NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – A man’s passionate bond with horses has sparked an inspiring rescue initiative in the New Braunfels community.
Chance Nemec, 29, was born with disabilities.
“Chance is nonverbal,” said his mother, Linda Nemec. “He has a minimal vocabulary. He suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) coming into the world. It actually took many years before we got introduced to horses.”
Linda Nemec said years ago, around 2014, they were helping someone board a horse on their property located at 1457 Ewald Road.
She said Chance Nemec and that horse began to bond, which inspired her to get him and his brother each a horse of their own.
“We got Katie for Chance, and I knew something was special because Katie would test everyone else who tried to ride her,” Linda said. “But when Chance would come out, she would walk right up to him and put her head right in his chest. He really loved riding with her. It gave him purpose. He would brush and saddle her. She would never mess up with him.”
Linda Nemec said she noticed on Craigslist while looking for horse gear that someone was trying to sell a severely malnourished horse.
“They were like, ‘Come ride him,’ and I was like, ‘No!’ That was not what we needed to be doing with that horse,” she said. “But I ended up contacting that person and ended up saving Red. That is how I started learning about nutrition and rehabilitation and all of those things.”
The research is where Linda Nemec and her son began a nonprofit organization, Happened By Chance Horses, which is a rescue that has saved over 400 horses since its beginning.
“After a while, people started realizing that we had a great vet and were seeing success story after success story with saving these horses and adopting them out to their forever homes. In the horse rescue world, we had to prove that our hearts were in it for the right reason,” Linda Nemec said. “Then, I was contacted by national organizations saving horses that were racehorses and had to be discarded. Then came the horses with significant injuries and cuts. We got to a point where people knew we had a great team, and that is how the growth started happening.”
Linda Nemec said the nonprofit also has experience working with law enforcement agencies that seized abused horses from neglected properties to help them recover.
“We get so attached, but how can we not when you nurse these horses back to health, and you have to send them to their forever home, so it is a bittersweet day, but it is exactly why we do what we do,” she said.
Outside of giving these horses a second chance at life, another beautiful thing that has come out of the nonprofit is that Chance Nemec’s life has changed for the better.
“He is a little more outgoing. He would stand up for horses for sure. He loves to give them names, where many of them are Paw Patrol names for horses. We still have Liberty. He just loves his horses,” Linda Nemec said. “This place has also gained him relationships and friends with volunteers who come out here. He has a lot of mamas out here; that is how close he has gotten with everyone who comes out here. It is nice to see him come out of his shell.”
After Katie went to Heaven, Chance Nemec has built a new bond with his horse Bleu, which his mother says is an encouraging sight to see. She hopes it encourages other people who have a family member with disabilities.
“Well, I always say special needs are not impossible needs,” Linda Nemec said. “They are just different needs. Horse therapy, with any special needs, is amazing, the communication that happens between a horse and a human.”
Because it takes thousands and thousands of dollars to run the nonprofit with vet care, food and management, they could always use donations and volunteers.
In October, the nonprofit is holding its annual benefit at the Seguin Rodeo Arena Complex.
This year’s theme is “Saddle Up for Second Chances.“ The event will include food, a silent auction and more.
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