Good Shepherd Healing Ministries Horse Rescue

This horse rescue is dedicated to * Saving neglected and abused horses from slaughter * Rehabilitating horses in a loving and caring environment * Providing ongoing care with a healthy diet and veterinarian care as needed * Facilitating daily hands-on contact from volunteers and staff to enrich the horses' lives and help them learn to trust again

Over fifty (50) horses receive food and care at our horse rescue. Many volunteers provide much care and love and see to their grooming each week

Maria Jones formed Good Shepherd Healing Ministries in 2011 as a Non-Profit Corporation under Arizona State Laws, filing status 16686465. Ms. Jones has thirty-plus years of working in the horse community: training, caring for, riding, and showing. It was over the course of the thirty years that Ms. Jones found herself at auctions saving horses from slaughter. At that point, the determination was made to establish a safe environment for these horses.

Good Shepherd was founded with one fundamental focus: the rescue of horses experiencing emotional/physical trauma, through neglect, abuse, abandonment, or being sent to the kill pen. To provide this service to the community, the Non-Profit does not have any staff on payroll.

Testimonials

At first, I thought I found Good Shepherd by chance, but soon realized it was God's plan. The horses I learned to love were broken in spirit, rescued from kill pens, or ill-treated. They had nothing left. But a second chance at life was given to them in a safe and loving environment which allowed them a place to run and be a horse. This also applied to many of us who volunteer. The horses give back so much more with their trust, patience, and love. Children who have emotional or neurological issues find comfort and solace while working with the horses. These huge creatures can sense when you're sad or scared. They are great listeners, and their body language gives much-needed reassurance that everything will be alright. In a low time in my life, I was lost, and The Good Shepherd rescued me. It's time we let the world know that these horses need us more than ever to keep them safe from harm's way. I couldn't agree more with author Joanne Verikios who said, "The horse is not here to reward your ego, to compete with you, to punish you, to control you. The horse responds to who you are, how you feel, what you think, and what you do. The horse is here to enable you to learn how to be a better you and that is a blessing."