Empowering Horses For A Brighter Future

Here are some of our heartfelt stories we like to share … 

BETTY’S GIRLS

BETTY’S GIRLS go into history as the Godmothers of Silent Voices.

Betty Kammer, a local horse lover, single handedly funded the rescue of 20 brood mares with 5 foals by their side. All horses were heading to slaughter in the summer of 2008. All of them were in horrendous condition and had had essentially no interactions with humans.

Betty bought all 25! Her son Skip and his wive Tamy Kammer housed and cared for them. Doro trained each one and they found new homes for all within 4 months. With volunteers showing up each day, this prompt team effort on such a scale was powerful to experience!

DOLLY AND PAULINA

One of our very first rescues was “Dolly”, a severely crippled and starved mammoth donkey. Dolly had lost her entire hind hoof due to a long-term untreated infection. Despite her extreme level of pain, her unexplainable desire to live became clear when she surprised us with the birth of “Paulina” shortly after her arrival.

With constant and daily care of her condition, Dolly enjoyed raising her daughter for nearly three years. Although, prosthetics were eventually designed and donated by “Browning Prosthetics” in Boise, Dolly’s condition was too far deteriorated and she eventually had to be euthanized.

Paulina has remained a vital part of our rescue family and this community. Paulina continuously manages to draw attention to her sweet nature and incredible intelligence. She is adored by everyone!!!

Koko, her 23 years old companion has been by her side since her birth. The two of them are inseparable and give us an example of true love :-)

Wild Horse Project

By the end of that summer of 2009, Silent Voices initiated the rescue of 21 wild mares from the BLM Challis, Idaho gather. The following spring 11 foals were born. With the tremendous support of Glendale Farms and endless volunteer help, as well as continuous funding, we were able to care for the "Challis Sisterhood" for over 3 years.

Doro, who functioned as the horse’s main caregiver, refers to that time as her “most profound horse education”.

Our mission was to preserve as much of the herd’s natural dynamic as we were able to. The herd, as a whole, was eventually returned to protected freedom into a 7000 acre private sanctuary in California in 2014.

Since the departure of “the girls”, we have scaled down the size of our projects. We continue to follow our mission in many ways and large numbers of horses have found their way into a brighter future with our assistance.

Our focus has developed into the Phoenix Project and we are grateful for the financial support this project has so far received.

We will soon add more photos and stories ….