Angel is as close to a mythical creature as you’ll find in real life. Once a pack horse on mountain trecks, rumor has it that she was ridden bareback and bridleless through the rugged mountains with her human partner. At Exodus she has found a new set of skills using her seemingly magic touch with even the most fearful of children. Naturally so gentle and willing to please, she is our go-to horse for new riders or fearful ones. If a student does not feel ready to ride a horse yet (sometimes we forget how scary it can be to be on a horse for the first time!) Angel patiently allows students to brush her long mane as they work up the courage to sit on her back. For more advanced students she poses a challenge with her need for speed. There are many students, once afraid, now courageous, who would rightly say Angel has been their angel.

Cedar is a big, handsome 2009 BLM mustang . He was donated by his generous family after their father, Cedar’s lifelong human partner, sadly passed away. At first Cedar struggled to transtion to the Exodus environment, which was a world away from the quiet mountain life that he was used to. As a mustang and a strong leader, Cedar naturally fends for himself, so it took several months of consistent relationship building before Cedar began to let his guard down and trust us as his new family. He learned to work cows with one of our leaders and proved that he is a faithful and steady mount. His gentleness combined with his powerful presence now makes him an amazing teacher, as he shares his wisdom with any kiddo brave enough to climb top his back.

Of all the Exodus horses, Daisy spent the longest in our “Exodus retraining school,” but is now one of our most trustworthy mounts.  Daisy came to us in 2012, donated to us in hopes that she would be a lovely children’s horse after years being used as a broodmare. However, when Daisy arrived she was so quick and reactive we likened her to a Ferrari! She spent three years in training with some of our dedicated volunteers, going back to basic groundwork training, and another two years before she was fully integrated as a session horse. The hard work paid off, and she is now a reliable, athletic and fun little horse for many riders, and is especially gentle towards our youngest riders. 

Glory came first to one of our loving and talented trainers, Lee, underweight, needing a tune-up, and blind in one eye due to a prior ranch injury. Lee and Glory formed a unique bond, over time Glory blossomed into an athletic, hard working, willing partner. Glory was easily integrated into our session program, and Lee and Glory mentored countless young men together. But we turned a chapter in Glory’s story three years ago when our veterinarian recommended that for Glory’s long term health and comfort we have his blind eye surgically removed. When Glory arrived at the vet’s office, to all of our surprise, our usually stoic Glory turned into a screaming, anxious, mess! It was then that we realized, before Glory found his way into Lee’s care, he was left at this very veterinary practice by his previous owners, who never came back for him. When we returned to pick him up after his successful surgery, we threw our arms around him, letting him know that we would NEVER leave him! Once we brought him home, Glory’s demeanor changed impressively. He became outgoing and expressive of his emotions, he is more confident, brighter, and even his coat shines brighter. Glory is an amazing reminder that though we all carry scars from our past, those scars don’t define us. And with the support of a caring community, we can move beyond past trauma and find new joy and purpose.

Gypsy has been a long time resident of Exodus Farms, but only recently became a fulltime session horse. Previously, she was rescued by one of our leaders and they were partners for many years, competing in obstacle course competitions! But due to injury, her devoted owner knew she would not be able to ride again for a long time, and generously donated Gypsy to our session program, knowing how much Gypsy loves kids. Just as expected, Gypsy was able to enter right into sessions, and is a fabulous teacher of boundaries and confidence. She is also one of our strongest horses, so we are grateful for her ability to carry full grown men, which some of our teenage boys are!

Oliver is the Exodus clown. He swings ropes and running hoses around in his mouth, makes funny faces when we are trying to be serious and pray, and always has something in his mouth that isn’t supposed to be there. As much as our leaders and volunteers might feel like we need to babysit Oliver constantly, we could not do the work we do without him. His silly behavior is perfectly and uniquely suited to engage high energy, easily distacted kids, especially boys. Oliver has brilliantly related to several preteen boys that otherwise would have grown bored of horse riding. He is also extremely well-trained from his backround in horse-showing, and is a great teacher for some of our teenage volunteers trying to improve their riding and horsemanship skills. You’d never guess it from his goofy exterior, but this giant clown is full of superpowers.

