Everyone needs a home for the holidays.
 
We are thrilled to offer OPEN ORIENTATIONS throughout the month of December to those who’d like to join our Tierra Madre volunteer family.
 
Open orientations include a tour of the ranch, a rundown of daily tasks and chores volunteers typically do throughout their shifts, and a brief horsemanship safety course during which you will get up close and personal with the gentlest of our herd!
 
These orientations will be taking place every Sunday in December: the 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th. Each Sunday, we’ll have an orientation at 8am and one at 10am.
 
No application or sign up is required to attend an open orientation. (There will be a waiver for you to sign upon arrival to the ranch, plus a small packet given to you for your review if you decide to become a volunteer, which we hope you do.)
 
All ages are welcome! Those aged 17 and under must have their parent or legal guardian sign a waiver on his or her behalf.
 
Stick around afterward to talk with our crew or hang out with a horse that spoke to you.
 
We can’t wait to meet you!
 

Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary is terribly saddened to inform you of the recent passing of one of our board members.
 
Not only was Kimberly Goguen Rice one of our greatest friends & supporters, she was also one of the world’s great horsewomen, treating our horses with the same degree of love, compassion & enthusiasm as she did her international champions.
 
As we mourn her loss deeply, we also celebrate her life with the same zeal that she brought to everything & everyone she touched.
 
Vaya con Dios, Kim.
 
We’re honored that you thought of us as family.

For the nearly decade-&-a-half of its life, Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary has had one singular mission: to give a happy, healthy, forever home to scores of horses that had been previously abandoned, neglected, injured, abused or surrendered. And we’ve been very successful in doing so, horse after horse, year after year. Nearly seventy horses have called Tierra Madre “home” over the years. And our horses have been as happy & as healthy as they could have ever imagined.
 
As time has progressed, though, we began to notice that the horses that had been healed & made well again were, themselves, becoming healers in their own right.
 
Our volunteers & visitors began to talk about how the horses were helping them through their various challenges, whether emotional, spiritual or psychological. And those people kept coming back – to be with their favorite horse or horses. Some come several times a week & some come only occasionally – when they need their horse ‘therapy’.
 
Soon, entire classes of young people on varying levels of the autism scale – as many as 20 children at a time – began coming every week as part of their curriculum.
 
And, then, a couple of programs that help those transitioning from homelessness back into society began bringing their clients on a weekly basis.
 
And a number of people in recovery from substance abuse came & some have never left, saying that the innate honesty & spirituality of Tierra Madre’s horses were helping them greatly in their quests for long-term sobriety & happiness.
 
We developed an Equine Experiential Coaching program for one-on-one & small group sessions to help people with emotional traumas & other issues in their backgrounds.
 
And, over the past few months, we’ve had numerous organizations reach out to us to design programs specifically for their clients.
 
It was as if the universe was pointing us in a specific direction. It was telling us that the horses we’ve helped & are helping are healers themselves. And, really, it completes the circle we’ve always envisioned: people helping horses to heal & then, having those horses helping people to heal. It’s incredible to see & experience.
 
Well, we’re formalizing our new expanded mission – that of our horses helping people – & we’re in the process of developing our own outreach program to expand the number of people we can help.
 
We’re growing.
 
Yes, we are.
 
We’re growing so we can help more spirits that, through no fault of their own, find themselves in need – both two-legged & four.
 
Now, the official introduction of our new, expanded mission will be unveiled at our annual fundraiser in October, but we kinda thought you guys should know now.
 
So that’s what I’m doing today.
 
We will be adding two words to our name – two words that reflect who we’ve actually been for a while & what we’ll be on into the future.
 
From now on, starting on October 12th, we will be calling ourselves ‘Tierra Madre Horse & Human Sanctuary’.
 
To be part of the newest chapter, begin by buying your tickets to our fourth annual benefit fundraiser, during which we will launch as Tierra Madre Horse & Human Sanctuary for the first time. Buy them HERE.
 
Stay tuned!

Join Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary on October 12th for happy hour on an evening you won’t soon forget.
 
Share drinks and stories with members of the Tierra Madre family. Participate in a silent auction filled with amazing items that show off the Tierra Madre herd. Best of all, listen to core members of the Tierra Madre team speak about its latest mission: to complete the circle of healing between human and horse. In our one-hour program, you’ll watch never-before-seen videos – produced exclusively by the ranch – that display the magic behind the brand and show the world what a connection with a horse can do for the spirit.
 
The Foothills Community Foundation will host this annual event on Friday, October 12th. Doors open at 3:45pm. The program will tentatively run from 5-6pm with a cash bar operating throughout. Tickets are $30 per person and $50 per couple. All ages welcome; guests must be 21 years of age or older to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.
 
Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com.

 

We’re having a $1 Garage Sale this Saturday aka TOMORROW!
 
Stop by Carefree Consignment between 7am and 11am where EVERYTHING is a dollar! Find some truly one-of-a-kind treasures from electronics, vintage clothing, music and DVDs, jewelry, horse items, and SO much more.
 
100% of proceeds go to our horses!
 
A huge thank you goes to our Ambassador Director Debbie for organizing this event as well as our friend Victoria at Carefree Consignment for being such a lovely hostess! We also want to thank the Sonoran News for posting this ad in their paper – we appreciate you!
 
Help us spread the word far and wide. Can’t wait to see you on Saturday!
 
