Jackson rescue a happy retirement home for old horses, and the man who loves them

Horses have been a huge part of Maury “Jonesy” Jones’ life as far back as he can remember. Starting at age 13, he worked as a wrangler at a summer camp in Colorado. He likes to say that “life is always better when viewed from the ears of a horse.”

Jones owned a riding stable and outfitting business for 30 years in Wyoming and Colorado. When his favorite horse, an Arabian named Shadow, developed arthritis at age 22, Jones decided that old horses need the same kind of retirement home that old folks do — a place of safety, peace and rest. So he started a nonprofit.

Jackson Hole Horse Rescue launched in 2008 in the tiny town of Grover in Star Valley. In 2011, Jones got a job managing the 256-acre Trinity Ranch west of the Jackson Hole Airport. He struck a deal with the owner: 40 acres of irrigated pasture for the horse rescue in exchange for Jones taking the owner’s family and friends on horseback rides when they visit. “It’s a win-win situation,” Jones said.

The rescue regularly gets calls from people whose horses have gone lame, developed chronic conditions, or become too old to work. A retiring game warden recently brought three horses to retire at the rescue. The organization has 24 horses in its immediate care and another 10 or 11 that are “fostered out” to other properties.

For winter, the horses stay in Crowheart, about 20 miles east of Dubois, where it’s warmer and gets less snow than Jackson. From late April through October, they’re at the Jackson property, where volunteers are welcome to help with chores like shoveling manure, fixing fences, grooming horses and cleaning hooves.

It costs about $3,000 a year to care for and feed a horse. People can adopt a horse, paying for veterinary bills and winter feeding at about $1,000 per horse, plus hoof trimming at $150 every two months. Sponsorships are also available.

One horse at the rescue is named Cinco — it has five hooves. Another is Romeo, a miniature horse originally named Pico that Jones renamed because he “fell in love with all the mares.” Romeo now lives in Dubois with a man who has other small ponies.

Horses that are rideable are kept at the ranch for the owner’s family and friends. “It helps keep the horses happy because they get to go out someplace and do something besides standing around the pasture,” Jones said.

Jones’ wife Linda helps with the daily labor, which can take eight hours a day. She said volunteers who have lost loved ones have found therapy in working with the horses. “We’ve had children from daycare facilities come out, spend the morning grooming horses, learning how to give them treats, have a great day,” she said.

Up until five years ago, Jones financed much of the nonprofit out of his own pocket. Now the rescue receives significant help from Jackson’s Old Bill’s Fun Run fundraiser. Jones, 78, and his wife, 77, plan to keep caring for their horses as long as they can. His beloved Shadow died three months shy of his 31st birthday in March 2018.

“We just really love horses,” Jones said. “It’s really self-satisfying to go out, brush the horses and do nice things for them. We just give them a good old folk’s home — a nice place and tender care until they go.”