Leila King was undergoing treatment for two forms of cancer when a friend introduced her to a rescued horse. She did not know whether she would survive. Beside that horse, she and her three daughters found a release from the stress and anxiety surrounding treatment.
Someone had given that horse another chance. The time Leila spent with him helped shape what she wanted to do with hers.
Leila founded Kihoi Ranch to help wild Mustangs build lives beyond government holding through patient training, trust, and partnership. Now she is working toward the nonprofit’s first adoption. But getting started has exposed a difficult contradiction: the horses she knows can bring people peace are often seen as too dangerous to welcome.
We talk about the horse-human connection during her cancer treatment, what observing wild horse families at McCullough Peaks and the Pryor Mountains has taught her about belonging, and why protecting Mustangs requires understanding more than their beauty. Leila also shares the barriers to bringing her vision to life and her plans to make horsemanship accessible to young people who might otherwise never encounter a horse.
A rescued horse offered her something she needed during an uncertain chapter. Kihoi Ranch is her effort to carry that gift forward.
ABOUT LEILA KING
Leila is a paramedic, mother of three, and founder of Kihoi Ranch, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to wild Mustang rescue, training, and advocacy. Its current focus is bringing its first Mustang home and documenting the journey to educate others and build a foundation for future rescues.
CONNECT WITH LEILA AND KIHOI RANCH
Website: https://kihoiranch.org/
Facebook: Leila’s Facebook
First Mustang adoption fund: Donate through Zeffy
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Website: https://thetouchofamustang.org/
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