Written by Nicole Bianchi
Videography by Sebastain Reece
Photographed by Chloee Blair
Close to World Golf Village, with its Costco-Buc-ee’s busy-ness, you’ll find another world tucked away just down Silo Road - serene horse country untouched by traffic and tract housing.
Green pastures, riding facilities with nicely painted, sturdy fences, young girls in fancy riding boots and britches on their show horse mounts, acreage along the road speckled with barns and lean-tos pristine to the passersby.
Unassuming amongst the fanciness is a horse farm and homestead run by Holly Horton, founder of HH Rescues.
Holly takes in abused, abandoned and neglected horses and animals - more than 25 in all - providing each with a soft landing, rehabilitation and love.
Her menagerie of farm animals includes seven horses, one a wild mustang rescued from a kill pen, two sweet goats, a “trick” cow and an affectionate bull, a host of chickens, ducks, rabbits and her three dogs, who follow as she feeds, waters, grooms, mucks, milks, trains, mends and minds her herd.
Through years of toil, turning fields over to grass feed her cows and horses, adding a well and water management system, and composting to nourish the land and fields that feed the animals, Holly's 5-acre homestead is not just a concept, but a tried, true and functioning farm.
“We’re still growing,” Holly says. “It’s a work in progress.”
Holly, a mom and full-time respiratory therapist on the nightshift, has been running the homestead for 25 years. As a teenager, she rescued a couple of horses and dogs from a family, and later saved an arthritic calf who was left for dead in a field. She said these experiences “painted the story” that led her to where she is now.
Through trial and error, Holly has cured her animals of a variety of ailments – she’s put in an IV, placed a tube down an esophagus and tended to limb injuries.
She’s also a modern day alchemist, creating natural remedies from her organic vegetable and herb garden.
Stinging nettle, comfrey leaf, devil’s claw, turmeric, ginger marshmallow and other herbs are used to tend to her animals’ wounds, inflammation and belly aches.
Despite her full days and nights spent between work, family and the homestead, Holly shrugs it off.
“When your day is full and you love what you do, it’s like a vacation. Every day,” she says.
Holly says she hopes to help even more horses and animals.
“A huge goal [is] to help pick up feral horses, retrain them and rehome them,” she says. “That one is the most exciting for me [as] a mission.”
Holly’s rescue relies solely on private donations and proceeds from her wildflower honey (collected from hives she rescued from an out-of-commission bee farm), eggs, milk and natural, homemade goods like whipped tallow, salves and antibiotic creams.
To help sustain her endeavor and lifelong love for domestic animal welfare, Holly welcomes the community to sponsor a farm animal, donate money to feed and care for the animals, or sign up for an educational workshop on her website.
Feel free to call Holly at (904) 540-5366 to purchase her wildflower honey or eggs. Milk and goat milk will also be available next Spring.
You can also check out her Instagram or Facebook pages for more details on her farm.
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