Zuma's Rescue Ranch

Honestly this place is a mess. I was a working student and rider here for quite some time. The horses are not cared for probably. Hay is low quality, the horses are not retired or euthanized when they clearly should be, and health issues are ignored. I was riding a horse that was clearly in need of some adjustments in diet and riding load but they ignored me until she was too dangerous to get out of her paddock, kicking, bitting, and chasing no matter what we did. Also if you want to jump this is not the place. They don't really jump higher than a few inches. They are a rescue so I understand that limitation with jumping since they don't have horses that are able. It's a good place to get a start or to just relax but not for progression or boarding.

If your looking for an opportunity to volunteer, this place is great! I try to come as often as I can. Everyone that works here is awesome, they have so much knowledge about horses it's crazy. There are many opportunities for learning, they offer a lot of different kinds of classes. I wish they were a little more descriptive but I have taken a few and it's really helped. I had a bunch of anxiety about it when I first started but with coming here, it has really helped my confidence. The staff is very patient and not pushy, they are very understanding with volunteers, they truly appreciate what they can get. It's a lot of hard work but it is truly rewarding.

Unbelievable lies from the 1-star post below because I can't count it as a review. We have been at Zuma's for almost 3 years now and the love and dedication Jody, Paul, Liz, all the instructors and staff have for all their animals is heartwarming to see. In a world where there is so much pain, Zuma's is a ray of light and a sanctuary not only for the horses but for the humans that love them.

Staff are very nice here. Unfortunately they have weight rule of 165 pounds and English only that makes it a place that parents bring their little girls to ride those horses that can be used for lessons. The also pay for expensive lesson fees for the trainers and hired help to lead them around. There are some horses that they seem to allow women to ride that are over the weight limit. The owner Jodi had me removed from the volunteer list, as she and I am over the limit, but she did agree that the grand pre jumping she did for 20 years was probably hurting the horses. Lessons and jumps are very small. They have lots of shows to do fund raising and to get the parents to come watch their kids. Once the parents or other horse lovers "volunteer", they pay for a orientation, then pay for a horsemanship 101 which allows them to led horses around for exercise. They have to hire minimum wage students to do what the "volunteers" are supposed to do.

Horses I love I like Ragnar even though I never roll on the phone I have a cat and I live in Michigan and there are horse at all I like horseback riding

Several moons ago, I was at a transitional period in my life, and found my therapy volunteering with horses every Sunday. I called it my Church of Equus. It only seems fitting that my husband, our kids and I are adopting our new bundle of joy, a boxer bulldog girl, from the place that helped me feel like a whole human a great while back. If you Google Paul and Jodi Messinch and Zuma's Rescue Ranch, Google would even say why they are such a big deal. They go beyond just rescuing neglected creatures - they genuinely care about helping people. Our babe's mama was rescued by Jodi and Paul, and had to have a c-section, delivering 10 puppies December 1st. Primarily the ranch's business is horses, but their love for life in general surpasses just about everyone I know.

I took my 6 year old daughter for a riding lesson for her birthday. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. But rather than send us on our way, my daughter was shown around the stables, introduced to most of the horses (and many other wonderful animals they have on site), and then Carmen proceeded to give my daughter a wonderful 30+ minute horse grooming lesson and tutorial. The level of care and thoughtfulness displayed not just to my daughter and I, but to the amazing animals onsite was extraordinary. It goes without saying, I will be bringing my daughter back (to make good on my horseback riding lesson and to learn more about the wonderful programs Zuma's offers) very very soon.

A beautiful barn but the owner of the barn is very difficult and a bully to children and adults. I don't recommend riding here especially if you are a beginner or kid. The staff changes frequently.Edit: Adding to this post based on Jodi's comment. The full story is we leased a horse at Zumas and it was a great experience until he started acting strange. I asked Jodi about his behavior and she looked at the horse and said, "Wizard, stop acting stupid!" She laughed and walked away. I wouldn't let my daughter get on the horse. He continued to act strange and everyone saw this. He also bucked a child off and when I asked about that she lied and said the rider fell. When I tried to talk to the owner again she told us to take more classes and bond with the horse. We took ALL the classes, she just wanted more money and was not holding up her end of the lease by helping us out. We did not receive professional advice from the owner, just the trainers who were all amazing but unfortunately left because of Jodi. She continued to blame this situation on me and my daughter and after a lot of tears from my daughter, we left. Also, week after week we would show up for lessons and the staff would be injured (broken nose, broken foot, concussion, etc.). Also several of the staff told me she wasn't paying them so it was hard for me to support the barn knowing this information. One of the instructors told me none of the horses should be in a riding program. I didn't want to post all of this initially but Jodi continues to tell me it's my daughter's fault. My daughter was 9 years old at the time. She also tried to tell me how to parent my child by telling me I wasn't doing a good job parenting her and she wasn't going to be a successful adult. She continued to insist my daughter was the problem. Stay away from this place, it's a mess as another review said. I originally posted something similar to this on their social media page but Jodi immediately blocked me so I couldn't post.

If you're a small business working for Jodi at Zumas Rescue Ranch STAY AWAY. Jodi has not paid me or ANY other businesses that have worked for her. After multiple attempts to contact Jodi with invoices she continues to ignore. Absolutely disgusting.

If you're looking to escape your daily grind of giving without return, this majestic ranch is looking for you. I've only been volunteering for a week here and life is so much better as there is so much opportunity to grow whether you want to learn to ride, feeding and grooming the horses or building, planting and over all ranch hand! Every animal on this ranch has a history and for most this is the first time they are receiving love for who they are not what they can give. Jodi leads by example and works hard every day to make the ranch a better place than yesterday and each day grows immensely. The volunteers on the ranch are like minded and want the best for not only the horses, mini's donkeys but for all the surroundings as buildings, roads pastures etc. I can't imagine how much fuller my life will be as the months come to years of volunteering here. I'm indebted to Jodi and Paul for sharing in their dream with everyone.