Jassy
Well-known member
NORMAN, Neb. — There are stories filled with sad chapters about the horses at Break Heart Ranch.
Some were family pets, until their families lost interest in providing feed and medical care.
Some have had large, deep injuries to their minds, bodies and souls.
Some were rescued from sale barns frequented by professional buyers for horse processing plants.
And one, a 29-year-old Thoroughbred now named Marie, is a great-granddaughter of 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation. Marie was Martha's Ticket during her racing days and years as a brood mare.
Before coming to Break Heart Ranch in August, Marie was starving in Omaha under the care of an owner who knew nothing about caring for a geriatric horse, said ranch owner Val Hinderlider. "I don't know how she survived on what the guy was feeding her," she said as she watched the shy, still-thin Marie greet a neighbor, a blind, gray 31-year-old stallion.
Val and her husband, John, started Break Heart Ranch south of Norman about four years ago, after moving to Kearney County from The Dalles, Ore.
Looking for a fresh start, they took the advice of a young man they knew in Oregon who suggested they look at Nebraska, specifically his hometown of Minden.
Val was focused on training horses in Oregon, but had done some rescues. "I've loved horses since I knew what a horse was," she said.
Her first horse came from her dad when Val was 12 years old. "He had every vice a horse could have," she said. "I always thought and still believe he had been ruined by humans."
She thought if she tried harder, she could help that horse and others.
Life — a first marriage, children, work — took her down different roads, "but the horse thing never went away."
She met John at a trapshooting event, and they eventually moved to The Dalles.
Val's most important step toward accepting her special talent to communicate with horses came at a Portland, Ore., seminar by Monty Roberts, who is known for his gentle horse training techniques.
"I learned that my ideas were not some goofball ideas," she said. "They (horses) can't understand English, so I have to understand horse ... I had to learn a new language."
Even as the Hinderliders cleaned up their three-acre Kearney County property, added horse pens and fixed up the house, Val planned to focus on horse training. "The rescue wasn't in the back of my mind then," she said. Then she got a call about a big stallion near Fullerton in need of help. "That was the start," said Val, her voice breaking as she recalled finding the horse in a tiny pen, covered in flies, with no shade, food or water.
Now called Dancer, he's the resident stud at Break Heart Ranch.
The Hinderliders have helped many horses since then. They've come to the ranch with open wounds, bad feet, the wear and tear of old age, and empty stomachs.
Treating and feeding them takes money. "You can't go into it expecting to make a living," John said. The Hinderliders have used their retirement money for the ranch, are applying for grants and have worked on possible fundraisers for their nonprofit organization.
Some horses will live the rest of their days at Break Heart Ranch. That includes Jet, the "untrainable mankiller" headed for slaughter who has bonded with Val.
And there's toothless Marie, who's being fed homemade "slurpies" in hopes she'll gain some weight. Val recognizes that euthanasia sometimes is the kindest thing she can do for a horse.
"But as long as they have the will," Val said, "there's nothing causing them a deep amount of pain and they enjoy life, I have no problem with them hanging on here."
If I had the money...this is what I'd be doing too...not that I'm not doing it already for one friends horse...and my old lawn ornaments..lol
Some were family pets, until their families lost interest in providing feed and medical care.
Some have had large, deep injuries to their minds, bodies and souls.
Some were rescued from sale barns frequented by professional buyers for horse processing plants.
And one, a 29-year-old Thoroughbred now named Marie, is a great-granddaughter of 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation. Marie was Martha's Ticket during her racing days and years as a brood mare.
Before coming to Break Heart Ranch in August, Marie was starving in Omaha under the care of an owner who knew nothing about caring for a geriatric horse, said ranch owner Val Hinderlider. "I don't know how she survived on what the guy was feeding her," she said as she watched the shy, still-thin Marie greet a neighbor, a blind, gray 31-year-old stallion.
Val and her husband, John, started Break Heart Ranch south of Norman about four years ago, after moving to Kearney County from The Dalles, Ore.
Looking for a fresh start, they took the advice of a young man they knew in Oregon who suggested they look at Nebraska, specifically his hometown of Minden.
Val was focused on training horses in Oregon, but had done some rescues. "I've loved horses since I knew what a horse was," she said.
Her first horse came from her dad when Val was 12 years old. "He had every vice a horse could have," she said. "I always thought and still believe he had been ruined by humans."
She thought if she tried harder, she could help that horse and others.
Life — a first marriage, children, work — took her down different roads, "but the horse thing never went away."
She met John at a trapshooting event, and they eventually moved to The Dalles.
Val's most important step toward accepting her special talent to communicate with horses came at a Portland, Ore., seminar by Monty Roberts, who is known for his gentle horse training techniques.
"I learned that my ideas were not some goofball ideas," she said. "They (horses) can't understand English, so I have to understand horse ... I had to learn a new language."
Even as the Hinderliders cleaned up their three-acre Kearney County property, added horse pens and fixed up the house, Val planned to focus on horse training. "The rescue wasn't in the back of my mind then," she said. Then she got a call about a big stallion near Fullerton in need of help. "That was the start," said Val, her voice breaking as she recalled finding the horse in a tiny pen, covered in flies, with no shade, food or water.
Now called Dancer, he's the resident stud at Break Heart Ranch.
The Hinderliders have helped many horses since then. They've come to the ranch with open wounds, bad feet, the wear and tear of old age, and empty stomachs.
Treating and feeding them takes money. "You can't go into it expecting to make a living," John said. The Hinderliders have used their retirement money for the ranch, are applying for grants and have worked on possible fundraisers for their nonprofit organization.
Some horses will live the rest of their days at Break Heart Ranch. That includes Jet, the "untrainable mankiller" headed for slaughter who has bonded with Val.
And there's toothless Marie, who's being fed homemade "slurpies" in hopes she'll gain some weight. Val recognizes that euthanasia sometimes is the kindest thing she can do for a horse.
"But as long as they have the will," Val said, "there's nothing causing them a deep amount of pain and they enjoy life, I have no problem with them hanging on here."
If I had the money...this is what I'd be doing too...not that I'm not doing it already for one friends horse...and my old lawn ornaments..lol