Daily Inspiration: Meet Kimberly Meagher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Meagher. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Kimberly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

“Working with Horses is my Music.” Kim Meagher

Raised by her Grandmother, in Saginaw, Michigan, Kimberly Meagher (pronounced Maher) grew up in a violent neighborhood far away from horses. She worked for Second National Bank Corporation in Saginaw, Michigan for several years. She moved to Arizona in 1985 and raised her two children alone. She worked for RC Hughes Corporation in Scottsdale for a few years, and then moved on to Intel Corporation in 1988. She worked at Intel until 2002.

In 1994, she bought The Yellow Rose Ranch in Gilbert Arizona. In 1995, she renamed it Wildhorse Ranch Rescue after finding out that roughly 60,000 horses were going to slaughter each year. Her goal was to help in some small way. Having no horse experience, she sought out clinics. She met Monty Roberts, Buck Brannaman and Pat Parelli. She read their books and attended all of their clinics. Seeing the difficulty of handling rescued horses beyond her skill set, she determined that the Parelli method was best suited for her unique situation of needing intense horsemanship, while also staying safe in the presence of horses that have abusive and horrific pasts. While all methods of natural horsemanship are valuable, the Parelli method proved to be best suited for retraining rescued horses and their potential adopters for a lifetime of success.

In Sept of 2002, after a lifetime in Corporate, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a Parelli Natural Horsemanship Instructor!  However, just 2 months later, in November 2002, her saddle broke while training, Dunny, a rescue horse to be in Wildhorse Ranch Rescue’s fundraising play, Oklahoma! While in a full gallop, Kim found herself underneath Dunny and barely conscious on the ground. Dunny saved her life by acting quickly and stopping on a dime, something he’d been trained to do by his previous owners. However, that accident left her with a broken neck and ruptured lower back. With no medical insurance, in intense physical pain and a son to raise, she had no choice but to drain her retirement account to provide for the rescued herd, pay her enormous medical bills and provide for her son. She almost lost her home and the ranch for the rescued equines.

Realizing that her horse training dream would never be a reality, Kim set up several businesses, including an art gallery called The Beastro to help bring in funds so that the rescue could survive. If she could not live her dream of being a Parelli Trainer, at least she could continue helping horses and animals in need.

Kim is part author of the book, Alternatives to Auction & Slaughter. A Guide for Equine Owners – A Better Way, which she helped create while she was the Arizona State Coordinator for the American Horse Defense Fund. She and Trina Bellak, Founder and President of the American Horse Defense Fund went to Capitol Hill for several sessions of congress to lobby for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.

Kim is also the author of a second book. The sales from her 2nd book go to Wildhorse Ranch Rescue to help provide food and vet care for the rescued herd.

In 2007, Kim had the opportunity to be in a movie titled “Jolene.” She was the stand in for Jessica Chastain, the lead actor in the movie. Additional actors included Dermot Mulroney, Denise Richards, Francis Fisher and Rupert Friend. “The ironic part about being involved with this movie, is that while we were filming one of the scenes, I spotted a horse trailer backing into the area where we needed to have a car drive away in the shoot. I called to the director to stop the scene so that we could get the trailer full of horses safely out of the way. It seems whatever I do, horses get involved one way or another. ” Most of Kim’s time is spent helping horses in need, whether it’s writing a book, raising funds, tending to sick horses or earning a few bucks as a stand in for a movie.

In 2015, Kim was thrilled to in the movie, Witch Child. She played the part of Kim Riordan.

Wildhorse takes in all types of equine, including retired United States Government horses and mules from the US Forest Service, and the United States Cavalry. Wildhorse provides an opportunity for these hardworking animals to live in peace and comfort in their golden years and helped put the process in place with the Federal Government so that a retired USFS equine could go directly to a 501(c)3  charity instead of being sold at the auction to meat buyers. No, the US Government does not pay for their retirement.

Wildhorse is a registered 501(c)3 organization with the Federal Government and in the State of Arizona. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by the IRS.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It takes a village to help animals in need, especially large animals like horses. The need for land is great. Their veterinary care and feed are much more expensive than other animals. The road is certainly not smooth. Wildhorse is lucky to have a wonderful family of volunteers. Our amazing supporters are from all over the world. The Dutch magazine, Penny, did a wonderful story about two of our horses; Chief, a blind horse, and his seeing-eye guide Lady. That type of support and awareness has helped us continue saving horses in need for 27 years.
Our biggest struggle is having to turn horses away every week due to lack of funding. We have 100 acres that we just purchased on Old Rte 66 in Ash Fork, AZ that we call Wildhorse 66. One of our challenges is to raise the funds to get it fenced, outfitted, and properly staffed so we can take in more horses.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I think maybe having been given up by my mother when I was two years old helped me be acutely aware of the feeling of abandonment. I believe that experience is what drives me to rescue animals in need. Abandoned and unwanted horses end up at the auction and many of them get purchased by kill-buyers. It’s a horrible ending to their lives and I can’t stand the thought of any horse going through that. They are empathic and sensitive beings. I am determined to do whatever I can to help for as long as I can.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Once we know of a problem, we can either ignore it, or do something to help. I am the type of person who will try to help.
When I found out about horses in need, I looked at my old white barn, counted the stalls and said, “I can help 11.” That was 27 years ago and 500+ animals ago.
I’ve learned that every day is a step of continuing ones dream, even if it starts out small.

Pricing:

• A Squeeze of Hay is $1472. We purchase 4 each month.
• Our annual budget is roughly $350k. None of us take any salaries.
• We have on average 55 horses and 34 cats under our care.
• Adopting a horse starts at $550. A kitty at $85.
• Sponsoring a horse ranges from $15 to $400 per month.

Contact Info:

• Website: wildhorse.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildhorseranchrescue/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildhorseRanchRescue
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/wildhorseranchrescue/videos

Image Credits
Joanne West Photography and Wildhorse Ranch Rescue