Meet Nellie

Nellie was donated to HOPE Ranch this summer. She is a beautiful 16-year-old Welsh Pony who adds a lot of color to the HOPE Ranch herd! She was donated by Tom and Mary Graff of Austin, MN in early summer. Mary was the main horse person in the family. She has MS and it progressed to the point where she was unable to do things with the horses anymore. Nellie’s two pasture mates died of old age, and she was alone at their farm. As horses are herd animals, being an only horse was hard on Nellie. Tom began having some health issues, and it became difficult for him to care for Nellie. She needed a home where she would have horse companions, a job to do, and people to care for her. They did some research and reached out to HOPE Ranch. (We receive an average of one offer of a horse donation each month. Most we don’t go look at because we don’t have the resources to care for them, especially as most have significant health issues.) Nellie was different. She is healthy overall, an age to be energetic, fun, and calm enough to be a safe and effective part of the therapy herd, and she loves to be with people. She is very well-trained and has quickly become a favorite of clients and staff.