Prizm is brand new to program! In the past he has done it all, from trail riding, to dressage, to working cows, to carrying kids. In recent years, his loving owner was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and her heart’s desire was for her amazing horse to serve children in a program like ours. Prizm is still settling in and we haven’t ridden him yet, but when he comes into the arena to visit he always attracts kids from every direction with his curiosity, friendliness, and stunning looks. We are certain he will touch many lives. 

Tommy was trained as a cow horse, meant to do cutting or reining, making quick movements in a competitive setting. But a discovery of cysts on his stifle joints made it evident that those quick changes of directions weren’t in the cards for this little athlete. He was donated to Exodus to live out his purpose in a physically less taxing career, serving kiddos. His quiet, sweet demeanor is perfectly suited for kids, and it’s hard to imagine that this very chill, steady-eddy horse would have thrived (or enjoyed) the competitive career that he was “supposed” to do. There are many children who, rather than gravitating towards a horse whose trauma they relate to, gravitate towards a horse who they can TRUST will always take care of them. And that horse, a horse who has love and compassion to pour into a kid whose cup is empty, is our Tommy. 

Frosty the “party pony” was donated by one of our wonderful volunteers. In his previous career, Frosty traveled by trailer all over the local area, entertaining groups of children with his extra-fluffy mane, his beautiful golden-and-white hair, and his very huggable neck.

Frosty has jumped right into sessions whenever we bring the mini herd out, and the kids love him! He is learning a whole new set of ground manners and ground exercises – such as how to politely follow a child through an obstacle course, or over a jump – and is already very talented at being brushed and being surrounded by adoring fans, since that was a large part of his previous job.

We are thrilled to have this newest pint-sized member of our “healing herd.” Just like our other minis, Frosty will travel to community events like Special Kids’ Day and also participate in our mini driving program! Welcome, Frosty!

When Ginger first met Lilly, this beautiful little black pony dragged her owner all the way to the big barn! Lilly is a petite, 12-hand Welsh cross pony who arrived with several ponies’ worth of attitude packed into that tiny frame. Her original owner donated her to Exodus because her big pony attitude was too much for her to handle. Ginger personally rode Lilly for the first year, trying to get her ready to be an Exodus horse… much to the amusement of the rest of us! With consistent work, Lilly has become the most reliable lesson horse for our smallest riders. She loves mounted games, particularly knocking over cones (as long as the goal is to not knock them over!). She maintains just enough pony attitude to teach kids to work out their issues with her, but she has learned to usually let the kiddos win. Lilly’s story is a great example of how, sometimes, our behavioral choices can make it difficult for people to work with us, or for us to fully participate in the things God has for us to do – but when choose to participate joyfully, we get lots of opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have gotten, and our relationships with those around us improve immensely.

Millie came to Exodus in 2019 after a longtime friend of Ginger’s contacted her about a pony that desperately needed Exodus. The pony was one of 35 horses seized by law enforcement from a barn in Washington for severe abuse. Her tail has been broken in 3 places, her face greyed from halter scaring, she battles ulcers from the trauma. When Millie arrived, her huge, sweet eyes won over all our hearts. But she was so shut down and afraid, not sure how to connect with or trust anyone. One incredible young man had the idea to come read her stories each day. Another boy with his grandma would take her for walks and just talk to her and to eachother. And Ms. Ginger and Millie would hang out on the lawn, watching the sunset together. As Millie’s heart started to heal, the amazing thing was everyone who interacted with her also started to heal. Today, Millie is learning how to pull a cart in our driving program. This is a huge step in overcoming trauma, much of which was oriented towards her hind end and would be triggered by a cart following her. Her energetic and dainty steps make her a gorgeous little cart horse, and you can often see her walking down the street with Ms. Ginger or pulling Ms. Ash along in a cart!

Ace is the patriarch of our mini herd! Wise, calm, and stoic, Ace is the perfect therapy pony and confidence builder for children who are uncertain if a mini (or horse) will listen to them. He is happy to follow any child placidly and obediently through an obstacle course or around the property, and his gentleness has melted many hearts. In addition to the kiddos, he loves his regular outings to visit the veterans at the local VA home. 

