OUR HERD
Sonny
Sonny is an Arabian in his mid-20's who was mishandled and abused for most of his life. Because of that, Sonny has major fear and trust issues. Even though it's slow going in his healing journey, he has come a long way in his time at Echo Ranch. He loves and thrives doing Liberty work with guests who visit Echo Ranch.
Hope
Baby Hope is a seven-year-old Quarter Horse mare who was born at Echo Ranch. Her mom was pregnant and running wild with a herd of horses who were getting up on the highway at the time of her rescue. She is such a sweet and curious girl and is doing very well under saddle. She will start to be integrated into our riding program this summer.
Licorice
Little Licorice, is a 18-year-old Welsh who was used and abused as a rodeo pony. He has had major fear and trust issues but has slowly learned to embrace his new life. We take him to visit residents at assisted living facilities and he does such an amazing job because of his calm demeanor.
Frenchie
This beautiful 14-year-old Spotted Saddle Horse was living in mud up to her knees, starving, and pregnant at the time of her rescue in 2013. Even though she was only three and a baby herself, she was able to give birth to a healthy filly who was adopted as soon as she was weaned. Frenchie had some health issues when we adopted her but has overcome them and is the the sweetest little riding horse at Echo Ranch.
Savannah
This sweet girl was adopted by Echo Ranch in 2017. She was rescued from a neglectful life of starvation but has made a complete recovery. Savannah is an 16-year-old Tennessee Walker who is now thriving and doing a wonderful job in her new role.
Shasta
This beautiful 26-year-old Mustang Quarter Horse was adopted from a family who was no longer able to care for her. Shasta was well loved by her previous owner but had suffered abuse earlier in her life. At Echo Ranch, she is used as a confident trail horse.
Lexi
Lexi is a 23-year-old Appendix with lots of training and experience but also brings some sass. Her opinion is strong but once she believes in your leadership, she will do anything asked of her.
April
This little spicey girl is an 15-year-old mini horse. She is as sweet and adorable as can be but is also not afraid to express her opinion. April came to us in 2019 along with her pasture-mate Shasta because her previous family was no longer able to care for her. April, along with Licorice and Charlie, visit residents at assisted living facilities.
Sterling
We call this guy our freight train. Sterling is a 15-year-old Percheron, Morgan, Paso Fino cross with a larger than life personality. He came to us, along with another horse, Cassia, from a situation where the owner was desperate to rehome these two, due to losing her lease on the property she had them on. God asked us to take them and we said yes! So thankful we did...they are both a great addition to our crew.
Cassia
This sweet little 15-year-old Quarter Pony came to us with Sterling. Their owner was in a desperate situation and needed to rehome these two right away. We are so thankful that God allowed us to take them!
Tucker
Tucker is a 16-year-old Quarter Horse who came to us from an older gentleman who was no longer able to care for him. Several years ago, Tucker had an injury to his hind leg that was never treated or rehabilitated properly so he now has some ongoing lameness. We are working to get him in the best shape he can be in and hopefully someday will be able to be ridden again. If not, he will always have a place here where he can offer love and therapy to our guests while he's being groomed.
Charlie
Charlie is a 15-year-old Miniature Horse that was rescued by a friend of ours who found him running down the middle of a busy road. She loved Charlie but had too much going on in her life so she asked us to take him. Unfortunately he got into an altercation with one of our other minis and ended up with a fractured hip. He has healed from that but now walks with a limp. Charlie is our daily reminder that even though things don't always go as we plan, we trust God and know He is working...even in the hard stuff!
Charlie, along with Licorice and April, love to visit the residents in assisted living facilities.
John Henry
This sweet old gentleman is a 28-year-old Quarter Horse who was a barrel racing champion in his glory days. Now he gets to help new riders build their confidence and skill. He definitely has more whoa than go in his retirement years and we love that about him!
Tank
Tank is a 25-year-old Quarter Horse and is the sweetest boy who loves his job as the resident snuggle muffin. Since he's been with us, he's taught multiple people to ride. We adopted Tank from some dear friends who loved him and took excellent care of him but they were getting ready to move and needed to find him a new home. Prior to them owning him, Tank suffered from neglect and abuse but that didn't taint this boy's warrior heart.
Carlos
This beautiful guy is a 10-year-old Shagya Arabian whose mama was rescued from a neglectful situation while pregnant with him. Carlos was born while in the care of Sound Equine Options. After he was trained, he competed and won the Lucky 7 Challenge. His trainer adopted him but after having children, she needed to find him a new home so she sold him to a young girl who started out riding him a lot but over time lost interest so her parents reached out to Echo Ranch and donated him to our program. Carlos' original trainer now comes to ride him on a regular basis. How cool is that!
OUR FOSTER HORSES
Cody
Cody, an 13-year-old Appaloosa, who loves bananas for a snack, came to us as an evacuee during the fires of 2020. He has been part of Sound Equine Options for a couple years now and even though he's had quite a bit of training, he has never really figured out how to be a good citizen. One reason could be that he was diagnosed with no vision in his left eye and has chronic inflammation in his right eye, which may ultimately lead to the removal of his eye. Since he's been at Echo Ranch, he has continued his training and learned how to integrate into a herd. We believe Cody has great potential and are considering adopting him in the future.
Dahlia
This sweet 26-year-old Saddlebred mare came to us earlier this year after being seized, along with 47 other horses from a neglectful situation in 2020. Dahlia was used as a breeding mare her whole life and didn't seem to understand anything about a relationship with humans. It's been amazing to see her not only trust people but learn to embrace being loved on. We love this girl!
Pearl
Pearl, a 22-year-old POA, came to us from a huge neglect case in 2017, where 34 horses were seized from deplorable conditions.
She was used as a brood mare and wasn't the least bit interested in having a relationship with humans. Eventually over time, she realized that people are kind and she began to trust that she was safe and would be well cared for. Eventually Pearl was adopted and went to a new home but it ended up not being a good fit.
*Update on Pearl* One of our wonderful volunteers was heartbroken when Pearl was adopted so when she came back to Echo Ranch, Susy said, "Pearl is never leaving here again" and adopted her as her very own.
What an amazing bond these two have. It really is a match made in heaven!
OUR TEAM
Dorine Nickerson
Echo Ranch Founder/Founding Board Member
Jake Nickerson
Echo Ranch Founder/Founding Board Member
Lynda Walker
Garden and Volunteer Coordinator
Mike Hiveley
Founding Board Member
Larry Purvis
Echo Ranch Project Manager
