Knowing that we needed take some of the burden off of Blaze, I began to keep my eyes open for a horse that
would be a perfect fit for the Ranch. There was one problem: there simply were not a lot of funds available to
go toward a new horse. Quiet, well broke, child safe mounts are not cheap - even in our struggling economy
where inexpensive and free horses are everywhere. The Ranch is regularly asked to take these horses in, and we
do so whenever we have the space and funds available. These horses that are offered free or as a 'donation' to
the Ranch, are almost always unbroke and in need of extensive training before they can be ridden by children.
This process can take years. Alternatively many have either health or behavioral issues (and often times both)
and take a great deal of time and money to rehabilitate. The Ranch always reserves some space for horses like
this. Engaging the children to come alongside and help us with the rehabilitation process for these rescues is
truly at the heart of what we do. However we also teach the children to ride and this task requires horses that
are well trained and endowed a with gentle and willing heart. With all of the growth we had seen, we found
ourselves in the unique position of needing a horse that was ready to go immediately - both to facilitate teaching
the kids and to help us train new mentors. With this in mind, we would simply have to trust that God would
take care of the details.
While browsing horse ads on the internet, and perhaps doing a bit of dreaming, I ran across a beautiful, paint
gelding being offered for sale. The ad said that he stood at 16.2hh - nearly a full hand taller than any other
horse currently living at the Ranch. More importantly the ad said that he was well broke, with nice quiet gaits
and a willing attitude. He sounded perfect, however the asking price was far more than the Ranch could afford.
With a longing heart I closed the ad and moved on, but for some reason I could not get the gelding off of my
mind. I day dreamed about how excited the kids would be over the beautifully painted giant of a horse and
found myself regularly going back to reread the ad and look at his picture.
It wasn't more than a few days before Django was listed as sold and I was not at all surprised that the attractive,
well trained gelding had been snatched up so quickly. Still, my heart sunk a bit as I read that he was no longer
available, and I chided myself. Django was well out of our budget and never destined to come to the Ranch in
the first place. Knowing how prone I can be to running ahead of His provision and taking things into my own
hands I prayed silently for the faith to trust that God would provide us with the perfect horse in His perfect
timing.
Imagine my surprise when a week later, perusing the same sale board, I found Django listed once more. The
original buyer had fallen through and he was for sale again. The gelding's price had been reduced but was still
well out of range of Refuge's budget. Once again, studying the ad and the picture of this beautiful horse, I could
not shake the feeling that he was perfect for the Ranch. Feeling a bit foolish, but compelled in a way that is
difficult for me to articulate, I decided to email Django's owner. I explained our need to her and was honest
about the Ranch's inability to spend a great deal of money for a horse. I expressed hope that she would not be
offended, for the beautiful paint was certainly worth more than the Ranch could offer to pay, but we would give
him the best home possible with a multitude of children to dote and all the love in the world to lavish on him.
I hesitated for a moment before clicking the send button, knowing what a long shot this was, and reminded
myself for the hundredth time that every resource in this world belongs to the Lord and He would provide for
us exactly what we needed, whether or not that was the lovely horse I had been dreaming about for the last
couple of weeks or something amazing He was planning that I had not yet begun to fathom.
The very next day, my heart skipped a beat as I checked my email and found a reply from Django's owner. I
prepared myself for the polite refusal that I knew was coming. I began to read,
"Chris, Give me a jingle anyway. I can credit horses with keeping me alive and sane
after I lost my mom at the tender age of 13. I'm coming up on the 11th anniversary of
her death - sending Django to help other lost and hurting kids seems like a fitting tribute. . ."
I was stunned and overwhelmed by God's amazing ability to work through every intricate detail. My
excitement grew as I realized that this might really be an open door. I called her almost immediately and as she
shared about her beloved horse and gave me the opportunity to share about the Ranch and Django's role here,
it became more and more obvious that he truly would be a wonderful fit. However, financial restraints had
been a significant part of her decision to sell him, and she was not sure that she could lower his price enough to
make him affordable for the Ranch. I understood entirely and was amazed and humbled that she was even
considering doing so. We agreed that she would think it over and get back to me when she had reached a
decision. The very next day, Ellen called to tell us that she felt Refuge was the perfect place for Django and that
she was willing to take a small fraction of what the gelding was worth so that he could make the Ranch his
home.
Overwhelmed with gratitude for her generosity, and for a God who takes care of every need and detail, I
thanked her profusely. We made arrangements for me to come and ride him just to ensure he really would be a
good fit, though in my heart I had absolutely no doubt. Less than 2 weeks later, Django came home. This
incredible horse was a huge --figuratively and literally -- answer to prayer. He is a gentle giant and absolutely
adored by the kids at the Ranch. Just watching him graze or canter across the paddock is breathtaking.
When a new horse comes to live at Refuge, we almost always give them a new name. So often, they come out of
terrible situations and a new name is part of the fresh start they are given at the Ranch. Django, however, was
an exception to this rule. Not only did he have a unique name that we really liked, in contrast to the suffering
and neglect we so often see, his arrival at the Ranch was a picture of kindness, selflessness, and generosity. He
was a perfect fit, just as he was. His name would stay. Welcome home, Django!
would be a perfect fit for the Ranch. There was one problem: there simply were not a lot of funds available to
go toward a new horse. Quiet, well broke, child safe mounts are not cheap - even in our struggling economy
where inexpensive and free horses are everywhere. The Ranch is regularly asked to take these horses in, and we
do so whenever we have the space and funds available. These horses that are offered free or as a 'donation' to
the Ranch, are almost always unbroke and in need of extensive training before they can be ridden by children.
