SWANSEA, S.C. — Out in the pastures of Swansea, South Carolina, there are about 15 horses on a rescue farm in need of love and food.
This is after the founder of Hooves, Hearts and Hope, an equine therapy program that helped Lexington County children with special needs, died suddenly.
It's now up to the three volunteers involved to hold down the hay.
"It's been very traumatic for everybody involved. Not just our families, but many families that have had their children in her program through the years have really struggled," volunteer Sheely Ivey said. "They've called us and said we miss the horses. We've had several families bring their kids to see the horses. They have special attachments to the horses."
The volunteers say they couldn't abandon these animals.
"As a foster mom and adoptive mom of 28 years now, my heart's always been to orphaned children, children that need a mom and dad. Well when Dr. Linda died, she left all these horses and I considered them orphaned horses," Ivey said.
So far, they've been getting by from selling a horse trailer, fees from a horse that's boarded and one horse that's sponsored at the farm, but the rest comes from their wallet.
"There’s a lot of needs involved," Ivey said. "The horses need to be fed every day, they need to have hay, they need to have the farrier come out and service their feet every six weeks, they have to be de-wormed."
The group needs several volunteers, funds to build a new shelter for the back pasture, help with writing grants for their 501(c)(3) and donations like hay, grain and blankets.
"It's hard because we all also have jobs and kids, so having some extra help would get it done a lot quicker for us," volunteer Danielle Fowlston said.
These three volunteers are continuing founder Dr. Linda Leech's dream of turning this equine therapy program into a horse rescue and sanctuary.
The volunteers have seven horses that can be sponsored. Right now, their oldest horse, Paco, who is 34-years-old is the only sponsored horse.
Hooves, Hearts & Hope is hoping to help more horses in the future if possible, but for now, they're hoping for greener pastures in their future.
If you'd like to volunteer or help out through a donation, you can reach out through their Facebook page here.