THE PENDULUM
Second Chance Ranch
provides a new life for
blind horses
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"jT X LIBBY 0£AN 1 Photographer
V Psychologist Emilie Storch leads Belle, a 19-year-
old horse who became blind from an eye disease.
Libby Dean
Reporter
Promise was a strong,
healthy Thoroughbred horse.
She was born on a Kentucky
horse farm, bred as a racehorse.
She was full of potential. She
was beautiful and fast, and
before she was 1 year old, she
was already worth more than
$25,000.
One day. Promise hit her
head at the farm and damaged
her optic nerve, causing her to
go blind.
Her owners tended to
her in hopes that she would
regain her sight, but when
a veterinarian informed the
owners that Promise was
permanently blind, she was
considered worthless and
arrangements were made to
have her euthanized.
Belle was a 19-year-old
Appaloosa/draft mix. She was
a strong horse, who became
blind from the eye disease
equine uveitis, and because of
her blindness she was sent to
a slaughterhouse to be killed
so her meat could be used to
make dog food.
Fortunately psychologist
EmilieStorch, who rehabilitates
and cares for blind horses, the
lives of Promise and Belle were
spared.
Storch owns Second Chance
Ranch, a 40-acre horse farm
located in Madison, N.C., about
an hour’s drive from Elon.
Storch said her mission is to
increase public awareness
about blind horses and their
potential for riding.
Storch’s campaign is also
known as “Flurry's Hope,”
after the first of Storch’s blind
horses, who served as the
inspiration to create a blind
horse farm. Storch lived on a
small farm when Flurry was
given to her. The horse was
blind but trusting, kind and
brave she said.
Flurry unexpectedly died
in May 2007, and Storch was
so inspired by Flurry that she
started Flurry’s Hope.
Roger Southern, manager of
Second Chance Ranch, said the
farm relocated to its present
location in Februrary.
Second Chance Ranch
currently holds 18 horses, 11
of them blind, but the number
fluctuates as more horses
are brought to the ranch.
The ranch accepts horses
from across the country and
currently houses horses from
states Oklahoma, Minnesota,
Pennsylvania, Florida and
Louisiana.
For a horse to be admitted to
Second Chance Ranch, it must
fit certain criteria. The horse
must be able to be ridden, in
good health and would have
otherwise been killed, Storch
said.
“1 think it’s criminal to
send a perfectly healthy horse
to death because they are
blind,” Storch said. “The world
is caught up with this idea of
perfection and needs to realize
that these horses are perfectly
fine."
Storch said she prefers
blind horses. Blind horses will
not get “spooked,” or startled,
she said. Instead, they are
gentle, loving and will never
run away. Storch said she also
feels a close bond with blind
horses.
“There is an incredible
rider-horse connection with
blind horses,” she said. “There
is so much trust involved, and
the horses are so connected
to you because they place so
much trust in you.”
Southern said riding a
blind horse is not much
different than riding a sighted
horse because, with each case,
the rider controls the horse’s
direction with reigns.
Driving up. Second Chance
Ranch looks like any other
horse farm, with horses grazing
lazily in the pasture, walking
around and interacting with
each other. There are paths for
horseback riding, a large barn
and dogs and cats casually
roam around.
“There is not a whole lot of
differences between a blind
horse and a sighted horse,”
Storch said. “Their senses get
so acute that you almost forget
that the horses are blind.”
Storch said the horses can
sense objects around them by
their keen sense of hearing.
One horse. Diamond, knew
to walk around a sign in the
pasture. The horse heard
sounds bouncing off of the
sign and knew that she was
approaching an obstacle.
Storch said this is a common
occurrence.
“Second Chance Ranch
is based around the idea of
redemption,” Storch said.
“These horses didn’t have
any hope, and now they are
becomimg all that they were
made to be. These horses
are not just coping—they’re
excelling here."
Second Chance Ranch is
run by volunteers, and Storch
said they are always looking
for new volunteers to come
and help out with the ranch.
“These horses seem to be
saying to the world, ‘Look
and see what 1 can accomplish
when 1 get the chance,'” Storch
said. “We’re so blessed to be
doing what we do for these
horses.”
orth Cm&
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