Photo courtesy of the Wight family.
Committed to a life of serving others, Loren and Nancy Wight once suspended their Egyptian Arabian breeding operation and moved to Honduras for a year, where Loren helped local communities as an ophthalmic technologist. Now, he is learning to be on the receiving end of help.
In an unsuspecting moment on the family’s Idaho ranch, life changed forever. Loren was teaching a new employee how to operate their tractor when it lurched forward and knocked him down. He was trapped under the tractor’s giant rear wheel, and the only way to get him out was to back over him again.
Loren suffered a catastrophic crush injury to his lower legs, and in the resultant fall, he also sustained a traumatic brain injury. Even after numerous surgeries and rehabilitative therapies, the fate of his lower right leg remains uncertain and may require amputation. The blow to his head left Loren legally blind and impaired his memory, effectively ending both his livelihood as an ophthalmic technologist and a horse breeder.
It’s been a daily struggle since Loren’s accident. Nancy and his daughter work tirelessly to fill his shoes financially and as a farm worker — caring for the horses and other animals, overseeing the breeding operation, and milking the dairy goats. Loren assists where and when he can. Ever resourceful, the family supplements their income by selling eggs, hand-knit mittens, and soaps and lotions made from goat’s milk.
Amidst the day-to-day bustle of farm life, Loren’s health struggles loom in the background. Once self-sufficient and able to provide for his family, Loren relies for the time being on funds from the Equestrian Aid Foundation to keep food on the table and the house warm. Thanks to our donors, however, these necessities are in place.
“I don’t know how, but I vow to give back to the Equestrian Aid Foundation once we get through this tough time,” Loren says. In the meantime, he is grateful for the compassion of the equestrian community as he and his family work toward a brighter future.
For more information, please visit EquestrianAidFoundation.org.