https://linktr.ee/madisongrovefarm

Madison Grove Farm, 1453 King Road, Winlock, WA (2026)

10/14/2026

This is Twister. He’s in his mid-30s, and today he’s making his way over to the main barn from one of his walks around the farm.

Twister is one of our senior residents. His days involve a little extra care, special meals, and the freedom to move through life at his own pace.

I think there’s something worth appreciating about an old horse who still has places he wants to go.

Sanctuary isn’t just about giving horses a place to grow old. It’s about making sure there’s still a life for them to enjoy as they do.

HorsesOfInstagram

10/13/2026

For well over a year, one of our volunteers has made time each week to visit Monarch.

Not to ask anything of him. Not to rush him toward some expectation. Just to spend time together, build a relationship, and allow Monarch to have a say in how that relationship unfolds.

There is something worth paying attention to in this kind of consistency. Trust isn’t something we can demand from a horse, and time spent together doesn’t entitle us to it.

But when a horse chooses to close the distance, as Monarch does here, it’s a moment worth appreciating.

Sometimes the most meaningful thing we offer another living being is our willingness to keep showing up.

This is part of what sanctuary looks like at Madison Grove Farm. ❤️

10/10/2026

Happy Saturday, Farm Friends!

I’ve been thinking about something that comes up often in our work here at Madison Grove Farm. We spend so much of our lives learning how to care for others, but how much time do we spend learning what they actually need from us?

There’s a difference, and I think horses have taught me more about that than just about anything else in my life.

We can provide the best feed, safe pastures, veterinary care, companionship, and all the things necessary for a horse to live comfortably. Those things matter tremendously, especially in a sanctuary where many of our residents are older or have come to us with complicated histories. But I’ve learned that good care goes beyond meeting physical needs. It requires us to understand the individual standing in front of us.

Not every horse wants our attention. Not every horse finds comfort in being touched. Some are curious and eager to participate, while others are perfectly content observing from a distance. And sometimes the kindest thing we can do is recognize that difference and respect it.

I think about this often in our equine-assisted learning work. We humans tend to arrive with expectations. We want connection, reassurance, perhaps even a particular experience. Meanwhile, the horse has its own thoughts, preferences, and experiences that deserve consideration, too.

It’s interesting what happens when we begin paying attention to both sides of that relationship. We become a little less concerned with what we hope to get from an interaction and a lot more interested in what we might learn.

Our volunteers practice this every day, often without realizing just how important those ordinary moments are. They learn the personalities, the friendships, the subtle changes in behavior. They notice when someone isn’t quite themselves, when a little extra attention is needed, or when a horse would simply prefer to be left alone to enjoy the afternoon.

After all these years of living and working alongside horses, I still find myself learning. Sometimes I think the more I understand, the more I realize how much I have yet to learn.

Loving something doesn’t automatically mean we understand it. Understanding requires curiosity, patience, and a willingness to question what we think we know.

And I suspect that lesson reaches well beyond the pasture fence.

With gratitude,
Marla and the herd ❤️

10/09/2026

Happy Friday, Farm Friends!

I’ve been thinking lately about what it really means to give a horse a good life. And how much of what we believe makes a horse happy comes from our own human expectations.

When people think about equine rescue or sanctuary work, they often picture a horse arriving in terrible condition, the rehabilitation that follows, and hopefully a beautiful transformation. Those stories matter, and we’ve certainly had our share here at Madison Grove Farm. But I’ve always believed there’s just as much to be said about what happens afterward.

What does a good life look like from the horse’s perspective?

We humans tend to measure our relationships with horses by what we do together. We groom them, teach them, ride them, and enjoy their company. There’s value in those experiences, but I wonder how often we consider what the horse might choose if we weren’t the ones making the plans.

Maybe it’s spending the afternoon grazing beside a familiar friend, resting among the herd, exploring something new, or simply having a day when nobody expects anything from them.

I spend a tremendous amount of time observing our horses. Watching friendships develop, noticing the subtle changes in herd dynamics, and trying to understand the individual personalities that make up this little community. One thing I’ve learned over the years is how easy it is to put our own stories onto animals rather than taking the time to understand what they’re actually communicating. I still catch myself doing it, and I suspect I always will.

For those who may be newer to our farm family, Madison Grove Farm is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit equine sanctuary and human healing farm, founded in 2008. Our mission is to create a safe and compassionate farm environment that benefits disadvantaged youth, supports families, and rehabilitates horses in need through hands-on experience. We are entirely volunteer-run and donor-funded, and our community programs are always free.

Something I hope people understand about our sanctuary is that the horses aren’t simply here for the benefit of humans. They have lives of their own, relationships that have nothing to do with us, and individual needs that deserve our attention. I love watching our volunteers discover this, especially when they begin to recognize that a meaningful interaction doesn’t always require asking a horse to do something.

Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is become better observers.

We often say horses helping humans and humans helping horses. To me, that relationship comes with a responsibility to keep questioning what we think we know, to remain curious, and to recognize that the horse may have an entirely different perspective on the life we’ve created for them.

And maybe that’s worth considering beyond the pasture fence, too.

With gratitude,
Marla and the herd

10/08/2026

Happy Thursday, Farm Friends!

If you’ve ever wondered what a young Mustang does at an equine sanctuary, Gary is a pretty good example of how much more there is to sanctuary life than simply providing a safe place to land.

Gary came to us when he was just three months old. He’s grown up here, surrounded by horses, people, and opportunities to explore his world. And while he’ll always have a home at Madison Grove Farm, that doesn’t mean his learning stops.

