It’s not easy to run a project like this with just one person doing it all. It takes a village, as they say. But what happens when the village is transient—transient in nature, in love, in responsibility?
The other day, I asked a friend, What is your goal in life? His response was, To be fully independent. My heart broke.
I get the feeling that’s the consensus of most people in the U.S.—that the measure of success is financial wealth and independence. Where did I go wrong? I look back on my life and realize I’ve almost always held the attitude of being part of something and contributing to it—whatever that something is. In my case, it’s mostly the horses. And, in all fairness, I believe they give me far more than I give them. (Although, I’ll admit, I do get pouty on occasion, especially in winter. Being confined and miserable is an unpleasant combination.)
Back to my point. Someone once told me, The only love you get to keep is the love you give away. For whatever reason, that’s how I’ve always lived my life. I feel bad for those who have no reason to live beyond their own comfort. What a miserable situation to be in—there’s no beginning, middle, or end to that arithmetic.
I believe people who give spare change or scraps of food could benefit from spending time with a herd of horses. An actual herd of horses. Right now, the herds here at Paha Ponies are all confused because I’ve been pulling horses into the corral for training and letting them back out into the pasture. There’s a lot of uncertainty, but they’ll eventually work it out and create a well-functioning society. It just takes time. It takes ironing out who is best suited for which roles. The same applies to all aspects of life, including nonprofits.
I truly live for this project. But just one person cannot create a civilization. It takes several. What we’ve created here is a platform for the success of the Spanish Mustang. But for it to truly thrive, we need carpenters, accountants, fundraisers, lovers, and laborers. One person cannot do it all if it is to be successful.
Society today isn’t set up for this kind of platform. Everyone expects financial compensation for the love they give. That’s not how I understand the real world to function—but I do understand that it’s the way of the modern world. And that’s where we are at odds.
I’ve never received a paycheck in the seven years of this project—nor do I expect to. But that could be a major obstacle to the longevity of this nonprofit. I thought the love for the rarest of all horse projects would be enough fuel to scale these efforts. Apparently, it’s not.
This realization has made me sit down and reevaluate our goals. My original goal was to create a manageable project that could be used as a model for others, so that together we could save the quickly disappearing Spanish Mustang population. So far, I haven’t been very successful.
Reevaluating the Future
Our next primary goal is to have 20 old-blood Cayuse Ranch horses on this property in 20 years. For this, we are on track to succeed. But what good does that actually do—for the horses or for the humans? Very little.
This has brought me back to an original thought: The only love you get to keep is the love you give away. This should be the tagline for the nonprofit. How do we implement this? By committing to making a difference. Every year, we will donate a handful of horses to youth groups. Until that point, we’ll continue to sell horses to offset the costs of this plan.
I know that getting these horses into the hands of people who wouldn’t normally have access to them has already been life-changing for many. But it’s not easy—or cheap.
A Plea for Help
So, I’m making a plea for help to manifest this vision. I can’t do it on my own. I need your help. The horses need your help. The youth need your help. This is a tangible way to make a real difference in our society.
It blows my mind that this plea so often falls on deaf ears. Few nonprofits have had such a profound effect on society. I’m reaching out to offer you an opportunity to be part of something great—something meaningful for the world and for ourselves.
It breaks my heart to think I’ve done such a poor job of illustrating this to others, and I want to change that. Can you help? Any contributions are appreciated.
Leave a Reply