Montana Horse Sanctuary hopes to help horse owners

by John Dowd

After the success of last year’s course, Jane Heath and Leslie Nalls with Montana Horse Sanctuary are bringing their horse ownership basics class back again, with big plans. Heath is co-founder of the sanctuary and Nalls is a rancher and horsemanship educator who has partnered with the organization. 

According to Heath, things went so well last year, they decided to offer more classes again this year.

“We actually had people come from as far away as Kalispell and Butte,” said Heath. She took it as a good sign that this kind of education was well-received by the area, and even beyond. Because of this interest and need, the Montana Horse Sanctuary plans to keep holding classes.

They just held a class last weekend, but registration is open for another class March 22 and 23. This year, the first class filled up right away, within just 10 days, according to Heath. The upcoming March class is already filling, with just a few spots left.

“We want to reach as many people as possible,” said Heath. She said if classes keep filling up, they will just keep offering more classes. 

They are even looking to expand the class to online. In the process, they have been communicating with Homes for Horses Coalition, connecting them with sanctuaries and horse rescue programs across the country. Their hope is to partner with these other groups and do this same course online for their communities. According to Heath, sanctuaries across the nation are seeing the same alarming need and interest.

According to Heath, getting started with horses can be overwhelming. “There is just so much to learn; horses are a lifetime of learning. I think that’s why I love it,” said Heath. She said the goal of this class is to address the fact that “people new to horses need resources to get rolling.” Without a family with a history in horses, it can be expensive to get started and difficult to even know where to start and how to do it right. 

But with that said, Heath and Nalls do not really consider this class a beginners class. They see it more as a review of the fundamentals. In fact, a lot of work went into deciding what those fundamentals are. Heath said this was difficult to decide, asking what really could be considered “the most important things you have to know at the beginning.” 

Heath is confident they found that balance, and is extremely excited to have partnered with Nalls for this class. She believes Nalls is integral in what makes the class so effective. Heath wanted to highlight “how much the sanctuary admires Leslie’s teaching style.” Heath described her as open, a good listener and vastly knowledgeable on the subject. “We’re picky about our instructors,” added Heath.

The sanctuary has held hundreds of classes over the years, and the organization prides itself in choosing to keep on really good instructors, especially for such a foundational course. “She just has wonderful experience and a terrific teaching style,” said Heath. 

Each class is limited to 11 spots so that “people have a chance to participate and get all their questions answered.” Admission is $50 for adults, and $25 for an accompanying youth. “We want parents to come as well, because they fund the operation,” said Heath. “Horses are such a fun way to get the whole family involved!”

For parties interested in learning more about Montana Horse Sanctuary, or to learn when the next course openings will become available, Heath suggests visiting the organization website, montanahorsesanctuary.org. There, interested parties can follow a link to class registration which includes more specific information about the classes.