https://linktr.ee/madisongrovefarm

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

05/31/2026

Happy Sunday, Farm Friends 🤍

If you’ve been following Abbie’s journey, you know she has become a pretty special part of life here at Madison Grove Farm.

Abbie came to us with her own story, her own experiences, and her own opinions. As many mule people will tell you, mules tend to be honest about all three. What I’ve always appreciated most about Abbie is that she never pretended to be anything she wasn’t. Every step forward was earned through relationship, trust, consistency, and time.

The video here is nothing extraordinary. Just Abbie enjoying a quiet day at liberty, Opal making a brief appearance, another horse enjoying a scratch, and life moving along as it does around here.

And maybe that’s exactly why I love it.

After nearly two decades of sanctuary work, I’ve learned that some of the most meaningful moments aren’t the big ones. They’re the ordinary mornings. The familiar faces. The routines that slowly become memories before you realize they’re changing.

Abbie is still here. She’s still very much part of the herd. She’s still enjoying her days, her people, and her friends. But as many of you know, she is up adoption, she’s been cleared by the vet and we’re excited about what her future holds.

For now, we’re simply enjoying the time we have together and appreciating all the little moments that make a life.

With gratitude,

Marla & the herd 🤍

05/31/2026

Perspective is everything.

05/30/2026

Happy Saturday, Farm Friends 🤍

This morning, before I’d even figured out what I was going to post today, a text came through from one of our longtime volunteers.

I opened the photo and just sat there looking at it for a minute.

When she first started coming to Madison Grove Farm, she was in middle school. Now she’s in high school and driving herself to the farm. That’s a little hard for me to wrap my head around because I can still picture her when she first started volunteering.

Over the years she’s helped care for a lot of horses. She’s mucked stalls, hauled hay, filled water troughs, groomed muddy horses, sat with the ones who weren’t feeling their best, celebrated the good days, and worked through the hard ones. Like so many of our volunteers, she’s simply shown up, again and again.

One of the gifts of doing this work for so many years is getting to watch young people grow up. I’ve watched her grow in confidence, compassion, responsibility, and her ability to build relationships, not just with horses, but with people too. I’ve watched her learn to work through hard things, show up when she’s needed, and become someone both horses and humans can count on.

One of the things I love most about this picture is that nothing is really happening. Nobody is asking anything of anyone. It’s just a quiet moment between a volunteer and a horse who knows her well.

Looking at this photo, all I can think about is how many years are wrapped up in that moment.

Sometimes I look around the farm and realize the kids aren’t kids anymore, and that feels pretty special.

Thank you for sharing this moment with us.

With gratitude,

Marla & the herd 🤍

Note: horse in pic is “Chester” 🥰

05/29/2026

Around here…

05/29/2026

Happy Friday, Farm Friends 🤍

One of the questions I get asked fairly often is, “What do the horses do all day?”

The answer is both simple and complicated.

At Madison Grove Farm, our horses don’t have jobs in the traditional sense. They aren’t expected to compete, perform, produce, or earn their keep. Most have already done that. Many arrive here after years of carrying people, raising babies, packing hunters, running barrels, pulling carts, teaching lessons, or simply surviving situations that weren’t always fair to them.

What we want first is for them to be horses.

We want them to know how to live safely in a herd. We want them to build relationships, make choices, move freely, rest, graze, play, and settle into a life where they feel secure.

That doesn’t mean they don’t continue learning.

Every horse here needs to be able to work with a veterinarian, a farrier, and the people who care for them. They need to be comfortable being caught, handled, treated, and moved when necessary. Some arrive with excellent training. Some arrive with trauma. Some arrive having learned things that no longer serve them. Every horse brings their own history.

Because of that, there isn’t one training method used here.

We use natural horsemanship, liberty work, positive reinforcement, relationship-based handling, and a lot of observation. Most importantly, we try to meet the horse standing in front of us instead of forcing every horse into the same program.

Some of our horses enjoy having a job. Some enjoy trail rides. Some participate in equine-assisted learning sessions. Some are happiest simply being part of a herd and greeting visitors over the fence.

The goal isn’t to make every horse the same.

The goal is to help each horse become the best version of themselves while feeling safe, respected, and understood.

For those following along, Violet and Magnolia continue to improve and we’re grateful for that. Healing takes time, but both girls are moving in the right direction.

As always, thank you for being here and helping us provide a place where horses can simply be horses.

With gratitude,

Marla & the herd 🤍

05/28/2026

Happy Thursday, Farm Friends 🤍

Yesterday reminded me how grateful I am for this community. Volunteers showed up and helped with chores and feeding so I could slow down a little and catch my breath for a moment.

Later in the afternoon I walked out into the herd to feed a round bale and check on everybody. This was the horse that came over to me.

Flash.

We’ve been together over 13 years now. He’s never been the loudest horse in the herd. He’s quiet, thoughtful, incredibly observant. The kind of horse that notices everything without needing to make a scene about it.

And yesterday, he knew.

People ask me all the time if horses really pick up on human emotions and energy. After living alongside a herd for this many years, watching them day in and day out when nobody else is around, I can tell you absolutely yes. Not in some magical social media quote kind of way. In a very real, grounded, nervous-system-to-nervous-system way.

I watch them seek each other out when one is struggling.
I watch them stand quietly beside someone who needs reassurance.
I watch them soften around humans that are hurting.
I watch them hold space without needing words.

