Colorado Horsecare Foodbank Success Story: Tonya O.

Tonya O’s story is a classic Colorado Horsecare Foodbank success story, and shows how providing temporary help to feed a family’s horses gives them the breathing space and strength to get back on their feet. In 2009, just a year after the economic crash of 2008, Tonya’s husband had some medical problems and lost his job. Tonya also was having health problems at the time, and was not able to work, so her husband’s income was critical to their family and their four horses.

Tonya and her husband were leasing a horse property and were feeding, grooming, and cleaning up after their horses themselves. As soon as their landlord found out that Tonya’s husband had lost his job, the landlord sent eviction papers (despite the fact that rent had been paid promptly each month).

Tonya and her husband worked fast, and found another horse property to lease, and moved themselves and their horses within 10 days, instead of the 30 demanded by the landlord. But ongoing medical expenses, job loss, and the expenses of moving, and paying first month’s rent, last month’s rent, plus a deposit, left Tonya and her husband with nothing left in reserve.

To add “kerosene to the bonfire,” the price of hay had virtually tripled. “Hay was $6.50 a bale, and then it jumped to $15 a bale. On top of all the other financial stresses, we just couldn’t swing the cost of hay,” said Tonya.

In desperation, they were deciding which horse to sell, in order to feed the rest of horses. That’s when a friend told Tonya about Colorado Horsecare Foodbank. She applied for a temporary grant of free hay. As part of that process, Colorado Horsecare Foodbank Executive Director Juliana Lehman reviewed her application and then came out for a site visit. “When I first met Juliana at the site visit, I was nervous,” said Tonya. “I didn’t know if she was going to make me feel bad for needing assistance. But she was welcoming, supportive, compassionate, gave us some really helpful suggests, and she’s been in touch with us ever since.”

Everything was in order, references checked out, and their application for a temporary grant of free hay was approved. “When Juliana called and said we could have a grant of free hay to tide us over, I cried,” said Tonya. “It was such a huge stress relief to know that our horses were going to be fed until we could get back on our feet.”

Tonya’s four horses are:

• Frankie – An eight-year-old cutting horse
• Peanut Butter – A four-year-old gelding that came to the family because Tonya’s grandfather was 87, a long-time quarterhorse breeder, and had to give up his horses because he could no longer care for them.
• Sunny – A calm, kind gelding
• Bisket – A miniature donkey

Tonya has grown up with horses, and they’re in her blood. She was in 4H, and her first job was working as a trail guide doing trail rides in Minnesota. She considers her horses family. “There are people out there who think horses are just livestock,” she said. “But when you spend the time that we spend with our horses, they become a member of your family.”

Feeding and caring for the horses also brought Tonya back on the road to recovery. “I was dealing with fibromyalgia, and was in constant pain. There were days I was so miserable, I couldn’t get out of bed,” she said. But needing to take care of her equines was a driving force to get her up and moving: to feed, to groom, and to clean. So her horses provided a therapeutic purpose, as well as companionship.

The grant of emergency hay from Colorado Horsecare Foodbank gave Tonya and her husband the time they needed to get back on their feet. Tonya’s husband recovered and got another job. Then Tonya’s fibromyalgia started to ease up, and she got a job a local animal rescue/welfare group. They’re now back on their feet and saving money to buy their own horse property, and move forward in their lives with their horses.

“Colorado Horsecare Foodbank is committed to saving lives, and to keep horses with their owners,” said Tonya. “If I hadn’t been able to keep my horses, I think I would have slipped into a deep depression over being sick and losing the horses. I doubt I’d be where I am now, with a good job at an animal rescue. Keeping my horses gave me the strength to keep going, and work through everything that happened to us.”