My Nonprofit Reviews

It breaks my heart to write this review. I have been scared to share my story for fear of retaliation from Zuma’s founder. Ultimately, I decided to share my experience in the hope that others will be able to make an informed decision before becoming involved with Zuma’s.

I was involved with Zuma’s as a volunteer and riding student for over a year. I believed in Zuma’s mission and volunteered countless hours with Zuma’s. I did everything from mucking paddocks to participating in fundraising and event planning.

Unfortunately, the cracks quickly became apparent. Zuma’s lacks the financial resources, staff, and volunteers to provide adequate care and training for 70+ horses. Zuma’s calls itself a rescue, but it would be better viewed as a forever sanctuary/hoarding situation. Rescues typically focus on rescuing, rehabilitating, and finding loving homes for animals. Zuma’s is different because they do not typically allow adoptions, meaning the horses are at Zuma’s for life. The founder allows very few adoptions per year (typically less than 5) and usually only adopts to her close friends. Many qualified staff, volunteers, and riding students expressed interest in adopting horses and were not even given an opportunity to apply. The only adoptions have been to their close friends. It is so sad to me that the quality of the horses’ care at Zuma’s has greatly declined due to lack of resources, and yet they will not allow adoptions to loving, qualified homes. The horses deserve more than being part of a hoarding situation.

The horses do not receive enough training to be safe enough for riding students to ride and handle. In order to be safe to ride, the rescue horses need more training and attention to detail than Zuma’s is capable of providing at their current herd size.

Zuma’s also has incredibly high staff turnover. They do not value, respect, or compensate their staff and therefore many of them leave after only a few months. They also don’t pay people on time, leaving them in a difficult position financially. It is heartbreaking to see motivated staff leave due to mistreatment.

My final “breaking point” with Zuma’s was when I discovered that the horse I sponsored via monthly recurring donation was not receiving adequate care. I spent hundreds of dollars to sponsor the horse and he was underweight and in pain. I raised my concerns with Zuma’s staff and Jodi several times without success. It broke my heart that the horse I bonded with was not being properly fed and cared for, despite my generous monthly donation specifically for his care.

I hope that Zuma’s will take steps to improve the quality of care that the horses and staff receive. I think about the horse I cared for often and my heart breaks that I will never get to see them again. Once you step away from Zuma’s, even on good terms, you will not be welcome to return. This has consistently been the experience of all of my friends from Zuma’s as well. It is a toxic environment due to management.

Hopefully this review helps you better understand Zuma’s. I wish it wasn’t the case.