Current projects

Bonidy is becoming quite the domesticated pony! She has successfully had her feet checked and trimmed. Further x-rays have been scheduled with our vet to see how much more hoof we can trim off to get her as comfortable as possible. Once she has another trim, we are collaborating with EasyCare to work on special wedge shoes and boots to help her with her angles. Poor Bonidy has almost no heel left from having such overgrown feet. It is going to take some time before she's completely back to normal, but we are determined to get her back to normal!

Training wise, Bonidy us coming out of her shell more and more every day. She is now living with our resident pony, Posey which is helping to grow her confidence even more. These two have quickly become best friends and enjoy not being picked on by the boys anymore!

Check out EasyCare's shoe selection for some great options to protect your horses' feet!

 EasyCare Inc. 

Dragon's training has been coming along in big strides! After being separated from the other horses, Dragon became more trusting of touch. Once he was comfortable being approached and accepted a hand, he began his halter training. Matt can now successfully halter Dragon, and he is starting to get the hang of being led. Dragon is still being housed solo in the round pen as his training progresses.

After seeing how much Bonidy improved being separated from the other horses, we made the decision to divide our large mustang enclosure into round pens. This way, each horse has its own space and is not influenced by the behavior of the other horses.

Using livestock fencing panels instead of traditional wood was truly the biggest blessing. While we experienced setbacks with the wood donations falling through from Lowe's, we were pushed in the right direction. Separating the horses would not have been possible if the fencing was built of wood. These panels allow us to adjust the enclosures when we need to. We are looking forward to seeing the Mustang boys' progression now that they can't egg each other on!

With the damage from the storm and the new set up, we are in need of building additional horse shelters. Please consider donating to help provide cover for the horses:

 Donate to save wild mustang horses and death row dogs 

Major strides have been made with Bonidy, the appy mare. She can now be haltered, led and handled. This sweet girl is opening up to us and is nothing but a bundle of love. Her favorite thing is to stretch her head and rest it on Matt's shoulder. Bonidy is also allowing pressure on her back, so the next steps will be grooming her and getting her comfortable with putting tack on. Before her training can progress, she is desperate to get her hooves trimmed as seen in the picture. Since she is allowing for all 4 feet to be picked up, we have booked in a farrier to come look at her this week. Hopefully he can get her feet looking more normal and get her back to being comfortable.

Bonidy has been the main focus of training over the last few weeks to prioritize her welfare. Updates on the mustang boys will be following.

It is an exciting day at the Righteous Life Rescue Ranch: the next service dog has arrived! Meet Gunner, a 2 year old Pyrenees/Lab mix. This handsome boy will be staying at the Ranch over the next 6-8 months to complete his service dog training. Gunner has been matched with his forever veteran, Thomas, who he will go live with permanently when he completes his training. Already Gunner is showing us his eagerness to learn, and we are so excited to watch him transform in his training.

We adopted Gunner from a wonderful animal rescue, Fifi's Friends in Bakersville, NC. Pam is an absolute angel who has many wonderful dogs still looking for their forever homes. Please check out her website and show her some support if you are looking for your next companion!

 Fifi's Friends Rescue @Laughing Dog Farm | Pet Rescue | Bakersville, NC, USA 

The mustangs have officially been with us for a week! Quite a lot of progress has been made with their handling. All horses will take food from out hand and three of the four can be touched on the nose. We are beginning to understand the horses' individual personalities which have become apparent while training them. 

Bonidy (Appy Mare) is the most trusting of the four. We could almost immediately feed her and touch her nose when she arrived. She was the first horse in a training session where Matt was able to touch all over her head and neck. Bonidy arrived with a halter and severed lead rope, so perhaps she had prior handling. After an hour of working with her, she trusted Matt to cut the rope halter off with a pair of scissors. Bonidy remains the most friendly and trusting of people, so we are hoping to see even further progress with her in the next week.

Carbone (Buckskin Gelding) has also made great progress this week. He is always the first horse in the round pen where the training happens. He will willingly accept food and is beginning to tolerate touch to his face. He is still quite nervous and unsure of people, but he is showing interested in trusting us. 

