auction to another alongside his beautiful mama, Aurora, until they were finally rescued. Mateo adored his mama. He danced around her, tested her patience with his endless antics, and stayed close to the mare who was his entire world.
Then, on a crisp October day when Mateo was only three months old, Aurora went down and never got back up. When it became clear that she was not going to recover, we made the heartbreaking decision to let her go. We believed she had succumbed to EPM.
Mateo grieved his mama. Watching that little colt experience such profound loss remains one of the hardest things I have ever witnessed.
He was eventually turned out with a group of orphaned fillies, and little by little, they helped bring our spirited boy back.
Today, Mateo has adopted Etta as his surrogate mama and, like any good little brother, considers it his responsibility to regularly annoy Shimmer. When they aren't engaged in sibling rivalry, the three of them can be found running like the wind through the paddock.
He is curious, mischievous, deeply loved, and a stunningly handsome palomino. As he grows, we see more and more of his sweet Aurora in him.
PALOMINO YEARLING COLT
MATEO
LIFE IS BETTER WITH A LITTLE SASS, A GOOD FRIEND, AND A COOKIE OR TWO.
Pony Girl is our beautiful, woolly teddy bear with plenty of personality to go with all that hair.
At approximately 10 to 12 years old, she came to us needing additional care for her hooves, including management of laminitis.
But Pony Girl has never allowed any of that to interfere with her opinions about life.
She is sweet, sassy, affectionate, and completely obsessed with cookies. She has also formed a special friendship with Shimmer, who regularly seeks her out for companionship. She also loves all the pets, a cuddle here and there, and treats.
And then there is Eddy. Eddy decided that Pony Girl was his girlfriend.
Pony Girl was apparently not consulted about the arrangement, but Eddy nevertheless became quite convinced that the other boys should keep their distance.
Pony Girl has become one of those personalities around the sanctuary who is impossible not to love. She reminds us that an animal can need extra care without being defined by what is wrong.
She is simply Pony Girl. Woolly, sassy, deeply loved, and always ready for another cookie.
PONY MARE
PONY GIRl
TRUST SOMETIMES BEGINS WITH ONE QUIET STEP CLOSER.
George came into rescue severely underweight, blind, and largely unhandled. He had very little reason to understand people or trust what was happening around him.
With careful nutrition and consistent care, George has gained weight beautifully. His coat continues to change as his health improves, revealing more of the handsome pony underneath.
He is the tallest of our four blind ponies, and there is something wonderfully dignified about him. George frequently stands with his head held high, quietly taking in everything happening around him.
He cannot see his surroundings, but he is remarkably aware of his world.
George was also the first of the four blind ponies to take a cookie directly from our hands.
It sounds like such a small thing. For George, it wasn't.
Every interaction with these ponies asks them to trust something they cannot see. That first cookie represented a choice to come closer and believe, even for a moment, that the person standing in front of him was safe.
These days, George is quite fond of his food and is perfectly content to remain at the trough long after everyone else has decided they are finished.
He came to us needing nourishment. What we are watching grow now is something just as important: trust.
BLIND PONY
GEORGE WASHINGTON
TRUST THIS HARD-EARNED DESERVES ALL THE TIME IT NEEDS.
Benjamin is one of our smaller blind ponies and was severely underweight when he came into rescue. Of the four, he has been one of the slowest to gain the weight he needs, so watching him become healthier has been especially meaningful.
He has a beautiful dark brown coat and a big, wonderfully untamed mane that occasionally makes him look like a tiny rock star.
Benjamin is also the shyest of the group.
For a long time, touching him simply wasn't something he was ready to allow. Recently, that has begun to change. We can now gently touch him for short periods without overwhelming him.
For Benjamin, that is enormous progress.
He knows our routines. He recognizes the sounds of meals being prepared and becomes alert when he hears us coming. He loves cookies too, although his more confident companions occasionally try to get to them first. We make sure Benjamin always gets his share.
