Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynn Hummer.
Hi Lynn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Founded nearly two decades ago, Pregnant Mare Rescue (PMR) began with a simple but urgent mission: to rescue pregnant mares and orphan foals from abuse, neglect, abandonment, or trip to the slaughterhouse across our borders. Over the years, our approach has evolved. We learned that some horses—especially those who have endured extreme workloads, human demands, and/or abuse—cannot safely be rehomed. In response, PMR expanded to provide lifelong sanctuary, offering a safe, natural environment where horses can live freely, in family groups, and on their own terms. Today, our 8-acre sanctuary is home to a small herd of rescued mares and growing foals, as well as elderly horses who need permanent refuge.
Lynn Hummer, the founder, hosts the pregnant mares and new foals at her ranchette as she lives onsite. The need to rescue remains ever present, and the organization sets its sites on purchasing larger acreage to provide permanent sanctuary for equines in need.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No! it has been a challenge to sustain the organization and remain true to its mission statement. Animal rescue is difficult. Horses are extra hard because they live much longer than other pets, and the adoption pool is just about zero. We also allow our rescues full agency, meaning they do not work for us. We serve them. They need rest, rehabilitation and a forever place to be safe. They have endured enough. We work tirelessly to keep that promise.
Societal and environmental challenges really put our finances to the test. We survived the 2008 recession, when donations plummeted . From 1986–1992 California endured one of its longest droughts ever. The 2020 CZU complex fire alone burned more land in the county than all wildfires in the previous 70 years combined. We are on constant fire alert, and have been evacuated three times. We suffered ridiculous storm damage when a Category 5 atmospheric river made landfall in October 2021. Then a 3-Week Siege Between late December 2022 and January 2023, an unprecedented train of 9 consecutive atmospheric rivers hammered California. The damage sustained and erosion issues required drained our rainy day fund, making us build back from zero.
We are a small organization. The big non-profits get invited to apply for large grant money. We do not qualify. Our budget remains under the needed threshold required to be eligible. We receive little grant funding, and operate mostly (95%) on private donations.
Of course, this remains high on our list of priorities, to figure out sustainable funding and get off the begging train. Funding would completely change the fabric of what we could accomplish!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Lynn Hummer has never done anything by halves.
A self-taught singer and songwriter, she worked her way up to performing with a 16-piece
orchestra in the 1980s, entirely by ear, driven by a lifelong conviction that a creative voice
should be used in service of the voiceless. When the music industry offered her only
exploitation, she walked away.
She married, raised two children, and in 2006, after learning that over 100,000 American
horses were being sent to slaughter annually, she founded the Pregnant Mare Rescue in
Santa Cruz County, California. Twenty years later, she is still there, still pulling pregnant
mares from kill lots, still fighting for those without a voice, still finding miracles in the most
unexpected places.
For the Love of Horse is her debut memoir. She is currently working on a second memoir
and has published a series of children’s books inspired by real animals from the rescue.
Lynn has recently created a new resource for the nation to address the issue of unwanted equines. The 2026 threat of the borders closing presents a problem the nation is not prepared for. Lynn foresees an upcoming battle to reopen the slaughterhouses in our nation (by funding them) . 80% of the public do not want our American horses being slaughtered, but the opposition (with a lots of money) is very strong, https://thesafehorsecollective.org collects resources and routes them to the most appropriate places.
Lynn is most proud of her grown children. to enjoy your children as adults is one of life’s greatest gifts.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I sang professionally for 11 years. I worked with a 16 piece orchestra until 1988. This brought me to performing 3 times in the 80’s at the ‘Top Of The Mark’ (Mark Hopkins Hotel), each time the San Francisco 49er’s won a Super Bowl. Met many celebrities, all the players, and enjoyed friendships with some.
Worked at Apple Computer before the internet existed! I was one of 4 people chosen to participate on a pilot program to test telecommuting. We’d log in from home and see if messages could be relayed back and forth.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pregnantmarerescue.org
- Instagram: pregnant_mare_rescue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pregnantmare.rescue/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PregnantMareRescue
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pregnant-mare-rescue-aptos
- Other: https://thesafehorsecollective.org
