Best Friends horses enjoy companionship, care, grooming, plentiful food, and lots of room to run. Sick or physically handicapped animals receive the medical care, special diets, and understanding that they need from staff and volunteers.
Horses recovering from injuries receive therapy from trained staff in the special exercise arena.
15 horses were adopted out into new homes in 1999, after being rehabilitated here at Best Friends. Staff is comprised of manager Carrie Kelley, three regular staff members and occasional volunteers. Sunbeam and Virginia, two Best Friends burros, grew up in the Grand Canyon. Their ancestors had been left there after helping Europeans to colonize the west. By the late 1970s, herds of wild burros were overpopulating the area and the federal government had concluded that large numbers had to be shot.