Wild Heart Sanctuary is rescuing horses and healing hearts
Park City mustang sanctuary funded by donations, private visits and equine and volunteer programs
Summer/Fall 2025
Written By: Brandi Christoffersen | Images: Deborah DeKoff
During the 1800s, settlers and the U.S. Cavalry brought horses into the Utah territory. With few natural predators, many of these beautiful, affable creatures would escape into the wild and form independent, tight-knit herds.
Today, their descendants roam freely in Utah, where 22 herds, totaling approximately 4,100 horses, live wild and free. Wild horse herds are made up of bands led by an alpha stallion and supported by a beta stallion, a lead mare and other mares and young horses.
These majestic animals are not only magnificent to behold and admire, but are essential to the local ecosystem. “Horses are the bumblebees of the high desert,” explains Sonya Richins, founder of Wild Heart Sanctuary and creator of Free Choice Equine Connection, an approach that lets the horses choose who they interact with. “They reseed the land by eating off the top of the plants and then scattering the seeds through their waste. Moreover, the wild horse trails they create — which are over 20 miles long — help stop wildfires.”
The wild mustangs also help eliminate infectious, deformed proteins called “prions” when they eat the top of the foliage. These complex molecules can cause “chronic wasting disease,” which is deadly to cattle, elk, deer and many other animals.
“Wild horses can eat the protein and are not affected by it,” says Sonya. “Once inside their digestive system, the prions are neutralized and can’t be spread any further. It’s essential for wild horses to remain on our public lands, otherwise, cattle, elk and deer will be at risk of the wasting disease, which could affect their survival.”
Unfortunately, despite the warnings of Sonya and many others, more and more wild horses are being chased down and captured. Once captive, “they are given their badge of honor,” says Sonya. “This is a brand from the Bureau of Land Management that identifies they have been rounded up.” The horses are then placed in holding pens where many will spend the remainder of their days. In these pens, food and water is limited.
However, a fortunate few will be rescued by equine retreats around the country. One of these, Wild Heart Sanctuary, is located right here in Park City. This “little piece of heaven,” as Sonya calls it, is funded solely by donations, private visits and equine and volunteer programs.
At Wild Heart, the rescued mustangs are kept safe and can thrive and grow. The current herd is made up of 10 horses, including Lead Stallion Captain Kokopelli, First Lieutenant Durango and Lead Mare Wind Walker. The newest member of the sanctuary is a new horse named Josh Allen. “After enduring years of hardship, evident in his notable scars, he now deserves a loving and compassionate forever home where he will be respected and honored for the rest of his life,” says Sonya.
Because Wild Heart is open for private visits, horse lovers can spend time with these amazing animals and immerse themselves in their bright energy. “Through the Free Choice Equine Connection, we let the horses choose who they visit with,” says Sonya. “The horses can feel where they need to go. We trust them and the process.”
According to Sonya, everyone will benefit from standing in the presence of these once-wild mustangs. “When I go out to the field everything else just melts away. In fact, many of our volunteers started here by connecting with a horse.”
She continues, “We had an at-risk teen who came by. I brought him to the front of our barn and let him sit there. We have 20 acres and one of the horses came running from the field and right up to the teen. She started breathing on his heart and the healing began.”
At Wild Heart, you can also unwind with a relaxing yoga session or meditate to the sound of the horses and singing bowls. The sanctuary even has an art studio where you can watch and sketch the animals in their natural surroundings.
Because Wild Heart is entirely subsidized through donations, fundraising is vital to its survival. The sanctuary’s annual benefit concert on June 26 will feature the popular local band Cactus Buds.
“It’s our largest event where we collect most of our funds to pay for our hay bales,” says Sonya. “It’s totally casual and everyone brings a blanket and picnic basket. The horses line up along the fence and enjoy the music right along with everyone else.”
Whether you visit Wild Heart Sanctuary for a fundraising event or to spend time with horses in nature, the ranch provides a sense of calm that is hard
to find in today’s world. Sonya promises that, here you will “find inspiration, strength and hope in the presence and connection of the wild mustang spirit.”
