It has to be love and determination that keep Brenda MacArthur and her husband Dave motivated at Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue. Their farm is a safe-haven for horses that have been rescued from various circumstances, where they are nurtured, returned to health and retrained to ultimately find a new and loving home.

Brenda has been rescuing horses for over 10 years, purchasing her 48 acre farm in Hagersville in 2007. Her and her husband work full time to support the farm and the 34 horses that call it home, of which 25 of those are rescues. Once at the farm, Brenda assesses the health, needs and level of training of each horse. After ensuring the horse's health is that of what it should be, Brenda and her many volunteers work the horse providing training and determining its capabilities for future sale to a new owner.

Whispering Hearts depends on its many volunteers to make the farm function and guarantee the success of the operation. One of those volunteers is Tom Shields, a certified Chris Irwin trainer from Iron Horse Equestrian Centre. Tom regularly volunteers his time working with the rescued horses to allow them to once again gain the trust of humans and develop their training. Another volunteer at the farm is Eric Proulx, a farrier that keeps all those feet in tip-top shape.  Brenda is still searching for a vet to provide volunteer services for the health of the horses on the property.

The rescue operation is not a registered non-profit. It receives no funding at any level and is solely dependent on the wages of Brenda and Dave, along with donations of feed, tack, healthcare supplies, hay, bedding and especially money from the community. Donation boxes are set up at many tack stores and other retail stores in Niagara. Brenda regularly creates other fundraisers as well, such as their Open House on July 4 - a barbecue, garage and tack sale. The money raised goes directly back to the needs of the horses.

To learn more about Whispering Hearts Horse Rescue visit their website. Take a look at the horses currently available for adoption and watch for interesting re-homing stories in upcoming issues of Equine Niagara News.

Before a horse can be re-homed, Brenda does a home visit to ensure the living conditions and standards of care are suitable to the needs of the horse. After,  she routinely does follow up on each of the horses, always keeping a motherly look-out for the well-being of her re-homed horses.