emotional work—it all continues whether you’re ready or not,” Sarah said. But on days that feel impossible, when Sarah questions if she’s making enough of a difference, there are moments that remind her why she does this: Pete finally allowing her to touch his face without pulling away, Bruce able to gallop for the first time in over a year as his hoof heals and Thunder, after monthly anti- inflammation shots and proper feed, finally running with the herd and as a thank you, showing his trust by standing closer, letting her into his space. When asked if he ever saw his home turning into a sanctuary, Trey said: “My wife has supported me and our business since day one. When she asked for my support, it felt great to be able to return the favor.” “I am not an animal person by nature, and I am the textbook definition of a workaholic. Having these amazing creatures here who depend on you, showing up for them for their survival, opened my heart in a way that I never expected,” he said. “You see their soul when you look into their eyes. You see their fear, their hurt and their thanks. It teaches you to slow down and see the beauty in people as well. If I reflect honestly, I must admit, I think the sanctuary rescued me as well.” The long-term vision for the sanctuary is still evolving. The Canyon House needs more space, more helping hands and more awareness. Right now, the sanctuary is at maximum capacity and that’s a hard reality to face when Sarah knows there are so many more horses out there in need of help. But for now, she will continue to use her platform to educate and advocate for these gentle giants. If you’d like to support The Canyon House, you can visit canyonhousesanctuary.org to learn more about the sanctuary’s story, meet the horses and make a donation, where 100 percent of contributions go directly to the horses. You can also follow The Canyon House on Instagram at @the.canyonhouse, where Sarah shares heartwarming and inspiring moments of daily life at the sanctuary.
Trey making the rounds
And while this work is fulfilling, it is certainly not easy. “You think they’re going to come in and you’re going to bond with them immediately, and they’re going to love you and trust you. And it’s absolutely not like that,” Sarah said. “They finally get here and they’re like, ‘Where am I? What are you going to do to me?’ And it’s not an immediate connection,” she said. “Sometimes it takes months and months and months to connect and say, ‘Okay, how can I help you? What do you need?’ And I just sit there, and I’ll stare at them and try to figure them out.” Among the sanctuary’s notable horses are Pete, aka Little Pete, a 2,000-pound, 20-hand-tall draft horse who, despite being only four years old, suffers from a paralyzed larynx and stringhalt, conditions that prevent him from doing any kind of riding work. Then there are Thunder and Mabel, who were so distrustful of humans that Sarah couldn’t even catch them at first. And then there’s Bruce, another large draft horse with a severely cracked hoof. “He couldn’t even walk. The people who owned him before just kept working him until he was physically unable to move,” Sarah said. Bruce required an all-star farrier team. Through Sarah’s networking with other rescues across the country, she was able to connect with Pete May, a renowned farrier who is in such high demand that he is very reluctant to take on new clients. Through their shared devotion to horse care, Sarah was able to convince Pete to help Bruce. Bruce lived at Pete’s ranch in Texas for six months, debriding dead tissue, binding his cracked hoof and creating custom shoes for this 1,800-pound giant so that he could finally make his way to his forever home at The Canyon House. When people ask how she balances the sanctuary, motherhood to two-year-old Beau and a full-time job, Sarah’s answer is simple: “You just do it. You wake up every day, knowing that lives depend on you, and you keep moving forward. There’s no time to dwell on how overwhelming it can be, because the horses don’t wait. The feedings don’t wait. The medical care, the rehabilitation, the
Bruce's hoof
The eyes of Bruce
18 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com March | April 2025
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