Horses, like people, often resist being tamed. They need space, trust and patience to open up. Amy McCambridge understands this intimately, because horses mirror the emotions of the humans around them. She and her husband, Mark, founded a nonprofit, Unbridled Heroes Project, to connect veterans with wild mustangs in hopes of healing.
The husband-and-wife team created a sanctuary where individuals can spend time with these wild mustangs they rescue.
Stationed in California, McCambridge served four years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1998 to 2002, and her husband is also a veteran who served in the Army. When they returned, nothing made sense until they found healing through horses — wild mustangs, to be exact. The couple found that mustangs were misunderstood and displaced. They were broken, too. As they spent more and more time with horses, McCambridge and her husband felt free. They could run wild as they did before their trauma.
“We remembered who we were before the world broke us,” Amy said.
McCambridge and her husband started the nonprofit in September 2018 specifically to rescue mustangs, which provide equine therapy for people who have experienced trauma like their own. The program pairs rescued mustangs with veterans, offering connection, trust and transformation. The point is to provide equine therapy for veterans completely free of charge.
Horses feel what humans feel, and the healing power they offer can be transformative. The sanctuary began with Chirpa, an untrained horse adopted from Long Island. The tips of her ears were frostbitten off due to the extreme cold in Nevada, before she came to Long Island. Her calm and steady demeanor puts clients at ease and spreads hope to the seemingly hopeless.
The second to arrive was Hope, a rescued mustang who suffered extreme neglect and abuse in Florida. Shiloh came to them third, from Nevada, initially auctioned off for a mustang makeover but withdrew when she refused to be haltered. After some bouncing around, Shiloh found a home with Unbridled.
Kaia was brought to Unbridled as one of the first mustangs, as well. She was rescued from a Pennsylvania kill pen, and her pain was visible in her eyes. McCambridge and her husband made it their mission to save Kaia. They outbid the kill buyers, and she was brought to Unbridled.
In the spring 2018, McCambridge spent 10 days in Florida training with Cat Zimmerman on how to rescue horses.
Zimmerman is an acclaimed mustang trainer and the owner of CZ Mustangs, a training program that helps traumatized horses and humans alike. There, McCambridge came to the realization that she wanted to open her own version of the program: Unbridled Heroes Project.
Once back in New Jersey, McCambridge found a space for the mustangs she would rescue. Unbridled Heroes ended up being a project under CZ Mustangs, and McCambridge applied for nonprofit status at that point. Her dream was alive. A barn was found, a lease was signed, and soon they had their grand opening.
McCambridge said a fear of dying inspired Unbridled Heroes Project, as did her family history and personal trials. After surviving a benign brain tumor and watching her mother battle terminal cancer, she realized life was too short to wait.
“I asked Mark, ‘What if we never live?’ That fear pushed us to chase the dream of saving horses — and helping veterans — without overthinking it,” she said.
The program emphasizes mental health, patience and emotional connection. Veterans aren’t expected to ride immediately. Instead, they spend time with the horses — grooming, leading and simply being present.
Unbridled Heroes also has opportunities to volunteer. Community members can donate, help with horse care or participate in events that highlight the ongoing need for awareness and support. Memorial Day holds special significance for the organization, honoring veterans through both action and empathy.
The beautiful connection that is built between a mustang and a human cannot be matched. Horses understand what a veteran went through, without words. There is healing over trauma that can’t be explained. A veteran can feel the strength of a horse by simply spending time with them, not only by riding.
McCambridge’s own story — from living in an orphanage in Colombia to studying political science at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), to helping Mark found Unbridled Heroes — illustrates the deep passion at the root of the project.
“You can be your own hero,” she said. “If you just live authentically, you have the power to drive change — for yourself and others.”
Whether it’s training a deeply empathetic horse like Kaia or helping a veteran rediscover confidence, hope and dignity, the work at Unbridled Heroes proves that healing can be mutual, slow and profoundly beautiful. Here, the horses are wild. They are free — and so are the people they help heal.
When people learn about the mustang rescue, they realize this isn’t just about horses. “It’s about creating a place where both horses and humans can finally breathe,” Amy says.
To learn more about Unbridled Heroes or to volunteer, donate or support the program, visit unbridledheroesproject.org, follow them on Instagram @unbridledheroes_, or email unbridledheroesproject@gmail.com.
“It’s about creating a place where both horses and humans can finally breathe,” Amy McCambridge