Heart of a Horse
By Amanda Moore
Founder- Reigning Grace Ranch
For those of us who have lived in the Rio Verde foothills area for a
spell, we recall the nomadic range horses that mingled and spread
throughout the community, searching for a kind neighbor who might
have left a flake of grass, a trough of clean water, or a tasty salt block.
As they traveled about, some in the area may have felt those horses
had been a nuisance, causing damage where they trailed. But for us,
those range horses represented a sort of characteristic “West”— a
place where the wild and the civilized comingled in a romantic sort
of way. This was one of the many charms of our little community
of Rio Verde. And it soon began to transform us. We soon became
fluent with what we never imagined possible: horse language. It
was through our relationship with these range horses that a little
non-profit ranch, Reigning Grace Ranch, was born. Life would never
be the same.
We were honored to rescue eight of these horses, a motley crew,
desired by none. Onlookers watched in amazement as we incorporated into our herd four stallions, one bachelor gelding, two fillies,
and their weathered, twenty-something-year-old matriarch