About our Founder

Rachael has been in the world of riding and training horses for over 25 years. Starting as a student practicing in the Hunter Jumper discipline, she successfully competed in the GHHJA horse show circuit (Greater Houston Hunter Jumper Association). In the following years, she went on to be trained in dressage, natural horsemanship, barrel racing, and starting or restarting a horses training.  

 In between riding lessons, Rachael had a childhood bestfriend whose mother owned several horses and rented out a barn near where Rachael eventually started the Equine program we have today. As a child alongside her bestfriend, she taught herself to safely ride the trail and the roads, as well as along the beach and in water. It was through that friend and her mother that Rachael’s love of Rodeo was born. They taught her how to run the barrel racing pattern and it sparked an interest in Rachael that led her to continue learning from anyone she could, especially buying books and magazines written by or featuring famous Barrel Racers.

   Around the age of 12 Rachael was taught how to start young horses and how restart rescue horses with their training. Her parents could only afford to pay for Rachael to show once a year, so Rachael picked up a passion of Training other horses at the barn for shows. Her instructor brought in western trained horses from rescues, and would have Rachael retrain them to be English hunter jumper show horses for the other students to use who were able to have regular attendance to show careers in the English discipline. Around this time is also when Rachael taught her first riding lesson!

   Around the age of 14, Rachael began to experience the symptoms of a genetically inherited brain disease, known as schizoeffective disorder - bipolar type. This widely misunderstood disease causes disruptions in the way the brain naturally works and reacts to certain stimulus and life events. Here is Rachael’s testimony that is the underlying reason she was led to dedicating her life to training horses as ESA therapy animals and sharing them with the community:

 “When I was about 14, it was like I woke up one day, and suddenly I was just different. I began to experience crippling anxiety and bouts of deep depression, with mood swings constantly. At the time, I was also battling disabling symptoms from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, but it wouldn’t be until adulthood that I would have an accurate diagnosis for this medical condition. Doctors were dismissing a lot of my symptoms, stating that I looked healthy on the outside so the symptoms that were leaving me partially bed ridden must be anxiety or depression. It was then that I was placed on an SSRI antidepressant medication for the first time.

 Within a few weeks, I began hearing voices and seeing things that weren’t there. The voices were terrifying, sounding as if they were right next to me or outside my window. This is when I began having paralyzing panic attacks and suicidal tendencies. My adopted mother noticed that when I was with my horses, I was completely normal. So she started bringing me to the stables where we boarded them no matter what time of day or night it was, to see if during these panic episodes the horses may help. It was as if the horses were magical during these moments. As soon as I saw my horse coming up to the gate to greet me, my heart stopped racing, the voices were gone, and my intrusive thoughts became no more. 

  In early adulthood, I was a young mother of 2 children and couldn’t afford to keep my horses anymore, I had to rehome them. For almost 6 years I didn’t have any horses, and during this time I had a horrible mental relapse. In 2016 I rescued a gelding named King, who had been severely abused and neglected. Working with King made me realize, I NEED horses to be ok. Something about them, made me feel as if God reached right through them to hold me in His arms.

  This is when I began throughly researching the “why” behind horses being so therapeutic, and I finally learned the science behind it. Immediately it became my mission, to share this knowledge and healing power with the community. The only problem was, I didn’t have the horses I needed to do it with! 

  In 2018, I had a near death experience. During my coma, I saw a vision of the dream herd of horses I prayed for my whole childhood to own. In the vision, I was being shown these horses would soon be mine. It seemed unreal at the time, especially waking up on life support in the ICU, and then having to send my first Lesson Horse Mr Oz over the rainbow bridge. Oz had suffered rare severe hoof infection following Hurricane Harvey after being trapped in flood waters for days. Not only was I stuck I the ICU, now with no horse to even do regular riding lessons with, I had also lost Al I owned in that flood and at this point had not recovered any of what I lost. I didn’t even have a vehicle, or a place to call home. But something inside of me told me, those horses I saw in that vision would be with me much sooner than I ever expected. I felt so excited about it, it had to be faith. Walk by faith not by sight is one of my favorite mottos so I vowed to God that if He blessed me with the horses I always prayed for my whole life that I saw in that vision, I would share them with anyone who needed them and I would encourage those people to love those horses as their own because they wouldn’t be just my horses, they would belong as gifts from God to anyone who needed them. Later that year, I rescued the first horse I saw in that dream. A Pinto Arabian Mare named Dolly who would one day give birth to the horse in the vision who looked almost just like her; her son Apollo.

   In 2019, I moved to a family ranch in central Texas where my Uncle sponsored my instructor certification through the CHA (certified horsemanship association) By 2021, I was back down home in Galveston County and not only was Apollo was born, but the little white pony with blue eyes I saw in the vision came to us as well! 

  Rewind back to 2017, I had my first student on the Autism Spectrum. To see how this child glowed with the horses changed my life. In 2018 I gave birth to my youngest daughter, who would later be diagnosed as on the Spectrum as well. My daughter was about year old, when I temporarily moved to central Texas to work for my uncle doing therapy lessons for his special needs foster children where I got my instructors certification. These children were on the Autism spectrum or had mental retardation. It was around this time that my youngest son began having severe emotional and behavioral issues. He began having the symptoms of schizoaffective disorder, which is a genetic issue in our family on my maternal side. He was around 6 when the symptoms started, and he got his own therapy horse “Cisco” for his 7th birthday. Cisco helped him so much, that he told me we had to share Cisco with anyone who needs smiles.

 Cisco has since become a staple of our program! Seeing how the horses have helped not only myself but my children as well, that made it concrete that we have to put our whole heart into the mission of sharing the healing power of the horses with the community. It took years to form a board of members who are dedicated as me and my kids are to helping others. But through prayer and mindfulness God helped us make it happen and I am thrilled to finally be a 501c3 organization!” 

  Today Rachael’s main focus is natural horsemanship, the therapeutic aspects of life with horses, and teaching others not only how to ride and care for horses, but also how to build a lasting bond with any horse or pony. These bonds are spiritually based and are built on a solid foundation of true trust between horse and rider, Activities at Liberty, and Natural Horsemanship using Positive Reinforcement methods and traditional ways and teachings of Indigenous Native American culture.

 Rachael’s mission for the program to become a Federally approved 501c3 non profit organization has come to fruition. Traditional/Regular horseback riding lessons are available for an instructors fee. Currently all Equine Assisted Therapy and Learning services are available for free with minimum donation or scholarships paid by sponsors. 

 Rachael has had a lifetime of hands on experience growing up with and helping others who have mental health struggles such as Depression, Anxiety disorders, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, ADHD, Borderline personality disorder as well as PTSD. Rachael also has many years of experience working with children and adults on the Autism or Asperger’s spectrum. Her dream is to become a Licensed Equine Assisted therapist so she can better help those in need have a positive, life changing experience by experiencing the healing potential of Horses.