Cowboy Heaven: One woman's evolution from serving veterans to saving miniature horses

Brenda York spent two decades as the director of disability and veteran services at Montana State University, dedicating her career to people who needed an advocate. In retirement, she’s still showing up for those who need support. They just happen to have four legs.

From her property between Belgrade and Manhattan, York runs Cowboy Heaven Miniature Horse Safe Haven. To keep the rescue afloat, she balances the full-time care of the miniature horses while also working at Ace Hardware.

“I did not retire correctly,” York said with a laugh. “I’m not traveling. I do this.”

The rescue, York said, began with one phone call in 2021. A lifelong horse lover, she joined the board of Montana Horse Sanctuary after retiring from MSU in 2017. In that position, a fellow board member asked York to take in a bonded pair of miniature horses that had suffered severe abuse. From there, the calls kept coming.

“We got the first two, and then the second two, and you fall in love with them because they’re just characters,” York said. “And as we rescued them, we realized there’s such a need out there.”

According to the American Miniature Horse Association, the first miniature horse arrived in the U.S. in the late 1800s. Since then, they’ve been bred and kept for a wide range of purposes, including companionship, exhibition, mining work, research, and even as prestigious gifts for royalty.

Standing at just under 3 feet tall, many miniature horses are purchased for the novelty, York said, until owners realize it’s not all fun and games. Much like dogs bred for specific physical traits, decades of selective breeding has come with unintended health effects for miniature horses — like limb deformities, bone abnormalities, and sensitivity to sugar.

“Nobody really wants the ones that have medical issues,” York said. “They want unicorns.”

Most of the 13 horses in York’s care were surrendered because of medical issues and vet bills their owners could no longer afford. The rest came from situations of neglect or abuse. Some arrived severely emaciated, with crooked legs from medical neglect, or so fearful from physical abuse that it took months to earn their trust.

York has also taken in other farm animals, including a donkey that had been used as a roping dummy — routinely roped and dragged down so the owner could practice for rodeo.

“I’ve dealt with psych reports from veterans at MSU. But sometimes this can almost be (harder),” York said. “Because these are helpless animals, and what people do them.”

As she recounted her animals’ stories, York was interrupted several times by one of the miniatures, a young, black-coated horse named Penny, bumping her nose against York’s hand for pets, or sniffing around her jacket pocket. It’s a far cry, York said, from Penny’s demeanor when she rescued her three years ago.

“Penny was living in a dog kennel with goats,” York said. “She was so scared of everything. But now she loves attention.”

In the years since launching Cowboy Heaven, York has come to realize that the healing journey doesn’t always end with the horse. Once rehabilitated, she said, miniature horses can serve as therapy animals for people suffering from trauma.

“I still have some veterans I work with that’ll call and say, ‘Hey, I’m kind of going down the rabbit hole’,” York said. “They’ll come out and brush a mini, or hang with them.”

York has also worked with Gallatin Youth Court, welcoming juvenile offenders to the rescue as volunteers for their community-service hours. She remembers one boy in particular who came for the hours, but left with some much-needed perspective and a change of behavior.

“His mom told me he’s figured out that there’s worse things in the world,” York said. “Seeing what these minis have gone through and hearing their stories.”

Recently, York said she’s turned to the miniature horses for her own emotional healing. Last week, one of her beloved rescue horses named Macy suddenly died from an acute heart condition. Fighting back tears, York recalled how she first encountered Macy years ago at a livestock sale.

“She was so malnourished,” York said. “It was June, and she had a full winter coat. She was in our quarantine pen for six weeks, and I nursed her back to health. Then she became a little firecracker.”

When Macy died, York coped with her grief by spending time in the horse pen. While the miniatures are usually playful, she said their mood in those first few days was different.

“They all came around and put their heads in my lap or on my shoulder,” York said. “They can sense it. Animals are very good about that.”

In honor of Macy, York launched an online fundraiser hoping to purchase other abused horses available for sale. But one fundraiser isn’t enough. To supplement her own paycheck, she is also pursuing grants and seeking out benefactors, as community donations have dropped significantly over the past year as more people struggle to pay their own bills.

“We’re a standalone entity, and we’re just trying to do the best we can,” York said. “I’ve turned away five rescues in the last three months because we’re just over full.”

The hurdles are undeniable, for York and the horses she rescues. But she has a vision that expands beyond her current corral. With more funding, York hopes to purchase land and establish Cowboy Heaven as an expansive sanctuary, where miniature horses and traumatized people can help each other heal.

“I just love them, I want to help them,” York said. “Getting more land is my biggest goal, because I don’t want to have to turn any away.”