Willow Spring, N.C. – The day begins with mixing feed and usually ends sitting motionless in a stall with a wild horse. The goal is to get the horse to trust you, which might take months. But Campbell University Senior Ashley Hum has a lot of patience and a love for horses and people.
Ashley, a social work major who trains horses to earn money, is participating in a program to help stabilize the wild horse population on Beaufort’s Carrot Island, also known as the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve. The wild horses of the Shackleford Banks are said to have descended from a shipload of Arabian horses which capsized in 1739. Because of the harsh environment, the horses that survived evolved into short, stubby, rugged versions of their forefathers.
Now protected by the state and local governments, they are beginning to live longer, grow larger and overpopulate as new generations appear.
Ashley, who has been training horses since she got her first horse at the age of 13, purchased the pony this summer to train and sell to qualified homes as part of the Estuarine’s conservation program.
“I am very excited. This will be quite an adventure,” she said. “To me horses are almost magical. I mean to be able to communicate with animals over 1,000 pounds and get them to be a team with you is just something so great.”
Ashley began renting a horse farm in Willow Spring and training horses as an income sideline when she was 18. And although it is just a sideline, she sees herself working with horses for the rest of her life.
“I have a real way with horses,” she said. “I think it is because God blessed me with so much patience. Horses can’t be forced to do things, they have to decide to listen to you and trust you and that takes time. I love every minute I spend with them—from watching them out of my living room window to cleaning their stalls.”
Ashley believes her talent with horses not only translates into her personal and professional life, but her spiritual life as well. A future social worker or human resources professional, she thinks the patience and empathy she has acquired from working with horses will help her look out for others’ interests. As a Christian, the unquestionable attraction people have for horses opens an avenue of communication through which Ashley can share God’s love.
“Horses can be used to reach many people for God,” she said. “When people come over and want to see my horses, I always try to bring God into the conversation.”
Ashley is the daughter of Scott and Melanie Hum of Raleigh.
Photo Copy: Ahsley Hum and her wild pony from the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve in Beaufort.