Volunteer at Retirement Homes for Horses
Nancy O’Malley stands by Rusty, a rescued horse at Creek Mill Farm.
April 25, 2023 | Compilation and photo by Connor O’Bryan
“My son and daughter-in-law started Ph.D. work at [the University of Florida]. I started visiting. I was teaching high school and college part time. I wanted them to stay in Boston for their studies, but UF gave them a nice opportunity to do their graduate work. So I started coming down and visiting part time, and then I was a snowbird when I retired from teaching.
My son helped me find [Retirement Homes for Horses] because I loved horses. I started volunteering here about twelve years ago, and I’ve loved it ever since.
I grew up loving horses like a lot of girls. I rode horses when I was young. I was a schoolteacher raising kids, a single parent. I couldn’t afford lessons. I always dreamed of having a horse farm or a horse of my own. This is even better, just to have one horse. Like I said, I worked on a teacher’s salary and raised two kids on my own. Any horse things that I did were just trying to keep the passion alive by just horseback riding once in a while.
I fell in love with the farm and the open space and their mission: to provide a place for these horses. Here’s the point of this place: once they get here, there’s no more sad stories. Nobody leaves here. It really is a retirement home. They die here. They’re not adopted out. Some other rescue places adopt out, but here they’re home. It’s pretty noble. Lots of places like to showcase horses, but here, them living in paradise is the big thing. This is complete. These horses are living in freedom. They’re writing their own happy story now.
I spent lots of years trying to inspire students. Now, the horses are inspiring me.”