At Southern Arizona horse rescue, volunteers find harmony and community

Horse’n Around Rescue opened south of Sierra Vista more than a decade ago.

Since then, dozens of horses have come in needing nutrition, rehab and love, and have left with a new forever home.

Co-founders, Theresa Warrell and Steve Boice, say none of it would be possible without a committed community of volunteers.

RELATED: Horse rescue feeling inflation strain with higher costs, more horses

“There aren’t a lot of horse rescues like there are dog shelters or cat shelters. So you know, you really need these places,” said Renee Cotti, a volunteer who commutes about an hour from her home in Sonoita.

Horse’n Around is not only a sanctuary for horses, but also for the volunteers.

“I mean, this place, to me, is just like magic,” Cotti said. “Every time I come, I can’t wipe the smile off my face.”

Many horses come in malnourished, but quickly get back to a healthier weight after grazing on feed and the grasses in the ranch’s wide-open meadow.

Others, however, need more treatment.

“Of course you get 60-some odd horses, you get some injuries,” said volunteer Ed Surowiec, who helps horses on their road to recovery. “We’re taking care of a couple that have injuries right now… We use a laser and a massager to help some of the horses that are having their aches and pains.”

Ironically, Surowiec feels most fulfilled watching them leave the rescue.

“Well, when you see them going out the trail or heading down the road to a new home, I think that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “You get a little tear in your eye. Because you’ve worked with them for so long. But it’s nice to see ‘em go, because there’s always a need, more need to come here and find a permanent home.”

To make that happen, these volunteers give their time and effort.

But they say the rescue gives them a lot in return.

“We do Christmas, Thanksgiving dinners together. It’s a huge, huge blessing in our lives, for sure,” said mother Jessica Wood of the rescue’s co-founders and volunteers.

Since the Wood family—including Jessica and her children Wyatt, Ariah and Ty—moved to Southern Arizona from Utah, the ranch has given them a new family and new skills.

“For all of us, it’s a place to have fun, be out in the sunshine and learn,” said Jessica.

“And once you learn more about the horses you realize they have their own personalities and how they respond to you and your body language, was completely different from other animals I’ve worked with,” said Cotti. “They take away your anxiety and just make you so relaxed.”

The rescue is a place where humans and horses end up helping each other.

Horse’n Around is still looking for more volunteers.