OUR STORY

It didn’t begin with a plan. It began with a horse, and a promise I didn’t know I was making.

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In some ways, my whole life led to Mario. I’ve always been an animal person, but it wasn’t until I reached a place in my life and career where horse ownership felt possible that I began looking. I had only one requirement: the horse had to be adopted. I didn’t yet understand the slaughter pipeline or the complexities of equine welfare, but I knew I wanted to give a forever home to someone who needed one.

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I didn’t even have a farm. I found Mario through an Off-Track Thoroughbred rehoming program and boarded him at a local lesson barn. He wasn’t flashy, but he was kind. And he changed everything.

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Through Mario, I began to see the horses most people never do—those discarded when they’re no longer rideable, worked past their limits, or quietly funneled into the broker and slaughter pipeline simply because they are no longer “useful.”

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Then, as if the universe knew what was next, we stumbled into a small farm on the outskirts of town—somehow within our price range, and still talked about by our Realtor to this day. It felt fated. And soon, rescued horses began to arrive.

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In 2021, we officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, grounded in a lifelong sanctuary model and an unwavering commitment to ethics, transparency, and animal welfare above all else. Red Feather grew quickly—not just in the number of horses we cared for, but in the clarity of our purpose. Today, we are recognized nationally for our work in humane education, rescue ethics, and equine advocacy.

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In 2024, we said goodbye to Mario after a brief battle with cancer. He may be gone, but his presence is woven into everything we do.

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The name Red Feather comes from the Cherokee belief that cardinals (Totsuhwa) are spiritual messengers from loved ones who have passed. And every time we see one of those red birds, we’re reminded that this work was never just about one horse... it was about keeping a promise, and carrying it forward.