For about a year now, one of our younger volunteers has been working with Gary, building a relationship through patience, consistency, and curiosity. They’ve explored natural horsemanship, introduced clicker training and positive reinforcement, and spent countless hours learning together. Some days it’s groundwork in the round pen. Other days it’s walking our trails, allowing Gary to follow along at liberty, explore his surroundings, and make choices along the way.

And apparently, some days it involves wrapping Gary up like a giant burrito. Yes, that’s a tortilla blanket, and yes, Gary seems to be taking his new look in stride!

What I love about this relationship is that the learning goes both ways. Gary is developing confidence and learning that new experiences don’t have to be frightening. Our young volunteer is learning to observe, communicate, recognize subtle changes in behavior, and understand when to ask for something and when to give Gary time to figure things out.

There’s a lot of personal growth that happens in those quiet moments.

I think sometimes people imagine sanctuary horses as animals whose stories have already been written. They’ve arrived somewhere safe, and that’s where the story ends. But sanctuary should be more than a place to live. It should be a place where horses can continue learning, exploring, building relationships, and developing confidence, whether or not they’ll ever have a traditional job.

And for the humans who spend time alongside them, there’s just as much opportunity to grow.

Gary doesn’t know he’s part of something meaningful. He’s just being Gary, curious about the world and occasionally dressed like lunch.

Horses helping humans, and humans helping horses. That’s what we’re building here.

With gratitude,
Marla and the herd ❤️

10/06/2026

Happy Tuesday, Farm Friends.

A volunteer sent me this photo yesterday, and I keep coming back to it.

At first I saw the mushrooms. Then I saw the horse.

Same place. Same moment. But change where you put your attention and you see something completely different.

It made me think about how much of our work here begins with observation. In equine-assisted learning, we spend a lot of time asking people to notice before they interpret. Horses are communicating all the time through movement, posture, distance, where they position themselves in the herd, and the subtle ways their bodies change.

The hard part for us humans is not immediately deciding what all of that means.

We are pretty quick to fill in the blanks. He’s being stubborn. She doesn’t like me. That horse is jealous. She’s scared. Maybe. But what did we actually see, and what part of the story did we add?

That distinction matters.

Sometimes we will sit and watch the herd and simply talk about what we notice. Where is each horse standing? Who moved? Who followed? Who stayed? What happened right before something changed? No right answer needed. Just paying attention.

There’s something about practicing that with horses that carries into the rest of life. We get a little better at noticing our own assumptions. We become more curious. Maybe a little less certain that the first story we tell ourselves is the whole story.

And then there’s this photo.

A tiny patch of mushrooms on the forest floor. A horse quietly grazing behind them. And a volunteer who got down low enough to notice both.

That feels a lot like Madison Grove Farm to me.

Sometimes changing what we see starts with changing where we stand.

With gratitude,
Marla and the herd

10/05/2026

Happy Monday, Farm Friends.

Sometimes this is what sanctuary looks like.

No big rescue story. No dramatic before and after. Just horses, people, sunshine, and the everyday work of caring for one another.

There is something about watching a person simply spend time among the horses that always gets me. No agenda. No need to make something happen. Just being there, paying attention, and letting the horses decide how much they want to be part of it.

We talk a lot around here about observation, choice and connection. This is where so much of that begins.

A pretty simple moment on an ordinary day at Madison Grove Farm. But honestly, these are some of my favorite ones.

Horses helping humans and humans helping horses. That has always been the heart of this place.

With gratitude,
Marla and the herd

10/05/2026

Happy Monday, Farm Friends.

Yesterday was a pretty special day for Sage.

After the volunteers left, chores were done and everything got quiet around here, my dear friend Paul, founder and director of Country Roads Animal Sanctuary - CRAS, came out to spend some time with us.

Paul is one of those friends who just fills your heart space. The kind of friend you can be honest with about the hard stuff, share the wins with, and even when you don’t see each other all the time, you know they’re there. I was really happy he was here for this.

Sage has been showing us more and more of herself since she arrived. She comes to the gate, wants to go for walks, wants to be involved with whatever we’re doing and has integrated beautifully into her herd. Her previous owners came to visit recently too, and they felt really good about how she was doing. So everything just felt aligned to try something we knew had been part of Sage’s life before.

Sage had been ridden in the past, but not for a couple of years. So yesterday we simply wanted to see what she thought about doing it again.

I got on first. Treeless saddle, simple snaffle that she was familiar with, and no big plan. We started in the round pen and took our time. She was willing and comfortable. Then Paul got on. Different person, different size, different energy, and she was just as willing with him.

Eventually we headed out on the trails. I walked and Paul rode. Sage has walked those trails with us several times now, so she knew exactly where she was going. She was away from her herd, quiet, confident and seemed to really enjoy herself.

And I think that’s the part worth talking about.

Sanctuary doesn’t mean a horse never does anything again. It means they don’t have to. Some of our horses will never be ridden. Some shouldn’t be. Some may show us that they actually enjoy going down a trail with a human on their back. Our job is to pay attention to the horse standing in front of us instead of deciding for them.

Yesterday wasn’t about getting Sage “back under saddle.” It was just one ride and another chance to learn something about her.

She’s approximately 15, we’re still trying to learn more about her history as a BLM Mustang, and she definitely has some conditioning to do. So there is no hurry. Walks, liberty time, herd life, trails and slowly building strength. We’ll see where she takes us.

That’s the beautiful thing. We don’t have to decide the rest of Sage’s story today.

She gets a say in it too.

With gratitude,
Marla and the herd ❤️

10/04/2026

Your time with them is a gift.
Make the moments matter. ✨🐴

10/03/2026

A few weeks here on the farm with her new herd, and happy to report she’s settling into this place nicely. This is Sage.✨💚

Madison Grove Farm

10/14/2026

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