Every Horse Needs A Home

Della Gaar from ATRanch in Lathrop, California, would like to do just that.

When the sun settled for the evening, two girls, Della and Margie, ages ten and seven, would sneak into the slaughterhouse across the road and ride the horses. One night, the Police were called, and the Police asked the owner what he wanted to do about it? He looked down at the two girls and asked, “If I give you a horse, will you stop breaking in here?” “Yes!” they both replied. That is how it all started for Della.

Her love for horses began at age ten, and now in her seventies, Della remembered how happy she felt about that old gray horse gifted to her and her sister long ago.

In 2010, widowed and having a life of traveling with horses, doing shows, running teams, and living on a sprawling ranch in California, the ATRanch rescue was founded, a 501(c)3, would provide horses who deserve a second chance a safe place.

We had the opportunity to meet Della and walk around her ranch through our Harvest Host membership. Traveling south in California and returning to our home base to prepare for our winter travel, we called for availability for one night. Della answered and said, “Oh sure, come on in.” A short drive off the I-5 freeway, we arrived around 6 PM. Just enough time to get parked, make some dinner, and take an evening stroll around the ranch. We were met by Kathy, who graciously gave us the lay of the land. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. We were happy we chose this spot to overnight.

ATRanch also provides boarding as well as rescue. I don’t know the order of who is a rescue and which ones is boarded. Anytime rescue is your business, it can be heart-wrenching. My heart goes out to anyone who can take on the task of rescuing animals. I don’t know if I could do it. Della takes them in, provides care, and does whatever it takes to bring them back to health before they find their new home.

All the ranch’s animals are very well cared for; that is evident. You’ll find a couple of thoroughbreds on the property; they just don’t want to run. It’s unfortunate they have to be rehomed under those circumstances.

I have not been around horses too much in my life. Wolf has, and he was so excited to walk around and give them all a pet, and one even got a brush. I was apprehensive about getting too close to the horses that evening; they are so big! They are a lot bigger than my two pocket puppies and German Shepherd. They are gorgeous animals.

The following day I felt a little more comfortable and gave them a rub on their noses.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Della to hear her story of how it all began. She is warm and personable. I enjoyed our chat. You really do feel like family. We had a great time on our short stay. She invited us back, and we will definitely return.

If you have the chance to visit one day, please make a donation. Your donation helps provide hay and vet services to the rescues.

Thank you for checking in and following along on our adventures. I was going to talk about the roadside stops we do along our travels, but after our visit with Della, I couldn’t wait to share!

Check in next Sunday. I plan to share some of our favorite foods we cook up and our roadside stops. That’s the plan anyway.