Toby's Legacy Equine Rescue

I am writing today about a wonderful non-profit that deserves your attention.  Don't worry, I am not going to preach to you about why you should donate to charity.  I don't often donate money to things.  I do offer time, when I have it.  This is one of those times...

The land. photo by Andrew Braggins

For Christmas, 2016, my family gave my mom and my aunt a day at Toby's Legacy Equine Rescue.  Why did we do this?  Because we prefer giving Experience over Material.  Also, my mother and aunt, sisters, grew up sharing their birthday gifts with each other.  For their birthdays, they would each get an hour horseback ride, but instead of using the hour, they shared their hour with their sister and got a half hour together.  On top of that, my mom regularly visits the horses at Mt. Sac during her workday.  When a colleague of Alyssa said she could arrange a day at the rescue in exchange for a little hard work and a monetary donation, we couldn't resist.

So what is a day at Toby's like?  The rescue is located in Hemet after about 2 miles of dirt roads.  We made it in the Scion but wouldn't have if the roads were muddy.

We arrived to the ranch and had a moment to take in the scenery.

We were then introduced to some of the horses we'd be working with as well as some other volunteers and ranch hands.  Immediately, we headed into the small pen, which houses donkeys and miniatures.

The work begins as we clean up piles of bad hay.  I was told that we saved the owner about 3 hours of hot sweaty work by lending a hand.

After a picnic lunch that we brought, we headed into the largest area to brush out the manes of the horses.  This is not as simple as it sounds.  You don't want to be stuck between two horses when they decide they want to fight for your attention.  On top of the head butting, chewing on the brushes, and muddy terrain, this was dangerous.

We spent only 5 hours there but it was the most rewarding 5 hours of my life.

They are a non-profit horse rescue and they need your help!  A small donation goes a long way!  You can do a small monthly subscription of as little as $2!  You can also make a one-time donation!  Donating is available here.  You can also contact them and see if you can volunteer your time!  It takes roughly $200 per month per horse to house and feed them.  Sincerely, this is a charity close to my heart and I know that my mom and aunt had a fantastic time.  Truth be told, this was also a gift for my wife and boys and myself.  Even my dad had a good time!