My Nonprofit Reviews

Wow. Just wow. Everything about Maple Hill Farms screams that it is the best of the best when it comes to equine rescue and, to be honest, our family knows a thing or two about this area. As an officer of our state's draft horse and mule association, I've worked with a couple of draft horse rescues in the state to re-home the retired drafts of aging owners and our family has fostered numerous rescue horses, some at the point of severe starvation, for two other rescues until those court cases were resolved and the horses were rehabilitated and could be adopted out. Unfortunately, I also know of non-profit rescues which I would never recommend or work with. So when our very horse experienced daughter, Gabby, went to college in Maine (and missing our horses) and told me about an "outstanding" equine rescue where she had started volunteering, I was more than a little curious.

What I have found in the 4 years that Gabby (now a senior) has worked with Maple Hill Farms is that it is one of the best equine rescues we have had the pleasure to work with. Rehabilitating a malnourished or injured horse is not rocket science but it does require an almost obsessive attention to detail and a dedication to not rush the process. Maple HIll's founder, Nancy Cecil, has both of those traits in abundance but has also found it in the special partners who foster some of the horses as well. People like me. I know what it takes to rehab a horse properly and they do it right. But what really impressed me, what really puts them in an altogether league is the care they've provided to the horses with injuries that are much more difficult to "fix". These are the horses with psychological scars, the ones that were physically or emotionally abused, the ones who are frightened of people, who physically cringe or tremble at your touch, who don't trust, the ones who are so easy to put in the back pasture and forget about because they are physically healthy and content to be left alone. The Maple Hill team nurtures these horses every bit as much as any other horse, showering them with gentle love, slowly earning their trust and re-teaching them that human hearts are good. Sometimes it takes months, sometimes it takes years. Nancy and her team of volunteers truly see the diamond in the rough in every horse and work tirelessly to polish it to its greatest potential brilliance so they can find the perfect forever home and owner. If that is truly not possible, then they'll provide them that forever pasture but they'll still never give up. THAT is what makes an equine rescue truly outstanding. They are not only admirable, they are an inspiration and Nancy is at front and center with her wealth of equine knowledge, decades of experience, commitment to the community, extensive work with the Special Olympics Equine program and amazing love and care given to a particular, sometimes homesick, college girl who only gets to come home over Christmas and the summer breaks. :)

And so when Gabby graduates next May and we drive her truck back across the country, we'll also be hauling a trailer with one of Nancy's horses to her new forever home. Ours. Yes, we're not only admirers and volunteers, we're adopters as well. As part of her volunteering, Gabby got to know this big gentle mare when she arrived at Maple HIll, sweet and willing but severely malnourished. As she put on weight and Gabby began to ride her, she realized she was a perfect match for me (and her) - a horse who would enjoy riding trips into the back country, driving excursions, a little dressage and jumping and a big horse that would babysit our big, non-horsy husband/dad on the rare occasion that we talked him into riding with us. We basically needed a horse who was not only calm and gentle but willing to try anything. With my matriarch at 34 yrs old and my current Belgian/TB riding horse at 22 yrs, we had started the process of keeping our eyes out for a younger model who would likely be my last horse. As an avid equine driver, I also wanted to find the right horse while my big guy was still working well and could teach her things as her partner that I could not in the driving training I provide. Nancy knew us well and agreed that our home would be perfect for this loving mare in spite of the fact that she probably could have gotten more adoption fee from someone else. She puts the best interests of the horse before financial gain - that's what catapulted Nancy and Maple Hill Farms into my "best of the best" status. We are forever grateful and blessed to have gotten to know Nancy and her team and can't recommend supporting this great organization enough, either through financial support or through adopting one of their special horses.
Nicole