Tough Times, Yet Hope Lives at Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue

By Kitson

It was the screaming that did it.

When Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue founders Jennifer Swanson and Brad Gaver went to pick up the chestnut paint horse, there was a lot of crying and screaming. Who wouldn’t scream if you were losing your house and had to give away your horse, too? But while the family was upset, it was their goat who was screaming as his best friend disappeared into the trailer. Without missing a beat, Brad and Jennifer offered to take the goat, too. It’s just what they do.

Once the goat stopped screaming there was a collective deep breath. Everything was going to be ok.

A day in the life at Pure Thoughts

This is the essence of Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue. Brad and Jennifer didn’t over think taking the goat. And it didn’t take long for them to find someone who would adopt the horse and the goat as a unit and agree to never separate the pair. This is what I love about Pure Thoughts. I have known Brad and Jennifer since they were just starting out, doing horse rescue on three acres in Wellington, Florida. Thanks to Facebook, even when I’m stuck in DC, I can get my daily fix of horse rescue, even if I’m not able to visit in person.

The yearling filly, Willow (left), is worse off than six-month old Jason Matthew
 “She’s been starved longer,” Brad told me.

For the last ten days, I’ve been following updates about a heart-wrenching rescue of two very young and very neglected thoroughbreds, one a great-grandson of Secretariat. While the babies are in the worst condition of any youngsters they’ve ever seen at Pure Thoughts, with Brad’s healing hands and the earthy, wholesome bucketfuls of grains and herbal remedies that Jennifer feeds the babies, they have a hopeful future.

I felt the agony of the screaming goat, however, when Brad told me that Pure Thoughts itself is in danger of disappearing, just like that chestnut horse onto the trailer, from the goat's point of view. According to Brad, donations have been down because some larger donors had been under the wrong impression that Pure Thoughts was fully sponsored. Not so. Pure Thoughts operates entirely on private donations. Last month Jennifer and Brad had to sell their tractor to pay the mortgage on the farm. They can’t make their truck payments. They are close to losing their property in Loxahatchee.


I’m going to send a donation today. Can you help? Please see donation information is below.

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Six-month old Jason Matthew, great grand-son of Secretariat being healed and loved at Pure Thoughts. Earlier this week they gave him a body score of 1.75. It's hard to tell -- he's been clipped once, but his hair is thick and matted. For more information and photos, click here.

Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible. If you would like to make a donation, please click here or call (561) 254-0415. If you are interested in adopting a horse, please call Brad at (561) 951-2108. Feed donations can be made by calling Town & County at 561-746-0433.

Update! Baby Jason after some great Pure Thoughts volunteers got rid of the rest of that matted hair!