Carefree Consignment
100 Easy St.
Carefree, AZ (inside the Carefree Post Office Building)
 

June is an eventful month at Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary. We’ve been battling staying cool and sopping up Jim’s bedroom (his water heater finally gave out and flooded the place. We got it replaced same day thanks to the amazing Parker & Sons. Ask for Ben!)
 
We said goodbye to Solo last Tuesday. His laminitis caught up to him quickly and he was dropping weight like nobody’s business. We loved him too much to let him suffer so he was released to the Great Herd.
 

 
In May, we gained an older horse who needed a second chance. His name is Oliver and he’s incredibly sweet.
 

 
On June 2nd, we gained two new additions: a mom and baby pair of wild mustangs that had been rounded up and taken to a livestock auction. Mama’s name is Journey and her son is Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Jack for short). Jack has absolutely no fear of people and is very into getting full-body scratches from anyone who will offer. Journey is still standoffish of people, but she’s not at all agressive and watches quietly as Jack gets loved up by volunteers. Since they were on the reservation, Dr. Keyser ordered that they be on a 3 week quarantine, just to make sure they wouldn’t bring anything into the ranch and have it spread to our horses. However, all the kids have been totally fine and their quarantine is over as of Friday, June 22nd… which is just in time for our first event.
 

 
On Saturday, June 23rd, we are having an Open Ranch! Come out and visit the new additions and see firsthand how our summer operations go. It starts at 8 and goes until 11. Invite your friends and family to visit us!
 
On Monday, June 25th, we are having our first Kid’s Day. For $50, kids ages 5-12 are invited to learn horsemanship, safety, and have fun with our herd. For more information and the sign-up link, visit the “Kid’s Day” tab in our menu bar.
 
In an effort to continue our philosophy of transparency, we always need donations and sponsors for our horses, ESPECIALLY in the summer when money slows down because let’s be real, it’s hot and not the “season for giving” like the fall and winter. However, our summer is when we need the most donations. Between water bills, hay deliveries, and dumpster hauls, our expenses are higher than ever. This is also due to the summer being a more dangerous time for colic episodes and hoof issues, leading to an increase in vet bills. If you’d like to sponsor a horse or make a donation, head to our “How You Can Help” tab and click DONATE. Thank you.

We at Tierra Madre would like to thank all of those who joined us at our Earth Day Arts and Crafts Festival on April 21st! All of us had a blast and are really looking forward to possibly doing this next year.
 
At the end of the day, we raised $2.1k for the ranch. Also, because of that beautiful number, we have finally paid off our outstanding bill at Chaparral Veterinary Medical Center.
 
After 10 long years, our balance is a big, fat $0. Absolutely no debt!
 
We’d like to thank all of the vendors that were a part of this event, and we are very grateful that some of them donated a part of their profit that day. This sense of community really means a lot to our little sanctuary. Next, we’d like to thank everyone who came to visit us. We saw some familiar faces and made a bunch of new friends. We hope to see you all in the future! Finally, THANK YOU all of the volunteers that came in the morning and did chores, set-up, ran tables and activities, manned the gate, gave tours, and stayed around afterwards to tear everything down. We definitely couldn’t have done it without you.
 

 

 

Plugging our address into GPS will sometimes take you on a wild goose chase! Follow these directions instead:
 
Once you are on Tatum Boulevard, turn west onto Pinnacle Vista. (Turn right if you are driving south on Tatum, left if you are driving north.)
 
Once you are on Pinnacle Vista, take your very first left onto 47th street. This turn comes up after about 50 feet.
 
Stay on 47th street. It will curve to the right and turn into Bajada Road. Stay on the road until you go over two speed bumps and the road turns to dirt. We are the very first thing on the righthand side.
 
SEE YOU SOON!

We are FIVE days away from this awesome event!
 
Come out to browse and shop some of the best art and craftwork Cave Creek has to offer: photography, fused glass art, chandeliers, dream catchers, paintings, Western cards and gift bags, reclaimed wood art, art and jewelry from used car parts, organic lotions and body products, wood signs, ceramics and jewelry, saguaro plaques… you name it, you’ll find it here on Saturday!
 
We’re also so excited to welcome our friends from the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group who will be selling their beautiful handmade products including horse-themed jewelry and merchandise. They do incredible work for the Salt River wild horses, so be sure to stop by their booth and learn about their organization!
 
Since it’s an arts fair, each of our horses will be creating one-of-a-kind pieces of art, where they paint on canvases in a variety of different colors and styles. For $20 you can take home a truly unique painting from one of the Tierra Madre herd. And, best of all, you can create your own painting on artist paper with a horse during the day!
 
Don’t forget to come hungry, as Noodles A GoGo will be serving up some truly delicious food and Iced Out Italian Ice will be selling frozen treats to keep us cool.
 
See you on Saturday!
 
~
 
Directions to our facility:
 
We are at 27115 N. 45th Street | Cave Creek, AZ 85331. We are on the southwest corner of Tatum and Dynamite.
 
However, plugging our address into GPS will sometimes take you on a wild goose chase! Follow these directions instead:
 
Once you are on Tatum Boulevard, turn west onto Pinnacle Vista. (Turn right if you are driving south on Tatum, left if you are driving north.)
 
Once you are on Pinnacle Vista, take your very first left onto 47th street. This turn comes up after about 50 feet.
 
Stay on 47th street. It will curve to the right and turn into Bajada. Stay on the road until you go over two speed bumps and the road turns to dirt. We are the very first thing on the righthand side.
 
Parking will be along the dirt road.