Our Wounded Healers

Meet Our Therapy Animals

Horses have become the most popular animal to use in animal therapy because they give immediate feedback to the client.  Horses have a keen ability to mirror the feelings of a person promoting a sense of trust, between human and horse. However, at The Lucky Horse Sanctuary we utilize several different types of animals, all which can have a healing effect on humans.

Some horses will test you,

Some will teach you,

And some will bring out the best in you

Jewel R.S.

Meet Jewel R.S. The R.S. stands for Resident Sweetheart and that she is.  It’s her job is to give hugs and kisses to everyone at LHS.  Jewel is 15 years old, and our burro was rescued from the American Mustang Herd.  Like thousands of wild mustangs and burros, Jewel’s mother was removed from the wild by the Federal Governments Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to control the population of horses competing for cattle grazing land. Jewel was born in captivity and auctioned off by the BLM and eventually adopted by LHS three years ago.

Donkeys & Burros make wonderful therapy animals, often assisting in Equine therapy.  They are very social animals and like company and develop very strong emotional attachments with other animals and people.  Clients can benefit from just grooming or stroking a gentle burro, such as Jewel.

Faith

Faith is a beautiful senior, Arab mare.  She is 39 years old, making her 105 in horse years.

Faith was living in squalor at the time of rescue at a local barn. Animal control was called on the owner over 100 times in one year!  When Faith finally arrived at the Lucky Horse Sanctuary, she was evaluated and treated.  Her teeth had not been floated in over 15 years, she was 300 lbs underweight, and was living untreated with Cushing’s Disease.

Although Faith continues to struggle with health issues from Cushing’s Disease, she is a remarkable and beautiful horse.  Her kind temperament makes her a wonderful addition to our animal therapy team.

Eve

Eve is our magnificent senior Iberian mare. She is 27 years old and was abandoned in the Florida Everglades along with 4 other ponies. She was rescued by law enforcement after having lost over 400lbs. Her body, legs, and hooves sustained severe damage because of her trying to find her way home and getting caught up in barbwire. Eve also sustained liver and neurological damage due to feeding on vegetation in the everglades that is toxic to horses.

Eve was taken into care by Miami’s ASPCA before becoming a much-loved therapy horse at LHS. Eve gives our clients a message of hope that one can lead a meaningful life after facing death.

Grace

Grace, like countless discarded horses, found herself in Texas at a livestock auction for meat buyers. Grace was waiting to be trailed to Mexico to a meat processing plant.  Just moments before loading the trailer, LHS outbid the meat buyer’s offer. Grace, our “youngest senior at 18 years old, was loaded on a different trailer that day and headed south to retire in Florida.  After 6 weeks of being transported across the country, Grace arrived at LHS.  At LHS, Grace received much-needed veterinary care.

Today she is healthy and happy and is our “unicorn’.   She is highly desirable amongst our clients and is kind and patient to everyone she meets.

Murphy, Max & Honey

Murphy, Max & Honey were found abandoned in South Florida after their owners moved to Vermont and left them behind uncared for on the property. They were hungry and needed immediate care. Alpacas make wonderful therapy animals as they are calm, safe to be around, smart, and easy to train. They offer unconditional acceptance and thrive with socialization, making them perfect therapy animals.

Mary, Alvin & Ivy

Mary was one of the first sheep adopted by LHS. She was brought to the local action, after her “job” at a petting zoo was over. Animals that are not purchased at auctions typically are sent off to slaughter. LHS knew that Mary needed a second chance at life. Five months after she arrived at our farm, Mary had two little baby lambs: Alvin & Ivy. We had no idea she was pregnant. Apparently, she was not the only sheep that needed a chance at life.