Winters can be tough in Fairplay, Colorado. Deep snow and harsh winds are a daunting thought, especially when you have a herd of horses to care for. With its feed budget for the year already exhausted, this upcoming winter was looking especially tough for Far View Horse Rescue, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing shelter, care, rehabilitation and adoption services for abused, neglected, abandoned and unwanted horses.

The team was still in good spirits, though. On Nov. 5, more than 40 volunteers gathered to celebrate, share stories of the team’s hard work and remember the countless horses they’d saved and rehomed. Or so they thought. What they didn’t know was a very special surprise was headed down the road.

Purina Animal Nutrition surprised Far View with a donation of two tons of feed delivered by none other than the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, who have a longstanding relationship with Purina and are exclusively fed Purina feed.

The donation was made through the A Home For Every Horse program, which supports shelters like Far View to ensure that every horse is taken care of, and can find its forever home. Purina is proud to be A Home For Every Horse’s title sponsor, and through the program, has helped support more than 600 shelters across the country.

"To date, we have donated more than 800 tons of horse feed to help rehabilitate horses through our sponsorship of A Home For Every Horse," says Jamie Kinnear, Purina Animal Nutrition director of Lifestyle Marketing. "We are pleased to offer this gift to Far View Horse Rescue and hope it helps the organization continue to make such a positive impact on the horses and volunteers involved."

This donation’s special element of surprise was the result of a challenge to the Land O’Lakes marketing community from Land O’Lakes, Inc.’s Chief Marketing Officer Tim Scott. Earlier in the year, Tim asked the entire marketing team to think of new, big ideas that highlighted the company’s values. The best pitches would be awarded funding—and the chance to turn an innovative idea into reality.

“Purina believes in unlocking the greatest potential of every animal, and we care so deeply about the welfare of these animals,” says Amy Margolin, associate marketing manager. “We had the idea to use our sponsorship of A Home For Every Horse, as well as our partnership with Budweiser, in a big way, and feel so fortunate to have been chosen as one of the 11 winning pitches.”

Back at the ranch, Amy says the weather almost threw off the surprise. Although the forecast had been clear for the morning, a last minute snow came through and made the volunteers wary to stand outside in the elements.

“Fortunately, the weather began to clear just as the Clydesdales arrived, and the excitement of the surprise seemed to take care of any lingering concerns about the cold,” she says. “The volunteers could not have been more gracious. They were so genuinely grateful that we had chosen them out of all of the shelters across the country and were so excited by the impact that the donation would have.”

The A Home For Every Horse team was also on hand to celebrate with the Far View volunteers. Together, they are doing important work for a real problem. Equine rescue organizations are overwhelmed with taking care of the ever-growing unwanted horse population. A Home For Every Horse helps bridge the gap between rescue organizations and the people and businesses that can help.

“Every horse deserves a good home. When we can find new homes for rescued horses, it makes everything worthwhile,” says Page Van Meter, a volunteer at Far View Horse Rescue. “We couldn’t do all of this without the help of our youth and adult volunteers and the support of programs such as A Home For Every Horse and Purina.”