This process can take years. Alternatively many have either health or behavioral issues (and often times both)
and take a great deal of time and money to rehabilitate. The Ranch always reserves some space for horses like
this. Engaging the children to come alongside and help us with the rehabilitation process for these rescues is
truly at the heart of what we do. However we also teach the children to ride and this task requires horses that
are well trained and endowed a with gentle and willing heart. With all of the growth we had seen, we found
ourselves in the unique position of needing a horse that was ready to go immediately - both to facilitate teaching
the kids and to help us train new mentors. With this in mind, we would simply have to trust that God would
take care of the details.
While browsing horse ads on the internet, and perhaps doing a bit of dreaming, I ran across a beautiful, paint
gelding being offered for sale. The ad said that he stood at 16.2hh - nearly a full hand taller than any other
horse currently living at the Ranch. More importantly the ad said that he was well broke, with nice quiet gaits
and a willing attitude. He sounded perfect, however the asking price was far more than the Ranch could afford.
With a longing heart I closed the ad and moved on, but for some reason I could not get the gelding off of my
mind. I day dreamed about how excited the kids would be over the beautifully painted giant of a horse and
found myself regularly going back to reread the ad and look at his picture.
It wasn't more than a few days before Django was listed as sold and I was not at all surprised that the attractive,
well trained gelding had been snatched up so quickly. Still, my heart sunk a bit as I read that he was no longer
available, and I chided myself. Django was well out of our budget and never destined to come to the Ranch in
the first place. Knowing how prone I can be to running ahead of His provision and taking things into my own
hands I prayed silently for the faith to trust that God would provide us with the perfect horse in His perfect
timing.
Imagine my surprise when a week later, perusing the same sale board, I found Django listed once more. The
original buyer had fallen through and he was for sale again. The gelding's price had been reduced but was still
well out of range of Refuge's budget. Once again, studying the ad and the picture of this beautiful horse, I could
not shake the feeling that he was perfect for the Ranch. Feeling a bit foolish, but compelled in a way that is
difficult for me to articulate, I decided to email Django's owner. I explained our need to her and was honest
about the Ranch's inability to spend a great deal of money for a horse. I expressed hope that she would not be
offended, for the beautiful paint was certainly worth more than the Ranch could offer to pay, but we would give
him the best home possible with a multitude of children to dote and all the love in the world to lavish on him.
I hesitated for a moment before clicking the send button, knowing what a long shot this was, and reminded
myself for the hundredth time that every resource in this world belongs to the Lord and He would provide for
us exactly what we needed, whether or not that was the lovely horse I had been dreaming about for the last
couple of weeks or something amazing He was planning that I had not yet begun to fathom.
The very next day, my heart skipped a beat as I checked my email and found a reply from Django's owner. I
prepared myself for the polite refusal that I knew was coming. I began to read,
"Chris, Give me a jingle anyway. I can credit horses with keeping me alive and sane
after I lost my mom at the tender age of 13. I'm coming up on the 11th anniversary of
her death - sending Django to help other lost and hurting kids seems like a fitting tribute. . ."
I was stunned and overwhelmed by God's amazing ability to work through every intricate detail. My
excitement grew as I realized that this might really be an open door. I called her almost immediately and as she
shared about her beloved horse and gave me the opportunity to share about the Ranch and Django's role here,
it became more and more obvious that he truly would be a wonderful fit. However, financial restraints had
been a significant part of her decision to sell him, and she was not sure that she could lower his price enough to
make him affordable for the Ranch. I understood entirely and was amazed and humbled that she was even
considering doing so. We agreed that she would think it over and get back to me when she had reached a
decision. The very next day, Ellen called to tell us that she felt Refuge was the perfect place for Django and that
she was willing to take a small fraction of what the gelding was worth so that he could make the Ranch his
home.
Overwhelmed with gratitude for her generosity, and for a God who takes care of every need and detail, I
thanked her profusely. We made arrangements for me to come and ride him just to ensure he really would be a
good fit, though in my heart I had absolutely no doubt. Less than 2 weeks later, Django came home. This
incredible horse was a huge --figuratively and literally -- answer to prayer. He is a gentle giant and absolutely
adored by the kids at the Ranch. Just watching him graze or canter across the paddock is breathtaking.
When a new horse comes to live at Refuge, we almost always give them a new name. So often, they come out of
terrible situations and a new name is part of the fresh start they are given at the Ranch. Django, however, was
an exception to this rule. Not only did he have a unique name that we really liked, in contrast to the suffering
and neglect we so often see, his arrival at the Ranch was a picture of kindness, selflessness, and generosity. He
was a perfect fit, just as he was. His name would stay. Welcome home, Django!
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| REFUGE RANCH |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Meet Django! |
Django (pronounced JANE-go) is truly an answer to prayers!
For some time the Ranch had been in need of another large, well
broke horse. Both our mentoring and our volunteer program
had grown beyond anything we could have imagined. Blaze, at
15.2hh, was our largest horse and one of our quietest horses
under saddle. This meant that he was shouldering a great deal of
the responsibility at Refuge. Not only was he handling the
workload for many of our adult mentors in training, but he was
a favorite for more than a few of the kids as well.
For some time the Ranch had been in need of another large, well
broke horse. Both our mentoring and our volunteer program
had grown beyond anything we could have imagined. Blaze, at
15.2hh, was our largest horse and one of our quietest horses
under saddle. This meant that he was shouldering a great deal of
the responsibility at Refuge. Not only was he handling the
workload for many of our adult mentors in training, but he was
a favorite for more than a few of the kids as well.
 | |  | |  | |  |
| 3845 Delay Rd Pawnee, IL 62558 217-498-7679 email: refuge@refuge-ranch.org |
