For decades, free roaming horses have called the Eastern Kentucky Mountains home, but when they wander into the road or damage someone's property, they need safe harbor.

That's where the Appalachian Horse Project comes in.

Leaders in Perry County recently leased farmland to the nonprofit, giving rescued horses a place to retire or be adopted.

The executive director says it's good for the horses and is good for the community.

The Appalachian Horse Project was born out of a necessity for care that was needed for the free roaming horses over eastern Kentucky.

They span about nine counties.

The last count that we had whenever we were inventorying them, there was around a thousand.

We're talking about domestic horses that were dropped off to free roam.

That was the original plan about 50 years ago.

You know, when coalmining was starting to slow down and the coal companies were reclaiming and, you know, they planted these wonderful, flat pastures full of grass.

So it was kind of an ideal opportunity for livestock owners at the time.

So they would, take them up, drop them off, let them grace for the summer, and then they'd take them back home.

Of course, over the years, things changed.

You know, maybe the the horse owners passed away and the family wasn't interested in continuing care or whatever the reason may be.

The two reasons that we've removed horses from the mine sites has been for health concerns.

Whether they're getting 2000 or they've gotten an injury horse, they get onto the highways, then, you know, obviously they've they've got to be removed, especially if they're there's a few herds that were habitually going onto the road.

So, you know, at that point, once they've made a habit out of it, they need to be removed.

The original owners, the Maynard family, owned this property since the late 1800s.

It used to be a working cattle farm.

Their family wanted the county to have the opportunity to obtain the property and to keep it as a working farm.

Perry kind of knew about our plans already.

And so whenever we'd had meetings with them and things.

And so whenever they got the opportunity to buy this, they, of course, thought of us and, bringing the horses out here.

It has definitely helped us to be able to help more horses, because now we have all this extra space to bring them to.

We do still have fosters, but this is also going to serve as an adoption center for us.

So we have a few horses here on the property that, you know, once we feel like they are trained well enough and, you know, they're used to being handled by people and everything, then they will be offered up for adoption.

We hope to offer farm tours, as early as this spring so that we can bring folks out, you know, and that'll be kind of a tourism effort, too.

It's been a place for the community, you know, to come together.

I mean, local families, we're always going and visiting the horses and feeding them.

And, you know, I mean, we have people who for generations have gone up and visited the horses.

So everyone's very happy to see that.

Some of the horses that I have lived for so many years now have a safe place to call home to.