They run pretty fast for a bunch of retired “old boys”.

For their advanced age they play a lot too, kicking up their heels, hanging out in groups, eating together, and lazing around in the
sun.

In fact, the horses at Happy Horse Sanctuary have the absolute run of the place at Tracy and Martin Croucher’s 17ha property in Arapohue just out of Dargaville.

For nearly a decade, the couple have been giving rescued, neglected and unwanted horses a safe haven to see out their days.

For Tracy, she’s just as happy hanging out with them.

“They take up a lot of my time, but I’m happy to sit in the paddock and watch them and spend time with them,” she said.

“I spend hours watching them play and do their thing.

“They’re majestic animals.

“Each has a different personality, each has different issues, but they just give out so much love. They’re awesome creatures.”

Croucher grew up riding horses, taking part in pony club shows such as gymkhanas and eventing.

She stopped riding when she was 14, but her passion for horses remained.

She and husband Martin were living in Whangārei Heads in 2013 when Tracy shared her modest ambition.

“When Martin and I got married, I told him my dream was to have a horse outside my bedroom – so he went looking.

“He went looking for a rescue.”

Martin returned with Nelson, an ex-pacer who was destined for the meatworks.

“It took him a while to learn to be a horse again, he had completely shut down.

“We fell in love with Nelson, and thought he needed company.”

Frankie was next; a “one-year-old bush pony” from Ninety Mile Beach in the Far North who had lost his mum.

Frankie was initially found by a truckie wandering the side of the road.

“When the SPCA got him, he was emaciated; it took a while for him to be able to stand by himself.

“The SPCA brought him back to condition.

“It progressed from there.

“We were rehoming the already rescued.”

The Crouchers took on another three horses – Dacoda, Danny and Sharman – before moving to their Arapohue property in 2019.

That’s when the idea of a sanctuary really took off.

The Crouchers now have 13 horses, which are split into two herds.

One herd is called the Originals, which has the initial horses that came to the property, and the other is called the Old Boys.

Most are geldings aged 18-27, and have come from various places around the North Island, along with a couple of mares.

Two are Kaimanawa ponies from the mountain ranges in the central North Island, and there are also thoroughbreds, standardbreds, and mixed breeds.

There are also two horses that are owned by people whose circumstances changed, a trend Croucher quickly copped on to.

They went from rehoming rescued horses to taking in those whose owners could no longer care for them.

“We saw a need for older horses who couldn’t perform any more, so they were either left behind or people needed to rehome them.

“Some owners still want and love them, but leave them here and still keep in touch.”

But it’s the rescued horses that Croucher feels for the most.

Like Danny, an ex-racehorse turned showjumper who suffered a leg injury and was left in a paddock with no grass.

“He was skin and bone.

“Nelson was just 4, but I couldn’t get him to move – he was like a 30-year-old horse, he acted so old.

“It took him 18 months to learn to trust and enjoy life and run around with his tail and head high.

“They’ve all had hard lives and have their issues.

“We see the side effects of the trauma they’ve gone through.

“We take them on so they can live out their days with us knowing they don’t have to go through that again.”

Croucher, who has a fulltime job as a legal admin worker, also has two dogs and a cat.

She spends several hours a day taking care of the horses, with help from Martin, who works from home.

“Martin didn’t have anything to do with horses till he met me.

“But he’s quite a softy, he’ll often text me saying ‘this is what I’m seeing today’ and send me photos of the whole herd lying down.”

None of the horses are ridden; they have acres of rolling hills to graze on and a barn to shelter under during bad weather.

“We’ve made it a proper sanctuary now.

“They think they’re in heaven.

“They seem to be happy and chilled out. You see them playing with each other galloping round the paddock.

“It’s just awesome to see.”

• Tracy is on the lookout for people to sponsor individual horses. If you’re interested in helping a rescue horse, email smudge.chrissy@gmail.com or check out Happy Horse Sanctuary on Facebook.