Marianne grew up in a small town located in Salisbury, Massachusetts on the New Hampshire border. She developed a passion for horses at very young age living next to a horse farm and was working with the horses every chance she could get! She was lucky enough to have her first horse Queen Bonnie, a Standardbred Trotter when she was 13 years old.

 

After a 20 year separation from horses and owning her own embroidery/silk screening business, Marianne and her husband Joe knew they needed to get back to their roots and follow their hearts.  They decided to purchase a small farm in Salisbury in 2006 that is now known as the Lazy J Ranch. 

 

After many hours of building stalls, running fencing, and making paddocks, they turned it into a beautiful place for their horses and other animals. In 2008, they brought home Stretch, the very first member of the Lazy J herd and one of the Horses Healing Hearts teachers.  

Marianne spent 5 years working at a local social service agency called, The Pettengill House, in her early 20’s working with youth and families in her community. Marianne’s exposure to horses at a very young age and reunion into the horse world back in 2006 has given her first-hand knowledge of how effective they can be in the role of teacher given the different personalities they possess. She knew that a career working with horses is what she wanted to do after seeing how much her horses have impacted her own life and the lives of her volunteers and barn family.   

 

Marianne and Joe reside in Salisbury, MA with their loveable dogs Winnie and Marley and cat Spooky, along with 2 rabbits, 10 Chickens, 5 Goats and their 8 Teachers.