More Than a Cookie Chase: How Our Horses Help Heal the Land
If you saw the recent video of Beauty’s herd hustling after the ATV, you probably smiled (and maybe laughed a little) at the sight of a dozen hooves trotting along, eager for the cookie jar. But behind the joy is something deeper—and vital to what we do at Broken Arrow Ranch & Sanctuary.
This wasn’t just a fun run. The herd was being guided from one pasture to the next as part of our Regenerative Land Initiative—a long-term effort to restore Oregon’s high desert by mimicking the natural movement of native herbivores like mule deer and pronghorn.
Their hooves help aerate the soil, their manure replenishes it, and their movement encourages seed dispersal—all while giving each pasture time to rest and regenerate. It’s not just animal care. It’s ecosystem restoration in motion.
🐴 Why We Move Our Herd
At Broken Arrow, we practice intentional, rotational grazing. Moving our rescued horses from one pasture to the next isn’t just for fresh grass—it’s a form of ecological restoration. The way our horses graze and move mimics the natural behavior of native herbivores that once roamed these lands: bison, elk, deer.
This type of movement is essential for:
Preventing overgrazing
Allowing soil and plants to recover
Promoting biodiversity in grasses and forbs
Spreading natural fertilizer (ahem—manure) across the landscape
Their hooves gently break up compacted soil, improving water absorption and seed-to-soil contact. Their waste nourishes the earth. And their movement helps us rotate pressure across the land so it can rest, regrow, and thrive.
The Herd as a Healing Force
What’s truly amazing is that these formerly unwanted, neglected, or wild horses are now playing an active role in restoring this ecosystem. They’re not just being rescued—they’re helping us rescue the land too.
This is at the heart of our mission at Broken Arrow:
To reconnect animals, land, and people in a way that’s healing for all three.
A Living, Breathing Cycle
When the land is respected and allowed to recover, it gives back tenfold—providing better forage, safer terrain, and cleaner water for the herd. It's a mutual relationship, not just management.
And it doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
It happens because of the people who volunteer, donate, and sponsor. Every shift of pasture, every fence repair, every bale of hay—it all keeps the cycle in motion.
Want to Be Part of It?
If this work speaks to your heart, here are a few ways you can help us keep going:
🐴 Sponsor a horse and support their care
🌿 Make a donation to fund pasture maintenance, seed planting, and soil health tools
🤝 Volunteer with us and see this healing process up close
Let’s keep building a world where animals, land, and humans restore each other.