Anderson Woman Rescues Horses, Teaches Lessons
Annette Lay of Anderson has combined her love of children with her love of horses to create Horse Haven at Resurrection Ranch.
At the ranch, she rescues horses and teaches riding lessons to children. It all started when she and her husband Scott got custody of and adopted their two grandchildren, James, 13, and Madison, 11, who are on the autism spectrum. Lay wanted the children to have hippotherapy, which is physical, occupational and speech therapy on horseback, but it is very expensive. So she decided to do her own kind of therapy.
She has been riding since she
was 4 years old, and a couple of years ago she met a lady who was rescuing mules and horses, and she got her started rescuing horses. Lay also ran a daycare and preschool out of her home for 30 years, so she has a love for and plenty of experience with children.
She explained some of the benefits of working with horses.
“When you’re around them, your heart rate and theirs go as one. It’s so relaxing. I’ve seen kids on the spectrum who are so tense who just relax. It helps with core strength, helps them relax. It helps with joint compression. It helps them mentally like you wouldn’t believe.”
She said some children come out just to brush the horses, while others take riding lessons.
Thirteen-year-old James has gotten many benefits from working with the horses, she said.
“It gives him confidence. He helps with the horses, with feeding, grooming, if they need medicating.”
Some of the rescued horses are pretty thin, she said, because they are still gaining weight. Some come from kill pens where horses are butchered for dog food or as a delicacy in foreign countries. Some of them are older. She has one that is 19 and one that is 22. She just lost one that was 38, she said.
“My goal is to give them a comfortable life. If they can’t be ridden, we don’t ride them,” she said.
She currently has 13 horses. She said she goes through 1,200 pounds of grain per week and eight to 10 bales of hay per week.
Her goal is to build a barn with stalls for each horse. Some horses they rehabilitate and re-home.
“Some of them will die here. We just keep them comfortable the rest of their life,” she said. “Somebody’s got to love them.”
On a sunny day in February, Sally Rhodes of Powell and her daughter, Kylee, 11, were at the ranch for a riding lesson. Kylee has been taking lessons from Lay for a year.
“I like it a lot,” Kylee said. “I like coming out here and seeing all the horses. I’ve ridden a few different ones, like five.”
Sally said, “She’s gotten a lot of confidence out of it. She was afraid of heights and animals. She got on a horse the first day. That’s what I like about (the Lay’s) program. It gets you familiar with the sights and smells and sounds.”
Lay held a day camp in the summer. They went swimming, rode horses and learned the anatomy of a horse.
“We have a lot of fun with the kids and the horses,” she said. “Some of the kids that come to camp have never touched a horse.”
As for what she has accomplished at the ranch, Lay said, “What I’m building, I’m totally stoked. I’m living the dream. I have a long way to go. I want to get into more therapy, do more for our soldiers, sailors and service people.”
She added, “God just keeps sending (horses) to me, so I know this is what we’re supposed to do.”
She and Scott plan to retire on the property.
“We love working as a team. Scott works for Walmart Home Office. It’s therapy for him. He comes home from a long day, and it’s relaxing,” she said. She added working with the horses is a therapy for her as well when she gets overwhelmed with chores.
However, her work is ultimately about the children and the horses, she said.
“It’s my way of giving back to our community. If I can help the horses and help the kids, it’s such a big thing,” she said.