Meet The Herd

An amazing horse with an amazing story. A true gift from God to Michelle with the purpose of horseback ministry. Artistic expression of dance, performed by horse and rider in perfect unison delivering a message of hope and love.

Michelle and Miracle performed only two times but reached more than five thousand people in those two audiences.

Their journey would be cut short after Miracle was viciously poisoned in 2014 by an evil man who admitted to the crime. After we began to notice Miracle urinating blood the vet only gave him a year to live due to severe kidney damage. Praise God for sustaining him longer than his prognosis. Miracle lived until July 14, 2022, when he succumbed to the kidney damage and tumor caused by the poison.  

This horse had a passion for life that was unbelievable.

He was the most instrumental horse in the ranch ministry. We all feel as though Miracle knew his life was ordained by God for this purpose. The testimony of his life is extraordinary. We will forever hold him in our hearts and greatly miss him.

The senior member of our team. More than thirty years old, he holds the ranch record for teaching thousands of children to ride. When he came to us as an early teenager, he was very sick and almost died. However, prayers, Dr. Mclawhorn and loving care brought him back. Now by the grace of God, good feed, supplements, good pasture and lots of love, this senior equine is still thriving and shows up asking for his time with the kiddos.

This blonde beauty is a daughter of Miracle. She is a great grand daughter of the famous stallion  ''Hollywood Dun It''.

When only months old, her right eye was punctured through all four layers. The  emergency vet said,

"This is the worst eye injury I've ever seen! This filly  will lose her eye for sure! There is no recovery for it!"

However,  God had a different plan. We fervently prayed over her daily. After a year of immense holistic care under the instructions from Dr. McLawhorn, she has a beautiful eye with vison.

Her registered name bears her miraculous healing. "JR Dun It For Barbie". JR stands for "Jehovah-Rapha" The God who heals Dun It For Barbie!

Spending the better part of the first six years of his life locked in a stall because he was a stallion, this beautiful Paso Fino was purchased and saved from that situation by Ms. Betty Bennett, who is pictured here.

Ms. Betty put Tesoro in training with Michelle, who then spent months of loving therapy to change aggressive behavior. His trust toward her began to develop until he was thriving as a trusted, faithful partner. He ultimately became a two-time Paso Fino National Finals qualifier, racking up hundreds of points as a champion and grand champion. 

After retiring from her job, Ms. Betty moved out of state and gave ownership of Tesoro to Michelle so she could share his story of survival with the youth at the ranch. We later taught him to pull a cart so Ms. Betty could enjoy that when she visited from PA.

His previous owners said he would never be safe for anyone other than highly trained professionals. However, Tesoro is one of the best youth horses we have. Glory to God!

This is an amazing horse. He is a son of Miracle. He loves to play ball, carry things around in his mouth and he even paints on canvas holding a brush.

During his moms last trimester of pregnancy with him, she was attacked by a dog.

In an attempt to escape she tried to jump a five foot gate. Her hefty belly impeded her ability to clear the gate. The heavy mare crashed down on top it. The top two rails folded over trapping her back legs. Panic took over and she reared up and spun around. After losing her balance,  the mare fell backwards with both hind legs woven into the pipe rails.

The threat of a broken pelvis was high. This all happened so fast.

As help was arriving, a simple prayer was muttered, "God please help her!" Literally within seconds, she scrambled and stood up.

After being seen by a vet, he heard the heartbeat of unborn Digger.

We were so grateful, for he was predetermined to be used in ministry. Satan attacks in many ways, even our beloved pets, especially ones that bring Glory to God!

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What he lacks in size, he makes up for with heart. Donated to the ranch by Dr. Dail McLawhorn, who saw the need for a smaller mount. Thunder pulls a cart, enjoys birthday parties, and rides like a dream. With some additional training he soon became quite the little rodeo mini horse. His gentle spirit and love for all is so evident. There's no doubt God ordained this match up with our ranch. At the time of the donation, we had only a few little children. However, God always knows the end from the beginning. Within six weeks we gained seventeen new Thunder sized precious children.

Merlene came to us when she was six months

old. She has served as a guardian for our goats.

All the kids love her sweetness. She teaches many children that even if you look different from everyone else, it doesn't mean you have to be left out. 

One day she began pacing in her paddock which is adjacent to the arena. Each time we would do sessions with the children she would pace. We all felt like she was wanting to participate like the horses do.

We brought her into a session with some of our more experienced children, and she fit right in and allowed a blanket, then saddle, then bridle, then we cautiously introduced a rider.  She let out a big sigh, as if to say, "FINALLY"!

At this point in time Merlene was four years old and had never been started under saddle. Typically introduction to riding takes way longer, but she was insistent on being involved. She had been watching the sessions since she was six months old and obviously wanted to be a bigger part.

The kids are working with her and she is turning into quit the little rodeo donkey, and will soon begin learning how to pull a cart.

Moses is pictured here with his late owner Lynn R. 

 A very dear friend and supporter of our children and ministry.

Moses was Lynn's most dependable horse. His quiet nature and sturdy build make him a great fit for any child.

Unfortunately Lynn unexpectedly passed away in 2021. Her husband knew her love for the children and wanted Moses to be a part of their lives. We miss Lynn so much, and we are forever grateful to Ricky  for allowing us to bring Moses to the ranch and be an important part of the children's lives.