Caring For Unwanted Animals

Bonnie Buongiorne had never been on a horse before until she was 40. She went with a friend who had a day pass for horseback riding with the Institute for Living in Hartford.

After that experience, Buongiorne’s love of horses was born.

“I had a connection with the horses,” Buongiorne said. She didn’t care about riding, she added, just about the connection.

After that fateful day Buongiorne, who owned a building company, decided to make a career change. In August of 2000 she moved from Southington to East Haddam to open Ray of Light, an animal farm that rescues and cares for neglected, injured, discarded or abused large animals. The farm also helps with the adoption and placement of rescue animals and seeks to promote an understanding of animals and kindness toward them.

In August 2004, Ray of Light became a non-profit organization; a percentage of what is bought in the farm’s Save A Buck Tack Store goes toward the animals.

Ray of Light takes in horses people no longer want, including wild horses, which can be a challenge to train, Buongiorne said. She makes sure she goes through the steps to train these horses in a way that is best for the animal, not best for humans.

Buongiorne is a believer in gelding on her farm, she does not believe in breeding at Ray of Light. This is because the animals brought to her came from situations where they were being bred.

“They were unwanted…I don’t want to create more unwanted,” she said.

Horses make up about 50 percent of the farm, which consists of almost 200 animals. The other animals include chickens, ducks, cows, llamas, alpacas, zedonks (a cross between a zebra and donkey), peacocks, geese, parakeet and a barn cat. The farm also is home to guinea pigs, which are good “teachers for kids” Buongiorne said.

A wide range of people come to visit Ray of Light, Buongiorne said. Pre-schoolers to people in their 80s enjoy petting and riding the animals. Buongiorne teaches people the importance of understanding animals and how to treat them.

“We are very involved with kindness to animals and kindness to each other,” she said.

The farm offers many community programs. One is Tiny Trotters for pre-schoolers, the kids get to go on pony rides and learn about the animals and the relationships they have with people. There is also Filly Night, a night out for women with riding lessons, a potluck dinner and a social.

Ray of Light also holds an eight week training session for adults who want to learn how to take care of horses. This $200 class is not about how to ride horses, but how to train them. There is also a camp for children 11 or older from July 25th to the 29th.. This $375 class is held every day of the week and includes classroom instructions and hands-on training on how to care for and ride animals.

“People should not be riding horses unless they understand how a horse thinks,” Buongiorne said.

Events go on throughout the year on Ray of Light. Some of the holiday-based events are a non-scary hayride in October, just before Halloween, a Winter Wonderland, which offers horse-drawn sleigh rides, caroling and a bonfire in the woods and an Easter egg hunt when spring comes.

There is also an annual fundraising silent auction. There are over 300 to 400 items that people donate throughout the year that are auctioned off on this night. Buongiorne has 18 full- and part-time employees, as well as 30 volunteers who come and go throughout the year to help with these events.

All these events and programs are important not only to the farm but to Buongiorne. She wants people to understand animals and how people connect with them. Buongiorne herself barely rides horses. When she does, it is usually her “buddy” Beaux, a 26-year-old horse she has had for 20 years.

“Something that big lets us get on and ride them…they allow us to get on their level.”

The farm is located on Town Street in East Haddam. For additional information on the farm and its events, Ray of Light.