05/27/2026
When Kash first arrived at EquiCenter a year ago, she was fearful and unsure. She was a wild mustang who viewed the entire world as a threat. Her freeze brand was a permanent reminder of a life lived on the defensive, governed by survival. For a long time, she was known simply as “the bay mare.”
But the heart of our Mission Mustang program is that our veterans understand the exact level of isolation and fear that our Mustangs feel when they first arrive. They know what it’s like to keep their guard up. They know what it feels like to live on high alert.
When Jack, a former Marine, started working with her, it was never about “breaking” her spirit. It was about two survivors slowly learning to lower their shields together. It took six months of quiet, unyielding patience, but the day Jack finally placed a halter on her, she became so much more than just a number.
To honor that breakthrough, Jack gave her a name: Kash, after a brave friend he lost in combat.
Today, if you watch Kash work in our indoor arena, you would never guess the journey she took to get there. You aren’t just seeing a horse that has been trained, you’re seeing a horse that has chosen to trust, and a Vereran remembering how to do the exact same thing.
As Jack beautifully puts it: “it takes more courage and bravery to still be kind, trusting, and decent… but that is how I will always remember Kash now. Every person has that inside of them. If you can find it in a horse, you can find it in yourself, too, along the way.”
This is the sanctuary your support sustains.
Join us on Thursday, June 18th for our annual Sporting Clays Classic. Every registration ensures that the road back to peace is a journey our heroes never have to take alone.
Stand with Jack and Kash. Register today at the link in our bio or by visiting equicenterny.org/sportingclays.