That’s part of what happens here at Madison Grove Farm.

Yes, we rescue and sanctuary horses.
Yes, we offer free equine-assisted learning experiences to humans.

But underneath all of that is something simpler. Living in relationship with beings that remind us to pause, breathe, regulate, and reconnect to ourselves.

The horses are here for so many people.
Yesterday, Flash reminded me they’re here for me too.

Thank you to every volunteer, supporter, donor, Patreon member, and person who continues to help us keep this little sanctuary going. There are days I honestly don’t know how we’d do it without you.

With gratitude,
Marla & the herd 🤍

05/27/2026

Happy Wednesday, Farm Friends 🤍

I’m keeping things pretty honest today. I don’t feel very well. Nauseated, shaky, tired. I think it’s probably stress catching up with me a little bit after the last few weeks of worrying over sick horses, temperatures, medications, limping, watching, waiting, hoping.

The good news is this morning around the farm actually felt peaceful.

Violet is doing MUCH better. She has had a normal temperature for over 24 hours. Magnolia is doing better too. Grace has settled in beautifully with the girls. The elder horses looked bright this morning. The sun was shining. Horses were eating. Herds were calm. Those little moments matter so much around here.

These photos are from this morning while I was walking around trying to do the bare minimum and take everything in for a second. The little red pony checking in. Horses standing quietly under the trees. Otto making his rounds with me like he always does. He helps more than people probably realize. He’s just always here beside me through it all.

Sanctuary life doesn’t really stop for a sick day.

There are still 30 equines here depending on us. Four goats. Dogs. Cats. A parrot in my kitchen making sure nobody forgets he exists. Feed still has to be soaked. Waters checked. Bodies looked over. Medications given. Gates opened. Hay moved. Everyone still needs care and attention no matter how I feel.

And this morning I realized again just how much this place depends on community.

If it wasn’t for volunteers showing up today, I would have been out there trying to do all the barn basics and hay myself while feeling absolutely awful. Instead, people stepped in. Quietly. Kindly. No fanfare. Just humans helping because they care about this mission and these horses.

I don’t know if I say it enough, but thank you.

Thank you to every volunteer who has ever mucked a paddock, filled a water trough, carried feed buckets, checked fences, groomed an old horse, sat with me through hard moments, or simply believed this sanctuary should exist.

Madison Grove Farm exists because people believe horses deserve safety, dignity, softness, and a place to land for life. And in return, these horses help humans heal too. Sometimes just standing quietly beside them reminds people how to breathe again.

That exchange means everything to me.

Today I’m mostly grateful. Grateful the horses look good this morning. Grateful for sunshine. Grateful for Otto. Grateful for helpers. Grateful this community keeps showing up, especially on the days I don’t quite have enough in the tank by myself.

With gratitude,
Marla & the herd 🤍

05/27/2026

They have food, water, safe place and they have each other. For them, happiness is this. ✨🐴

05/26/2026

Happy Tuesday, Farm Friends 🤍

Tuesday feels a little like a Monday after Memorial Day weekend over here, and hopefully you all aren’t tired of hearing about Violet and Magnolia updates yet. Truthfully, I keep sharing because so many people are following along now and this is part of sanctuary life. The beautiful parts and the hard parts exist together.

I think every person who deeply loves animals probably does this, but I always wonder what I did wrong. Why are they sick? Why is she choking? Why is she lame? Did I miss something? Could I have prevented it?

I carry that weight more than people probably realize.

But another truth I’m trying to reconcile with is this: I live and volunteer full-time on an equine sanctuary. These are not all young, perfectly healthy horses. Some are seniors. Some came here with years of wear and tear. Some need extra support physically and emotionally. And honestly, the reason so many of them are aging as well as they are is because they are receiving good care, consistency, safety, and love.

Today, both Magnolia and Violet are doing much better.

This morning both girls spent close to three hours hand grazing. Violet’s temperature has now been significantly down the last three mornings. It has still been creeping up a bit later in the afternoons, so we’re crossing our fingers we’ve finally moved past the hump. She also got another antibiotic injection yesterday to help push things in the right direction. I always feel encouraged when there’s appetite, and she definitely wants to eat.

Meanwhile Magnolia is now on day three with no front-end lameness. Of course, while out at liberty she decided running across the property sounded like a great idea. Thankfully she stayed sound afterward. It looked more stiff than lame and honestly… she looked happy doing it, lol.

Around the farm, volunteers showed up to help, Clementine and Abbie both got some liberty time, chores kept moving, feed got soaked, medications got given, and sanctuary life kept rolling forward the way it always does.

Thank you all for continuing to care about these animals and this work. Truly.

And as a gentle reminder, situations like this are emotional setbacks but also financial ones. Emergency vet visits, medications, antibiotics, supportive care, extra feed, supplies… it all adds up quickly, especially with an aging herd.

For those just finding us, Madison Grove Farm is a 100% donor-funded and volunteer-run equine sanctuary and equine-assisted learning nonprofit in Washington state. We provide forever sanctuary to horses, donkeys, and mules while also offering free equine-assisted learning experiences to people in our community.

If you’d like to help support the herd, donations can be made through Patreon, PayPal, Venmo, our Amazon Wish List, or directly through our page.

With gratitude,
Marla & the herd 🤍

Madison Grove Farm

05/31/2026

05/31/2026

05/30/2026

05/29/2026

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

05/27/2026

05/26/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Organization

Shortcuts

Share

Category