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About River Pines Horse Sanctuary
Est. 1977
An organization dedicated to providing forever homes to abandoned, abused and neglected horses. We specialize in accepting horses with social and/or emotional rehabilitation issues. We provide a natural, herd-based living environment offering safety, health enhancement, companionship, and play for horses in need.
When appropriate, our horses then assist in teaching human development, social and emotional intelligence skills, nature immersion, and basic natural horsemanship for children and adults of all ages. Many of our horses also participate in providing community service opportunities for at-risk youths, assisting in developing knowledge and equine-based skills.
They assist in increasing community awareness through our service projects such as volunteer opportunities, equine skill-based internships and mentoring opportunities. We also provide opportunities for horse husbandry and equine management programs for disadvantaged and at-risk youth on an individual basis.
River Pines Horse Sanctuary offers mentoring programs for local high school Senior Projects. Seniors may learn about the business-end of rescues and sanctuaries, rescued horses, equine care and management, natural horsemanship and equine science.
We accept donations such as hay, grain, grooming tools, winter blankets for small to extra-large horses, and cash, checks, visa, master-card and other gift cards for daily maintenance and feed, medical emergencies, humane euthanasia, shelter creation and maintenance, fencing materials and more in order to provide and care for these amazing animals.
Monetary donations and volunteer help are especially appreciated!
Meet the Herd: Our Residents - Click on a photo to read their story
Our Mission & Philosophy
Our Mission
Providing a safe home for horses in need.
We provide sanctuary for horses, ponies, mules and burros experiencing neglect, physical and emotional abuse, and/or abandonment. Providing sanctuary to us means providing a safe home, in most cases including permanent, end-of–life care, for all our equines.
And what is a safe home?
A safe home for us means providing a peaceful, herd-based environment offering safety, health enhancement, companionship and play.
Many of our horses come from situations of abandonment and neglect, having had little to no training or negative and/or abusive experiences with humans. We provide time and space, where horses can regain a sense of safety amongst the herd while having their personal boundaries respected by humans. In time, we provide training when and as appropriate, and start building respectful, trust-based relationships between our horses and the humans they interact with.
We ensure our horses are healthy, both physically and emotionally, whether this means bringing them back to a state of health or maintaining their health throughout their lives.
Our horses live in groups, allowing them to form bonds and experience companionship and play with each other.
Ultimately, we seek the highest possible outcome for our animals in alignment with our core values of optimal health, safety and socialization for the horses; ensuring dignity and respect for each individual animal; using mindfulness in every interaction with each horse; and finally, cultivating each horse’s potential through natural, respectful and sentient training methods.
Our Guiding Philosophy
We believe each individual in our care deserves the same respect and dignity we offer our human companions.
Based on scientific research measuring brain activity, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and all other species (any creature with an amygdala) are now considered to be sentient beings similar to humans. Recent studies have shown neural transmitter responses similar to humans when exposed to experiences of attachment, fear, separation, play and more.
With this in mind, we believe in practicing mutual respect, and engaging in trust-based, appropriate training and play with the animals who live here. Through doing so, we can educate and train consensual leadership skills, an attitude of mutual aid, community building, sustainable lifestyle skills, and optimal physical and emotional health for all who participate here.
Safety is a primary focus for all horses and humans. Further, we value authenticity, individuality, authentic community, and consensual leadership.
All are welcome, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or challenges of body or mind unless appropriate safety measures cannot be addressed.
Nature and the environment are to be treated with respect, consideration, and sustainability.
Meet Our Team
Board of Directors
SHARI MONTANA – Executive Director and Temporary Secretary/Treasurer
My first memory is being on the back of a black horse named Trigger – riding in front of my Uncle Jack at age 2! It’s been a love affair/obsession with horses ever since. We couldn’t afford a horse when I was growing up, so I begged and borrowed horses from friends, relatives and strangers to love on and ride – I was the kid in the pasture who hung out and played with the horses for hours on end without riding or grooming – just watching and being with…I always wanted to just be one of them – to be in a horse body – so elegant, peaceful and self-contained – casually grazing with a twinkle in my eye and always on alert…I smelled them, drew them, read about them…At 25, I rented a horse – for lessons and riding – we lived near Los Angeles at the time and when I realized I couldn’t afford to buy land to bring him home, I convinced my husband to move to the countryside in Washington state so I could finally have a horse to touch and smell every day! It took a few years until I purchased my first horse, Timmy, when I was 29 years old. He was a 2 year-old grade bay gelding and as gentle as a breeze – but - he soon taught me how much I didn’t know about horses – about their feed needs, upkeep, exercise needs, training and guidance, appropriate equipment – I bought my beautiful western saddle before I had the horse so of course it didn’t come close to fitting him – and as he matured it only got worse. This was the beginning of my life-long search for the latest and greatest in horse husbandry, horsemanship and finally to the best in equine science I can find. I began rescuing and rehabilitating horses that were abused and neglected – usually starving – and discovered the most profound satisfaction in bringing these horses not only back into their healthy bodies, but I began exploring what I could do to bring them to into that state of elegant contentment that I loved to see in them when hanging out in the pasture – and that is my ultimate goal for each of our sanctuary horses here at RPHS – peaceful contentment, elegant beauty and most important their physical and emotional well-being.
SARA MCKAY – Temporary President and Business Advisor
CHRISTINA CARRUTHERS – Temporary Vice President and Farm Manager