Livingston, Mont. — A draft horse sanctuary in Livingston has given older and injured horses a place to recover while inviting the public to meet them during weekly open house events.
Volunteers show up week after week to spend time with horses that had been hurt, neglected or left without a place to go at the United in Light Draft Horse Sanctuary.
For volunteer Moses Feltenstein, the experience goes beyond simply being around large animals.
“It’s really a great opportunity to experience horses if you’re new to them or just experience horses in a way where you don’t get anything from them. It’s experiencing nature and experiencing an animal together,” said Moses Feltenstein.
Feltenstein, a volunteer with United in Light, explained that many of the horses have been through trauma and abuse and still show care toward people.
“When I’m with the horses who have been hurt or horses who have been through a lot of trauma, and they're here and they just show so much love to humans, especially something that did hurt them in the past, it just shows how much you can care for someone, whether it’s a human or not,” said Moses Feltenstein.
Deborah Derr, founder and president of United in Light Draft Horse Sanctuary, says the nonprofit began in 2003 and focuses on draft horses that were older, injured, abused and neglected.
“So, United in Light was started and founded in 2003, and we are a nonprofit that solely deals with the draft horses that are elder, injured, abused and neglected,” said Derr.
The sanctuary in Livingston rescues draft horses from across the country. Draft horses are bred for heavy work, and many arrive at United in Lightwith injuries or signs of past trauma.
“You can see she’s bare here on her mane from a harness. They have these thick harnesses, horses that do draw, pull, and everything like that, and you can see the grey from it. She’s got grey from a halter here. She has a scar on her nose, many of the draft horses that come to us have that,” said Derr.
The sanctuary opens its gates in the summer starting in June during weekly public events so visitors can spend time with the horses and learn about their stories.
The effort to care for the horses also depends heavily on volunteers as part of broader animal rehabilitation work happening around Montana.
One example of the broader animal rehabilitation efforts happening across Montana is the Montana Wild Center in Helena, which is run by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to rehabilitate different bird species.
For Feltenstein, seeing the progress of animal rehabilitation for the horses matters most.
“Just seeing all the horses come out here, you know, slowly start to trust people again, slowly start to show more love. It just, it means a lot knowing that we could do something like that for horses or just for anything in general,” said Feltenstein.
He says the work of animal rehabilitation shows what can happen when people stay present and give back to animals in their care.