Florida Lunch & Learn Event
It was a beautiful day in Webster, Florida with clear blue skies and the sun shining down. However, 60 degree weather is still chilly for us Floridians and everyone was bundled up. As my friend and I arrived at Wild Horse Rescue Center, the first thing we saw was a beautiful buckskin gelding, standing in his paddock watching and waiting for carrots as people arrived. He belonged to the owner and founder, Diane Delano.
As we finished setting up and greeting people, Diane showed us their education center, filled with stories of horses from 30 years ago. The room was decorated with wild horse artwork and portraits. Books, collectables, and pictures of the rescue were displayed in glass cases throughout the center. A table stood in the corner, showing before and after of the horses Diane has rescued over the years.
Diane herself was warm and inviting, filled with knowledge and experiences over the past 30 years with wild horses and burros. She used to volunteer with the Bureau of Land Management as a compliance officer, and watched as people continuously abused the system and would send horses to slaughter or neglect them because they did not know how to properly handle a wild horse. She decided to give those people another option, and surrender horses to her rescue where she would gentle them and adopt them to loving homes.
She told me how some horses are just never the same and echoed that message to the group of passionate people who had braved the Floridian cold to learn more about American Wild Horse Conservation’s efforts as well as meet former wild horses and hear their stories. Many great questions were asked as I gave the background of AWHC and the solutions we advocate for. Many were interested in how these horses fell through the cracks as I talked about the difference between adoption, sale authority, and Adoption Incentive Program. Diane pitched in sharing her stories of reporting people who abused the system and the horses.
After a brief lunch break, everyone grabbed a bucket of carrots and followed Diane to the barn, where we met her beautiful buckskin mustang, Tatanka, from the Salt Wells Herd Management Area (HMA). As well as several other colorful mustangs from Double Devils Garden, Triple B, several Utah HMA’s as well as others, all branded with the BLM’s mark. My personal favorite was a dun gelding named Odi from Utah. He liked to lick the salt off my palm. We continued to feed and pet the mustangs, learning about each of their stories and Diane’s own observations how the horses from Nevada have been increasingly getting smaller.
She educated everyone about training methods, safe handling, feed, and how some horses will never truly be gentled, and talked about horses heart chakras and trauma indicators. It was clear her love for the horses resonated through her work, the volunteers, the community, and the horses. Diane told us several stories about horses that she drove out to a sanctuary in South Dakota, to let them roam. One story that stuck out to me was about a bay gelding that was originally placed with a trainer for the Extreme Mustang Makeover (EMM). The EMM is an event hosted by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, a former partner of the BLM, where trainers had 100 days to train a horse for competition, and to be offered for adoption at the end.
Diane said for several horses and trainers, it was a success, because they know safe handling and how to train and work with wild horses. For others it was less successful. Many decided to compete and end up traumatizing the horses. That was the case for the bay gelding. He was then brought to train in Florida under a well-known wild horse trainer, where the owner ghosted the trainer, and then Diane intercepted the horse. He was scared to be touched, especially in his poll area. We watched as Diane was gentle and slowly worked to touch him and lead him short distances.
Towards the end of the day, everyone was leaving and saying their thanks to both Diane and me. Many people appreciated the education and the connection to both our missions, but the wild horses as well. It is clear the wild horse issue has many faces on the range and off the range, but one thing we all have in common is our love for the horses and burros who have helped shape our lives.
I want to give a special thanks to Diane, Alicia, and the volunteers at the Wild Horse Rescue Center. While it may have been a chilly day, it was well worth the visit and I look forward to returning! You can learn more about their mission by visiting their website or Facebook page.
To learn more about American Wild Horse Conservation and our efforts you can visit our website and sign-up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss another event. If you are looking to take your passion a step further, consider volunteering with us to spread awareness and create change for our wild horses and burros.
