For Louise Schmidt, the co-founder of LES Haven Ranch, the mission began with a college equestrian club and a horse.  

LES Haven Ranch is a blind horse sanctuary in St. Ignatius, founded by Louise and her husband, Korey. Louise, or Lou as most people know her, aims to provide a haven for blind horses who would otherwise be euthanized or passed from owner to owner. Other rescues or shelters often rehome animals to permanent homes, but she wants to offer a haven of stability.  

Lou works the ranch full-time and homeschools the couple’s two little boys, Arlo and Levi, while Korey works full-time and contributes to the ranch in his spare time.  

Lou was involved in an equestrian club at Washington State University and worked on an older couple's ranch. She broke and rode one of their horses, whom she fell in love with, and the couple decided to give her a foal from that horse.  

“She's my first horse. And I didn't know, right off the bat, she was born blind, but she was born with a head tilt,” Lou said, recalling Lea.  

Lou recalls thinking maybe she was lying in the womb wrong, or perhaps she fell when she was born in the early morning hours. The vet x-rayed Lea and determined that she’d be fine if she kept nursing.  

“So, we just raised her as is. She had the head tilt the whole time, and then when I weaned her, that's when we knew something was majorly wrong,” Lou said.  

They took her to the vet again, and within five minutes, they determined that both her optic nerves were disconnected and that she had been blind since birth. The vet recommended euthanizing her.  

But Lou decided to train Lea instead. She took her backcountry riding, barrel racing, cattle herding, and more. After moving from Washington to Montana, she met her husband, Korey, and they started hunting for a “husband horse.”  

When Lou and Korey went to look at a potential equine, they learned she was going blind.  

“We ended up taking her. And then it was on both our hearts to start a safe place that blind horses can go to,” Lou said.   

Korey and Lou purchased their property near St. Ignatius five years ago and named it LES Haven after Lea, her first blind horse, Elsa, her deaf dog, and Sadie, their second blind horse.   

When they purchased the property, the arena had water flowing through it, and the run-down duct-tape fences were in poor condition. Lou explained that it has been a slow process to repair it, but as they've done so, they’ve built pens and taken on more blind horses to enjoy this haven.  

Right now, the property is home to 17 blind horses, which Lou said is plenty for 20 acres. The horses in the collection come from abusive pasts, kill pens, or rehoming situations. While some have trust issues, Lou is patient and can train these horses to ride. She has become an expert on blind horses.  

She has seen rescues become overpopulated, but their goal is to provide stability and quality of life. Lou said they plan to build more fencing to incorporate more pastures onto the property this year, and her parents are interested in buying nearby land, which may help them expand their acreage.  

Next year, Lou plans to add glamping to the property, so people can also enjoy the haven.  

Lou explained that born-blind horses are easier to train because they don’t know what it is like to have sight, but horses that experience blindness later in life have what she calls a “spook season.”  

“Because they go in this process of like, ‘oh my gosh, what is happening to me,’” Lou said. “It takes a lot of patience and time, and just loving on them, even through those hard times. And once that passes, they start to relax and build their confidence again.” 

Lou’s first blind horse, Lea, which started this non-profit and ignited the family’s mission, had to eventually be put down due to a bad injury.  

“We're not here to keep a horse in pain. So, she went home, which was really hard on me, and I really questioned my calling of working with blind horses,” Lou said.  

However, she decided to continue Lea’s legacy and train these blind horses with help from Korey. “God, put it in both of our hearts.” 

   Lou Schmidt gives Outlaw some treats in the arena on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Outlaw has no eyes due to Equine Recurrent Uveitis. (Emily Messer/Leader) 

    Levi Schmidt runs past their completely blind horse, Hope, on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Hope was the Schmidts’ first kill pen save from Texas. (Emily Messer/Leader) 

    Lou holds Levi up to brush Duchess outside the arena. Duchness is a senior horse who had Equine Recurrent Uveitis in his right eye. (Emily Messer/Leader)

 Arlo Schmidt leans over the arena fence to feed the senior horses treats. Both Arlo and Levi enjoy running around the property and loving on the blind horses. (Emily Messer/Leader)