New Jersey family-owned ranch offers 2nd chance for horses: "Directly saved from slaughter"

A South Jersey family-owned ranch sits on a sprawling 33 acres in Sicklerville. It's called Circle S: Second Chance Ranch, and its name speaks for itself. Its mission is to save and care for as many horses and animals as they can.

"Some of ours have been directly saved from slaughter," Kevin Schultz, who owns the ranch with his wife Hilary, said, "and some have been pulled out of the auction pipeline."

They say they never thought it would bloom into what you see here today, especially knowing nothing about horses or ever owning this much land and pastures.

"We started out rescuing one horse, and it quickly led to two and three, and our mission developed into what it is now," he said.

CBS News Philadelphia met Rescue, one of the seven horses that called the ranch home, along with some other fellow farm friends like goats and pigs. He was pulled from slaughter 15 minutes before being loaded on a truck.

"Rescuing feels natural to us because we always rescued our cats and dogs," Hilary Schultz said.

The ranch hosts events, field trips and school visits, welcomes volunteers and has its own nonprofit called the Second Chance Ranch Foundation to support its mission and give back to the community.

A big piece of their heart is also dedicated to helping first responders and vets. They have a program that helps with PTSD and anxiety.

While keeping up with the ranch is no easy task, the reward means everything to them.

"We really felt like we wanted to allow the community to experience the blessing that we get to experience every day," she said.