In our mini herd, he has always kept the peace, tolerating the antics of young Flash and Festus, and acting kind and caring toward Lillybelle and Frosty. He now lives with Frosty and Festus, whose diets are different from the other minis. Ace eats two big bowls of mush a day, as his teeth are too worn down in his advanced age to be able to chew hay. We are extraordinarily thankful for our sponsors, who allow us to provide specific care for our senior herd members. This helps us live true to our commitment that these horses are here with a purpose, for life!

Festus is our one and only, and dashingly handsome, mini mule! Arriving as a three year old, he came to us with very minimal training, but won over our hearts with the way he wraps his head around you in a mini hug. Festus has worked hard at learning the basics of being an equine in a human world, including being haltered without turning it into a game of chase, walking nicely on a leadrope (it’s not tug-of-war), and letting us groom him (and feel loved by it!). He was originally skeptical of some of our human world things, but very smart… so with consistent love and meeting him on his own terms at his own pace, Festus is finally believing that us humans have only love and fun for him! He now joins sessions frequently, enjoying standing on the mounting block to imagine he is just as tall as the horses… and joins mini sessions whenever the mini herd comes out to play. Festus is touching so many lives because of the sensitivity and compassion he needs to feel safe. 

Flash’s claim to fame is that he is the only Exodus critter to be born at Exodus! When his mom Lillybelle arrived at Exodus we were told she “might” be pregnant, but that seemed unlikely. Well the joke was on us because a short time later little Flash was born! Surrounded by love from his very birth, Flash is an example of someone who knows their worth and has no problem flaunting it. Full of tricks and quite a bit of mischief, Flash is an entertainer to the core. Kids love to run full speed with him around the arena, and if they can hang on it ends up looking a bit like waterskiing! As Flash grew up, we decided to try to teach Flash some maturity, so he entered our driving program. To our surprise, he absolutely excelled at cart driving! Amazingly, he has learned to remain on task and keep his silliness for playing with the kiddos! We now offer cart driving one-on-ones in lieu of riding for any kid who needs a one-on-one or would prefer not to ride a big horse, and kids are learning incredible lessons through this new opportunity to interact with our minis!

Daisy the Dorper Lamb came to the farm in January of 2025 as Gatsby’s “companion sheep.” Daisy arrived as an energetic 2-year old, taking her responsibility as a companion with enthusiasm, trotting along everywhere in her giant friend’s footsteps.

Upon Daisy’s arrival, she set her eyes on our Jacob’s sheep, Larry, who lived with our horse Coal… and decided Larry was going to be her new best friend. Daisy proved impermeable to fences, although she only used her powers for good – to break into Larry’s pasture over and over again while she attempted to convince the elderly sheep to be friends! Although he ran and hid from her at first, she was not to be dissuaded, and after several months, the two became inseparable.

When Coal suddenly passed away about a year into his and Larry’s time here at the farm, we were all very grateful that God had orchestrated Daisy and Larry’s friendship, and that Daisy had been so insistent about it. Larry and Daisy recently moved in with horses their own size – the minis! And they make an adorable completion to our mini herd. 

Daisy is an excellent example to us all of having deep joy for life and being persistent and determined to be a good friend!

Larry arrived as our very first sheep (a companion to Coal, a sensitive gaited horse) in early 2024. His loving owner was suddenly unable to care for him due to rapid onset dementia, and the family reached out to us to take in both horse and sheep together.

Coal and Larry fit right in instantly. Larry “blahhhhhhh”d his welcome to everyone who came through the gate, and Coal blossomed into a shiny, friendly, beautiful boy who made a profound impact on many lives here.

Less than a year after Larry arrived, we received ANOTHER companion sheep, Daisy, when she and “her” horse (Gatsby) joined us at the farm. Larry, an elderly Jacob’s Sheep at 9 years old, really wasn’t so sure about making friends with Daisy – an enthusiastic 2-year-old Dorper lamb – but she eventually won him over, and the two can now be seen napping and grazing together every day.

Daisy’s friendship turned out to be a truly important blessing for Larry when Coal passed away less than a year after arriving at the farm.

Larry and Daisy recently moved in with their size horses – the minis! And the sheep provide an adorable completion to our mini herd. 

Many of our farm kiddos have never even seen a sheep before, and from Larry, Daisy, and Miss Ash, they get to learn all about keeping sheep, and even the fascinating process of how people spin wool into sweaters!