It’s hard to pinpoint Michele and Madison Castillo’s favorite thing about horses.
“I just care about animals so much,” exclaims Madison. “I love them.”
That’s why a couple of years ago, this mother and daughter decided to turn this passion into making a big difference at the Easy R Equine Rescue, a horse rescue in Lubbock.
“We rescue and rehabilitate horses that have been neglected or abused or need new homes for some reason or another,” says owner Angie Alspaugh. “I can’t do it all myself so volunteers are pretty special to us.”
And with dozens of horses at the rescue at one time, there’s a lot to do.
“Well, we pick poo,” Michele laughs. “We groom the horses, we try to train them a little bit socialize them. We just love on them, love on the horses.”
Volunteering helps them bond with the horses.
“We’ve gotten to experience horses being brought in for the first time and just change over time, and see their personalities come out completely,” Michele explains.
And also grow their mother-daughter relationship.
Michele says she hopes the will to volunteer will stick with her daughter, who will then down the line teach her children the importance of giving back.
“Giving back was something that my mother instilled in me as a young girl and I knew I wanted to do the same for Madison,” said Michele. “You walk away feeling like you’ve done something good.”
The Easy R Equine Rescue rescues dozens of horses a year. To learn more about the organization visit: http://www.easyrequinerescue.org/
Want to help out but don’t know where to start?
Contact the Volunteer Center of Lubbock at (806) 747-0551.
