{"id":16351,"date":"2025-09-30T16:28:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T22:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rescue-horses-find-healing-and-homes-through-aztec-nonprofit\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:57:07","slug":"rescue-horses-find-healing-and-homes-through-aztec-nonprofit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rescue-horses-find-healing-and-homes-through-aztec-nonprofit\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescue horses find healing and homes through Aztec nonprofit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Katie
Katie Johanson, trainer and general operations organizer at Four Corners Equine Rescue, is shown with feisty Skye. (Debi Tracy Olsen\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a slogan sure to tug at an animal lover\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

More than 100 people visited the second annual \u201cHug a Horse\u201d event Saturday at Four Corners Equine Rescue in Aztec, which cares for 63 horses \u2013 45 on-site \u2013 according to Katie Johanson, trainer and operational organizer for the rescue.<\/p>\n

The event raises awareness and funds for the rescue, which operates entirely on donations and grants.<\/p>\n

Visitors met horses, attended training sessions and heard stories from volunteers and staff, said Johanson, who rehabilitates incoming horses, prepares them for adoption and trains volunteers.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2004 by Terry and Debbie Coburn, the facility was built by the couple. Debbie Coburn died two years ago of cancer.<\/p>\n

A lifelong horse lover, Debbie once took the estrogen replacement drug Premarin, made from pregnant mares\u2019 urine. The Coburns launched the rescue after learning about the drug\u2019s production in Canada, where mares are kept pregnant and their foals discarded, Johanson said. The couple transported foals from Canada to Aztec for adoption.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the help of their vet, Dr. Quintana, they saw the need for a rescue for all horses, because there isn\u2019t another rescue in this area,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Today, the center works with the New Mexico Livestock Board to take in stray, abused and neglected horses, as well as older ranch horses.<\/p>\n

Premarin remains available in Canada, though its use has declined, attributed to evolving medical knowledge, patient concerns, and ethical considerations for animal welfare.<\/p>\n

Many horses need rehabilitation and time to adjust to human contact. Wild mustangs and strays often arrive never having been touched.<\/p>\n

\"Terry
Terry Coburn, president and founder of Four Corners Equine Rescue, is in his element taking questions and presenting info about the rescue horses, including the all-important \u201cdon\u2019t approach a horse from behind\u201d message. (Debi Tracy Olsen\/Special to Tri-City Record)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The rescue also seeks adopters. \u201cWe really focus on kind training techniques. We try to be ethical in our horsemanship,\u201d Johanson said. Nine horses were adopted this year, making room for others.<\/p>\n

Dan and Sue Byra visited Saturday. Volunteers for about a year and a half, they adopted two horses in July: Dreamer, a 24-year-old painted gelding blind in one eye, and Wings, a 14-year-old Palomino gelding. Both were standoffish and needed extra care, but now the couple can rub them, halter them and put on fly masks. \u201cThey have a place to run,\u201d Sue said, \u201cand a barn for eating and cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Working with horses is new to Dan Byra.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a big learning curve,\u201d he said. \u201cWe come out once a week. Even though we\u2019ve already adopted horses, we still come for the training and see what we can pick up and learn to help us work even better with the horses that we adopted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Four Corners Equine Rescue is collaborating with mustang advocates to build a sanctuary for wild horses in the San Juan Basin. \u201cWe get a lot of feral horses from around New Mexico that really deserve to be wild and deserve to stay in their natural habitat,\u201d Johanson said. \u201cWe just want to make a more natural home for these wild horses.\u201d She estimates there may be 300 or more wild mustangs in Carson National Forest.<\/p>\n

Rescue staff and volunteers welcome young visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids are the future of horsemanship. We want the kids to come here and see that horses are more than just a tool \u2013 that we have to take care of them as well. We\u2019re in charge of the future, keeping them out of slaughter, making sure that they are not starving in someone\u2019s yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more, visit Four Corners Equine Rescue online or on Facebook and Instagram. \u201cPeople are welcome to reach out to us to set up an appointment, because we always take volunteers. We always take donations,\u201d she said. \u201cHay is not cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corners Equine Rescue opens gates to community for \u2018Hug-a-Horse\u2019 event<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16351"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20153,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16351\/revisions\/20153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16351"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}