Hi there. I'm Maddy and I'm running this fundraising project because I believe when you see something and you know it's within your means to change, you do it.

When I first drove by Oreo's small pasture on the corner of a country road in Orchard, TX, I knew he needed help. It was summer in Texas 2024, and the heat was rising quickly, encroaching on 100 degrees (plus some fierce Texas humidity). In Texas, when summer hits, you'll find yourself sweating, even on the walk to and from the car.

So when I saw a gorgeous and kind black and white stallion baking in the Texas summer sun, I did what I always did - I pulled over. With 20+ years of experience with horses, owning several of my own, and coming from a family of riders, I knew something was wrong. When I got a bit closer, I knew that his situation was dire and that his days were numbered unless someone stepped in.

The stallion had no shade from the merciless Texas summer sun. He had painful tight knots in his long tail dragging in his muddy pen, and his feet were beginning to crack up through the middle. He had no companion, and that small muddy pasture equipped with a bale of moldy hay and a sludgy water trough had become his whole world. He was suffering.

I've always felt like God put me on this earth to protect its creatures, so I followed suit even though it felt wildly uncomfortable to knock on a stranger's door and offer my help.

When I approached him, he approached me back, likely given his rare visitor count. To be honest, at first, I was really angry. I wondered, who could do this to such a beautiful animal?

It wasn't until I approached the trailer home that I realized he wasn't the only one who needed help. Oreo's owner (I later learned was Ms. Annette) had holes all over the deck in front of her trailer home from falling through the floor to get to her front door. I quickly realized that they both desperately needed help. Their home - their foundation - was falling apart, and there was no one around to help them.

When I approached Ms. Annette a year ago in the summer of 2024, I don't think she knew what to think about a stranger showing up at her door offering to help. She was cordial but understandably unsure of me and ultimately did not accept my help. It was clear to me she wasn't the type of woman to ask for help - something I innately relate to.

So today, when I arrived one year later at her door with the same question and a little bit more tenacity, I couldn't believe it when she finally said 'yes'. Upon being given permission from Ms. Annette herself after a year of waiting for her to open up to me enough to allow me to step in, I look forward to doing these two some good and changing their lives in a way that's small to me, but will be massive to them.

While I can't fix all of their problems, what I feel emboldened to do this summer is end the suffering I have witnessed today and over the last year.

The phase 1 goals:

phase 2:

Rebuild Ms. Annette's front door deck. No more risking falling through the floor every time she enters her home.

100% of proceeds will go directly to the farrier, materials, and equipment rentals needed to pull this little but mighty project off.

If you are in the Houston area and are interested in donating your time or knowledge of shelter building or deck building, please join me in this little mission!! I need all the help I can get.

Let's show Oreo and Ms. Annette that strangers can be kind and they don't need to live in fear or suffering. Thank you so much for your contribution to this small but mighty cause.