Pierce County rescue organization gives horses a safe place to heal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rainfall Ranch Rescue in Lakebay takes in horses in danger of neglect, abandonment, abuse.
- Since 2022, Rainfall Ranch has rescued 37 horses and now also has goats and sheep.
- Rainfall Ranch provides equine therapy for youth and adults.
Dressed in flowered overalls, her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, Tiana Cooper sat on her back porch and dreamed.
In her mind’s eye, she can see them: horses running everywhere, with feeders and water, all getting along. The area would all be fenced, and she’d have the money to take care of all of them. It's what she hopes her small Pierce County horse rescue will become.
Cooper, 42, is the founder and executive director of Rainfall Ranch Rescue, a Lakebay-based nonprofit that takes in horses in danger of neglect, abandonment, abuse or slaughter. The farm property at 4607 167th Ave. NW provides horses a place to heal as well as a peaceful setting for equine therapy sessions with a licensed contractor.
Visits to the ranch are typically by appointment only, per their website. June 6, Rainfall Ranch welcomed visitors for a free community day with food trucks, opportunities to meet their rescued horses, lambs and goats, a heavy equipment demonstration and a Touch-a-Truck experience with Key Peninsula Fire firefighters.
Since their founding in 2022, Rainfall Ranch has rescued 37 horses, Cooper told The News Tribune during a visit to the property June 11. Two horses, two goats and three sheep are living on the ranch now.
Running the horse rescue is a labor of love for Cooper, who doesn’t take a salary for her work with the nonprofit and has a full-time job in property development. Horses who come to Rainfall Ranch get locally-sourced hay, nutritious mash (think of it like oatmeal, she said) twice a day and medicine that they need. In the winter, the horses get their mash warmed up.
It’s all part of the sanctuary that Cooper has built for horses coming from rough homes, auctions and families who can’t afford to take care of their horses anymore. They’ll re-home horses when they can and share resources with owners who are struggling to take care of their horses.
She says she’s careful to consider how much care the ranch can provide.
“ ... I don’t want to ever overextend myself, where I’m like, ‘Can’t get your medicine this month, buddy,’” Cooper said. “ ... I always said if I ever came to that, I’d eat top ramen for the rest of my life before I let my horses not eat.”
Butter and Jugs
The News Tribune met two horses who call Rainfall Ranch home on June 11.
Cooper thinks Jugs, a brown horse with a white patch on his head, is probably in his mid-20s, which means he’s nearing the end of his lifespan. Rainfall Ranch picked him up in 2023 from a property in the South Prairie area after his owner put out a post on Facebook, and they noticed how emaciated he looked, she said. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office rescued more animals from the same property last year, Cooper said. The News Tribune reported that deputies seized 56 animals, including cats, dogs, raccoons, goats and other critters from a property in the 300 block of Southwest Third Street last August.
Jugs is “like our sweetheart,” Cooper said. Many neurodivergent kids visit the ranch, including some who are nonverbal, and can pet him for hours.
Leah Cargile, 17, also pointed out Jugs’ sweet temperament. She started working at Rainfall Ranch a little over a year ago.
“I’ve been teaching him how to give people hugs, and he’s gotten very good at it,” she said in a phone interview with The News Tribune.
Butter, on the other hand, is “still learning his manners,” Cooper said.
Creamy and yellowish like his namesake, Butter turned five in May. He was born to Cooper’s first rescue — Molly, a mare she found listed on the Bowie Kill Pen Auction in Texas in 2021.
Butter isn’t as gentle as Jugs and “breaks everything I care about,” Cooper joked, but he’ll always have a place in her heart. “Butter is always my baby Butter, because I saw him get born,” she said.
Equine therapy, gardening and more
Besides providing a safe haven for horses, Rainfall Ranch also offers equine therapy sessions for youth and adults, including disabled youth, neurodivergent youth and veterans, Cooper said. The nonprofit is looped in with the Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness and gets referrals through their network for equine therapy sessions.
Juanita Beard is a licensed psychotherapist who provides equine therapy sessions at Rainfall Ranch. She’s been practicing therapy for 27 years and equine therapy for the last two, she said.
In an equine therapy session, a client will typically come to the ranch and check in with their therapist for a few minutes, she said. Then, the client might visit one of the horses and do a little grooming, walk around with them or engage in some play. There isn’t any riding involved.
What makes equine therapy different from other kinds of therapy, such as with therapy dogs? Beard said it might have to do with how big horses are.
“ ... that can feel so intimidating at first, especially if you’re not used to being around horses,” Beard said. “And to discover that this gentle giant just wants to love on you like a big lap dog is a really sort of a powerful moment for men and women, for youth ... you sort of become warm and receptive to that experience.”
New clients can reach out to Beard through her website.
Cooper works with a team of mostly volunteers to keep the ranch going. The board includes her partner, Sarah Monroe, and two volunteers, Jeremy and Mackenzie Callaghan. (Their two kids love visiting the ranch and spending time with the animals, Jeremy Callaghan said in a phone call June 12.)
The team has also been clearing land for a community garden and greenhouse, Cooper said. They hope to host gardening classes and provide space for people to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
As a kid growing up with a rough home life, the barn was her escape, Cooper said.
Her vision for Rainfall Ranch is to create a place that’s inclusive for everyone. Their organization is funded through grants and donations and their programs are free.
“ I think horses have always seemed like such an expensive hobby, right?” Cooper said. “And so people are like, I can’t go do any horse things, I don’t have money for that. And I’m like, you can just come here. Just come.”
