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Wes Kranz
In 1994 Sue and I started to off er educational
programs at our ranch and a few years later we began an animal assisted therapy activities program for individuals with special needs. School childr...view moreIn 1994 Sue and I started to off er educational
programs at our ranch and a few years later we began an animal assisted therapy activities program for individuals with special needs. School children and other organizations were offered the unique opportunity to interact with animals that had been given a second chance to share their unique gift . It was during the summer of 1994 that we received our first phone call from someone that no longer wanted to deal with the responsibility of caring for a horse. On the other side of the fence at the end of a grassy lane, a horse was pacing back and forth in a semi circle. The horse was tied to the bumper of an old car with a twenty or thirty foot piece of heavy rope. As we approached him with some apples, he stopped pacing and as we looked in his eyes we could see a horse in need of a second chance in their life.
While we continued with our programs, Sue and I realized the need to open our hearts and provide a home for horses with special needs. While searching for another horse that we could use in our animal assisted therapy programs, we had the opportunity to help a horse that was headed to a sale barn. Maddie would help change the course of our lives and show us how she could share her gift of unconditional love with others, with no questions asked.
Now sixteen years later, Sue and I share our
ranch with three rescued dogs and the horses
at Special Needs Ranch or as they are
affectionately called “the thundering herd.” Many of the horses living at the ranch today have been abused, neglected or abandoned
and have their own special needs. And although we both contiue to work “real jobs”, our real love is sharing a gentle nudge or a soft nicker with the horses of Special Needs Ranch. We continue to learn something new everyday through our interact ions with the horses while allowing them to run, roll in the mud and just be themselves.view less