FRANKIE BEFORE. All our residents have been let down in one way or another.
FRANKIE AFTER. Our goal is to find each resident their soulmate and forever home.
Toby’s Legacy is settled in a valley just outside Temecula’s Wine Country in California
We discovered horse rescue and the need for advocacy when we adopted Dusty from a local rescue for Aaron. I began volunteering at the rescue and when an at-risk horse found himself in need of placement, I offered to take him in. Ashwin became our first rescue and marked the beginning of Toby's Legacy...but who was Toby?
Toby was a magnificent spotted tri-color tobiano walker. He had been a show horse, a stallion, and had injured a trainer. He found himself angry and confused at the rescue where I was volunteering. We took him into our family and he stole my heart. He was my soulmate. He was lovely under saddle and always took care of my son, Slater. He loved to steal anything he could get his hooves on and collected rocks. When we would ride by a barn he went into show mode. A show off for sure, and as soon as we were out of sight, back to moseying along. He was such a character. When he passed from colic, a part of me died with him. He was my heart horse. Rescuing heart horses since, has been both healing and therapeutic for me.
Toby’s Legacy Equine Rescue was founded in 2012 as a living memorial to my beloved horse. We established a 501 (c)3 whose mission is to provide temporary and permanent physical, emotional, and mental rehabilitation for distressed and at risk equines. We work with our local Animal Control agency, the community, and attend auctions to rescue the abandoned, the most neglected, the unwanted, and abused.
OUR DIVERSE HERD
Our rescue efforts have expanded to include donkeys, bovines, pigs, goats, mules, and even a beefalo named Buffy. All our residents have been let down in one way or another, and carry the heavy burden of distrust, fear, anger, and/or resentment. They carry the scars, both physically, and emotionally. It has been our mission, our passion, along with our volunteers to provide every animal in our care, an environment where they can begin to lower their protective walls and heal. At Toby’s Legacy, our residents are housed in large paddocks or pastures. They live in herds and have access to graze 24/7. We envisioned a place as close to nature as possible and strive to recreate that. What we have discovered is a virtual reset button in rehabilitation. Our horses learn to be horses again with no expectations, agenda, or timeline.
The goal at Toby’s Legacy has always been to find each resident their soulmate and forever home. However, the very nature of rescue means some are unable to be placed due to age, infirmity, disability, or behavioral issues.