COMPASSION
“I don’t know if you know much about horse people, but their horses tend to multiply,” Cara says with a laugh. A couple years earlier, Cara had learned how horses are shipped out of the U.S. for slaugh- ter. Many times, they are sick, injured, old, or emaciated, and the conditions are hor- ULࡼF ȉ,ZRXOGQRWUHFRPPHQG*RRJOLQJ that,” she says). This fueled Cara and Isaac’s dream of rescuing horses, and they estab- OLVKHGDQRQSURࡼWRUJDQL]DWLRQ7XFNHUȆV Place Equine Sanctuary, in early 2022. Their first rescue, Millie, was a former Amish workhorse with arthritic knees. “She came to live out her retirement with dignity, being loved and fed and cared for. She was so special to us,” Cara says. Another rescue quickly followed, an older, partially blind quarter horse, then another, a former workhorse with an injured foot. She was enormous—standing at 19 hands, or 6-foot-4 at her withers. Most recently, they brought home a pony that Cara hopes will eventually be used as a therapy pony. Cara and Isaac keep busy with an endless to-do list of farm chores, which includes feeding and grooming the horses, as well as general maintenance and other tasks. There is always a larger project Isaac is working on, too, but they still make ample time for family, church, the kids’ extracurricular activities, and work. Cara says she’s happy VKHFDQKDYHERWKDIXOࡼOOLQJFDUHHUDQGWKH opportunity to follow her passions outside RIWKHRࡺFH
THOUGH HER DAYS ARE LONG AND
FARM WORK CAN BE TOUGH, CARA SAYS SHE'S “HONORED TO HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO HAVE THESE AMAZING ANIMALS RIGHT IN OUR OWN BACKYARD.”
“I’m so grateful,” she says.
She’s also looking to the future. Though it’s not feasible right now, Cara would one day like to expand and rescue even more horses. “I had someone reach out to me who had a horse that she was trying to rehome because the owner wasn’t caring for it. I had to say no,” she says. “I want to have our farm set up in a way where we can say yes. My goal is to be able to say yes.”
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