Growing Pains

Do you remember growing pains? The wake you up in the middle of the night kind that you just couldn't shake? Sometimes a warm bath or a massage from mom would help, but those kind of pains feel deep, and are hard to ignore. And yet, they are imperative for healthy growth - which is where we are at with Gypsy's Heart Rescue & Sanctuary.

Growth is not always just getting bigger and older. Sometimes, it's learning something new even though you're already older. For Reece and Duncan, growing pains have been learning how to function as blind horses that used to be able to see. It's one thing to be born blind. You don't know what you don't know, right? But depending on the sense of sight for over a decade and then losing it, and now having to learn a new way to depend on all the other senses instead is a whole different ball game. It takes grit, resilience, and an immense amount of trust. How do you explain that to a horse?

I'm going to do some spotlights on our amazing animals individually, but the short version for Duncan and Reece is that they both lost their sight gradually due to genetic circumstances. Now, you may already know that horses usually have good vision, but did you know that they have wide-set eyes in order to have a 350-360 degree field of sight? They also use their eyes together (binocular vision) like we do, but more often utilize monocular vision, meaning they use their eyes independently, which helps them watch for predators! They have superb depth perception and night vision as well, and see in only two colors which acts similarly to night vision goggles but 24 hours a day. So how much do you think horses depend on their vision? It's literally their main defense mechanism for early detection of danger. To lose that, for a horse, often means death.

It could have meant death. for Duncan and Reece. Euthanasia was considered for both of them before they found GHRS. They have both given us SO much trust and love. In return, they have true safety. They have a smaller space so they can know it perfectly. Nothing in their space ever changes position so they don't ever have to search for food and water. They are both learning voice commands to help them navigate uncertain surroundings. It's a process, but they give it their all, and so de we. You really should come meet them. They are simply WONDERFUL.

Growth for GHRS has been faster than we anticipated. We started with one senior rescue in August of 2025, and in less than a year we provided rescue and/or sanctuary to another 6 horses, 4 goats, and umpteen chickens and ducks. (Some of the chickens are not rescues...you can talk to my wife about that obsession lol). We have intake requests still pending. We're gonna need more space. We also feed and care for these animals 100% ourselves, and while our 501(c)(3) status is pending (after which we can apply for some grant help), we depend on donations from our community to stay afloat. Anything is helpful. Truly, anything.

So if you have a heart for senior or special needs animals like we do, or believe that our mission is honorable, please consider making a donation. It doesn't have to just be a one-sided gift, either! We offer several services you can benefit from: animal care and groundwork lessons, health coaching, sponsorship or lease opportunities, and every dollar that goes toward any of these things is truly a donation that goes 100% back to the animals. Always.

Check us out. Come meet some of the sweetest, snuggliest horses alive. Horses who've faced death and said "I deserve to live and be loved." Horses who won. We'd so love to have you, but more importantly, THEY love visitors and would really love to meet you.