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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who spends all day, every day, working to ensure unwanted horses have a better life received a High 5 this week.
Catherine Kirby has been around horses all her life, but now she surrounds herself with horses that need a little extra care. "We take horses of all ages. Most of them have been abused, abandoned, starved, neglected, things like that," she explained.
Catherine had seen far too many mistreated horses so she started the non-profit Noble Horse Sanctuary in order to give them a safe home.
"I can just walk down the street and rescue a horse," she said. "I could bring a horse in every day."
Many are mistreated because they have a physical or behavioral problem which makes them un-rideable. Others come to Catherine because the owner can no longer care for them. It's a full time job. Catherine has anywhere from nine to 15 horses to care for at one time.
"Every day, twice a day, the place is cleaned. The horses are fed three times a day. They get groomed by volunteers. We turn them out in our pastures every day," she said.
- A 501 (c) (3) Utah Nonprofit Corporation
- Based in Salt Lake City
- Focused on reducing the cruelty and suffering of horses
- Will rescue, provide emergency relief, rehabilitation, life long care and adoption of abused, neglected and unwanted horses
- More info: www.noblehorsesanctuary.org
"I have a lot of fabulous volunteers and donors that I couldn't do without," Catherine added.
One of those volunteers, Joan Parker, said, "That's another thing about Catherine's place, is that all these procedures ensure that the horses have a successful experience and that they are in the most stress-free environment possible."
Catherine says she loves the job. "Every day I get up and it's fun to come feed the horses," she said. "The horses are the ones that should get the High 5."
As part of the High 5, Catherine received a gift basket from our partner, Les Schwab and $100 toward her next set of tires.
If you would like to nominate someone for a High 5 who is making a difference and doing the right thing in our community, do so here.