Dragon (Grey Gelding) has shown interest in us during feeding time. He will approach us to eat hay from our hand. Dragon had his first training session but unfortunately sustained an injury from trying to jump the gate. We are giving him his space while his leg fully heals and will continue to work with hand feeding him.

Bolding (Black Gelding) is the most untrusting of the horses. He is incredibly stubborn and is the only horse we are unable to touch. While the other horses could be touched in about an hour of training, Bolding will only tolerate a touch from the training whip on his nose. He is incredibly intelligent and understands what is being asked of him, but he will be the most challenging horse to tame. We are confident that with patience and perseverance, he will become an excellent horse.

February 1st, 2025 was a very exciting day for the Righteous Life Rescue Ranch: The first four wild mustangs arrived at our facility. All of these horses were part of round ups purchased from the Navajo nation and diverted from kill buyers. Luckily, they found safety at the Moon Mountain Sanctuary in Arkansas. Matt drove made the 30-hour round trip to transport the horses back to North Carolina where they will begin their training at the ranch. All of the horses will be trail mounts for veterans with PTSD once they graduate from their training. The process will be long, as the horses cannot even be touched yet.

These mustangs are an incredible start to the ranch and many more wild horses lives to be saved. It is only fitting they are named after some remarkable people:

Bolding (Black Gelding): Bolding was a brother Matt served with and was killed in action

"Dragon" (Grey Gelding): Lost his life to suicide

Carbone (Buckskin Gelding): Matt's first leader in the Marines who passed away in July 2024.

Bonidy (Appy Mare): Dedicated to our dear friends, Tab and Debbie Bonidy, who graciously donated the land the ranch is getting started on. 

We will be looking for sponsors for each of these horses to support their care and training. You can visit Our Animals Page to follow their individual updates.

https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/donate-to-save-wild-mustang-horses-and-death-row-dogs

December 20th, 2024 was a big day for the Righteous Life Rescue Ranch. Our first rescued wild mustang "Sigured" (Sig for short) found his forever home with veteran Josh Warren in Kentucky. Sig was part of a large round up purchased from the Navajo nation and diverted from kill buyers. He was among a group of 50 horses organized by Dawn Olivieri and her rescue, the Moon Mountain Sanctuary. 

Despite being less than 30 days out of the wild, Sig loaded into a trailer and traveled 15 hours from Arkansas to Kentucky. He is incredibly gentle-natured for a wild horse and is already starting the process of trusting humans. Sig is in great hands with Josh, an experienced horseman, who will train him from scratch. Sig's expenses will be ongoing and provided all by the RLRR. We are turning to sponsors and donations to help with this special boy's every day care. Please visit Our Animals page or follow the link below.

The Righteous Life Rescue Ranch is currently being started on a small scale. 10 Acres have been graciously donated by the Bonidys to help get the rescue process started. A 60x20 paddock with an attached round pen has recently been completed in preparation for the first 4 mustangs to reside at the ranch. 6-foot livestock panels were used to ensure the mustangs cannot jump the fence. The final steps will be constructing a 10x20 shelter that can accommodate 4 horses as well as proper footing to ensure the horses' hooves can stay out of the mud. These projects are on schedule to be completed in the next week. 

Donors for these materials were in place, but many fell through after the hurricane. We were still determined to make progress for the ranch, so all of the building supplies have been funded by us personally. We are looking for donors once the mustangs arrive to help reimburse these costs as well as for future building projects.

Beyond the work of the ranch, the RLRR is dedicated to helping veterans in need. A Marine brother Matt served with is facing difficult times going through a divorce. He has had to relocate into an apartment and start fresh while caring for his young son.  He was in desperate need of a washer and dryer for his new place, so the Righteous Life Rescue Ranch called local appliance stores in the Groton, Connecticut area. Several stores turned the donation down or did not call back until we reached Shore Appliances. A kind young woman named Lillian answered the phone and was determined to help to cause after hearing the veteran's story. After a talk with her supervisor, Tara, we received a call back from Lillian that Shore Appliances would gladly donate a brand new GE washer and dryer to the veteran in need. We are in awe of Shore Appliance's generosity and highly recommend them to any one in the area. 

 Shop appliances and appliance repair in Connecticut | Shore, Hallocks & Morrone Appliances | Clinton, CT