Most importantly, despite everything he may have experienced before coming here, he continues to meet us with kindness.
We don't need Benjamin to hurry. Our job is to keep showing him, again and again, that he is safe until one day he no longer has to wonder.
BLIND PONY
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
TRUST IS BUILT QUIETLY, ONE SAFE MOMENT AT A TIME.
Thomas is another of our smaller blind ponies and came into rescue needing significant nutrition, care, and time.
Today, he is doing remarkably well.
As his old coat begins to shed, a beautiful lighter, silvery-gray pony is emerging underneath. Add his wonderfully wild mane and Thomas, along with Benjamin, has earned a place among our little punk rock stars.
But the biggest transformation isn't his coat. It's trust.
Of our four blind ponies, Thomas has become one of the most comfortable with human touch. We can rub and scratch him all over now. He isn't quite convinced that brushes are necessary, but a good scratch is another matter entirely.
He comes forward for cookies, recognizes the rhythms of his new life, and comfortably joins the others at the trough, sometimes leaving us with nothing more than the sight of four little pony backsides lined up together.
For a pony who once had so little experience with people, these ordinary moments are anything but ordinary.
They tell us Thomas is beginning to understand something important.
He belongs here. And he is safe.
BLIND PONY
THOMAS JEFFERSON
SOME HEARTS DON'T NEED TO BE PUSHED OPEN. THEY NEED TO BE SHOWN IT IS SAFE TO OPEN ON THEIR OWN.
Thomas Edison, better known as Eddy, is a stout little sorrel pony with a beautiful flaxen mane and a very big personality.
Eddy is blind, although we believe he may have some limited vision in one eye. Of our four blind ponies, he has been the most reluctant to trust people.
It is important to understand the difference between fear and aggression with Eddy. He is not aggressive toward people. He is simply extremely cautious and unsure of us. He listens, keeps his distance, and takes his time deciding whether allowing someone closer is safe.
With other ponies, Eddy has stronger opinions.
He can become protective and aggressive toward them, particularly when Pony Girl is nearby. In Eddy's mind, Pony Girl is his girlfriend, and apparently the other boys did not receive invitations to join them.
For the safety of the other ponies, we currently manage Eddy's space carefully while continuing to work toward bringing him back alongside the other blind ponies when the environment and circumstances are right.
Eddy may be one of our biggest challenges when it comes to earning trust; and that is perfectly okay.
He isn't a problem to fix. He is a pony to understand.
We will give him boundaries, consistency, patience, and the opportunity to discover in his own time that people can be safe.
BLIND PONY
THOMAS EDISON, AKA EDDY
THE BODY MAY NEED EXTRA CARE. THE SPIRIT DOESN'T HAVE TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
Goose may be small, but there is absolutely nothing small about his presence.
With his beautiful sorrel coat, long mane, thick tail, expressive face, and enormous personality, he is impossible to overlook.
And then you put a halter on him.
Take Goose out for a walk and something remarkable happens. He lifts himself into an elegant, graceful prance and seems to know exactly how handsome he is. Watching him move has made us wonder whether Goose may once have been a show pony.
Somewhere along the way, however, Goose developed a collapsed trachea.
Sometimes when he breathes, he makes a distinctive honking sound. And that is how Goose got his name.
His condition means his care has to be particularly thoughtful. His food is prepared to make swallowing easier, excitement must be managed carefully, and reducing dust around him is especially important. The stall we hope to build for Goose will be designed specifically around those needs, including enhanced ventilation and cooling.
Goose is also still intact, and because of his airway condition, gelding him will require specialized care in a hospital setting. It is another part of his journey that we will approach carefully and responsibly.
None of this, however, has convinced Goose that he should behave like a delicate little pony.
He loves his food. He loves his cookies. He loves attention. And if he believes we have been too slow delivering any of the above, Goose is perfectly capable of expressing his displeasure.
Loudly.
He is strength, sass, beauty, and determination packed into one very special little body.