Bring Bodhi Home

Reuniting After 11 Years. Help Me Bring My Horse Home to California.

I never thought I would see Bodhi again.

Eleven years ago, while I was caring for my husband during the final stages of his battle with brain cancer in Ojai, something unthinkable happened. Without my knowledge or permission, my beloved horse Bodhi was sold at auction. Many of you knew John Michael, and many of you also knew Bodhi. Losing both of them in such a short time broke my heart in ways I still struggle to describe.

From that day on, I searched for Bodhi across the country. I followed the local leads till I found the truth about his sale at auction (another heartbreak because I didn’t know if his story ended there), followed up on national leads, called ranches and rescues, and held onto the hope that he was out there somewhere, safe, alive, and loved.

For 11 years, I didn’t give up.

Early this year, I posted Bodhi’s story on a Facebook group called Former Owners Looking for Horses. Miraculously, an amazing woman in NY reached out and said: “I think I have your horse.”

I flew across the country to meet him in September…and it was absolutely Bodhi! Older now, a senior horse with the same twinkling eyes and the same honest heart. We both worked out some feelings, as he had never had the chance to know it wasn’t me who sent him away, and I had never had the chance to explain.

And in an act of extraordinary kindness, his current owner offered to let me have him back so he can live out his final years with the person who loved him since he was a yearling. I cannot describe what that moment meant. He is no longer able to work as a school horse at his equestrian stable now because of arthritis in his neck, so he is retired and ready to just be a friend and companion.

I was able to find an oasis in the desert – an incredible boarding stable only 15 minutes away from my home that specializes in senior horses and senior owners.

Now, I need help with the last step: bringing Bodhi home to California.

Transporting a senior draft horse cross-country - from Long Island, NY to Desert Hot Springs, CA - requires professional haulers, a box stall, careful handling, and weather-safe timing. Every quote I’ve received is $5,000 and up, and those prices climb quickly as winter approaches on the East Coast.

I can cover his care once he’s here, but right now I simply cannot do this part alone.

❤️ How You Can Help

If you’re able, please help me bring Bodhi home after eleven long years apart. Every contribution, large or small, brings us closer to reuniting for good and giving him the peaceful, loving retirement he deserves.

If you can’t donate, sharing the campaign would mean just as much.

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for all the love and support you’ve given me over the years. This reunion is the closest thing I’ve had to a miracle, and I’m so grateful you’re here to be part of it.

Let’s Bring Bodhi Home.