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Before a wild horse is ready for adoption, it must go through a two-month program, during which it is wormed, gelded, and handled to help familiarize it with humans.
The process costs about $700 per horse, and everything is paid for by donations and adoption fees, which range from $300 to $900, depending on the quality of the animal.
The best-adjusted are the first to find new homes. The weakest and wildest stay in Carter's sanctuary for more personal attention, and sponsors send money to support those horses.
Carter's strong affinity for the horses is rooted partly in her own struggles to survive back-to-back family tragedies.
She lost her husband 24 years ago, when he died unexpectedly from a blood clot in his brain. He was 44. She tried to move on by selling the family home in Sydney and buying a farm, where she planned to live with her older son, Scott, a telephone repairman and pianist who shared his mother's passion for music and her love of nature. But just as they were starting the venture, Scott, 28, died in a head-on collision.
"We were going to run it as a bed-and-breakfast," Carter says. "I had moved here one week. Scott had to work and finish his contract. He was supposed to come up the following week. But he never made it."
With her younger son busy with his life as an executive in the city, Carter was alone in her new rural retreat with no idea how to run it. But that turned out to be just what she needed.
"I couldn't just sit back and feel sorry for myself," she says. "I had to get up and learn how to manage cattle, how to do weed control, learn about pasture and soil and all that sort of thing."
Then came the brumbies, who helped her conquer her grief and find new purpose in life. The horses are like children to her, and their stories of remarkable recovery are a testament to her lifelong affection for the animals.
Born in London during World War II, Carter fell in love with horses when she was 4. She remembers seeing her first horse, which belonged to the baker who delivered bread by cart. He allowed the little girl to feed the animal crumbs from his basket.
She got her first pony two years after the family moved to Australia when she was 8. She didn't stop riding until her two sons were born.
After a 15-year break, she picked up the saddle again. The first horse she bought and rode was Guy, now a 26-year-old who is completely devoted to her.
They used to ride through the Guy Fawkes River National Park and watch the glory of wild horses nearby. She was appalled to learn that these animals were being shot from above, but she didn't know how to help.
Then she turned to her harp. The music dashed out from her fingertips and she recorded an entire CD devoted to the plight of the brumbies called "Run With the Wind."
She sold the CDs at concerts and on the Internet, talked to everybody she could about these horses, and donated all the money to saving them. "If it wasn't for the CD, there wouldn't be a charity," she says.
This past year, she and two other volunteers jointly purchased 1,400 acres of bush land to set up a second sanctuary. Carter's share of the $400,000 came out of her retirement money, and she wrote a will that makes sure the land will be used in perpetuity as a sanctuary.
"This is Jock," she says, pointing to a chestnut horse grazing peacefully on picture- perfect green pastures. "He was so thin when he came in, it was scary. He was also very, very wild and spooky. They said he was too poor to be handled. Now look at him."
As she speaks, Guy nudges against her arm, trying to get her attention.
"He's jealous," she says. "I've had him a long time. If he sees me feeding the brumbies, he likes to stick his nose in and say, uh, what are you doing?"
Carter says she can remember every one of the more than 250 horses she's rescued. She named most of them herself.
The process costs about $700 per horse, and everything is paid for by donations and adoption fees, which range from $300 to $900, depending on the quality of the animal.
The best-adjusted are the first to find new homes. The weakest and wildest stay in Carter's sanctuary for more personal attention, and sponsors send money to support those horses.
Carter's strong affinity for the horses is rooted partly in her own struggles to survive back-to-back family tragedies.
She lost her husband 24 years ago, when he died unexpectedly from a blood clot in his brain. He was 44. She tried to move on by selling the family home in Sydney and buying a farm, where she planned to live with her older son, Scott, a telephone repairman and pianist who shared his mother's passion for music and her love of nature. But just as they were starting the venture, Scott, 28, died in a head-on collision.
"We were going to run it as a bed-and-breakfast," Carter says. "I had moved here one week. Scott had to work and finish his contract. He was supposed to come up the following week. But he never made it."
With her younger son busy with his life as an executive in the city, Carter was alone in her new rural retreat with no idea how to run it. But that turned out to be just what she needed.
"I couldn't just sit back and feel sorry for myself," she says. "I had to get up and learn how to manage cattle, how to do weed control, learn about pasture and soil and all that sort of thing."
Then came the brumbies, who helped her conquer her grief and find new purpose in life. The horses are like children to her, and their stories of remarkable recovery are a testament to her lifelong affection for the animals.
Born in London during World War II, Carter fell in love with horses when she was 4. She remembers seeing her first horse, which belonged to the baker who delivered bread by cart. He allowed the little girl to feed the animal crumbs from his basket.
She got her first pony two years after the family moved to Australia when she was 8. She didn't stop riding until her two sons were born.
After a 15-year break, she picked up the saddle again. The first horse she bought and rode was Guy, now a 26-year-old who is completely devoted to her.
They used to ride through the Guy Fawkes River National Park and watch the glory of wild horses nearby. She was appalled to learn that these animals were being shot from above, but she didn't know how to help.
Then she turned to her harp. The music dashed out from her fingertips and she recorded an entire CD devoted to the plight of the brumbies called "Run With the Wind."
She sold the CDs at concerts and on the Internet, talked to everybody she could about these horses, and donated all the money to saving them. "If it wasn't for the CD, there wouldn't be a charity," she says.
This past year, she and two other volunteers jointly purchased 1,400 acres of bush land to set up a second sanctuary. Carter's share of the $400,000 came out of her retirement money, and she wrote a will that makes sure the land will be used in perpetuity as a sanctuary.
"This is Jock," she says, pointing to a chestnut horse grazing peacefully on picture- perfect green pastures. "He was so thin when he came in, it was scary. He was also very, very wild and spooky. They said he was too poor to be handled. Now look at him."
As she speaks, Guy nudges against her arm, trying to get her attention.
"He's jealous," she says. "I've had him a long time. If he sees me feeding the brumbies, he likes to stick his nose in and say, uh, what are you doing?"
Carter says she can remember every one of the more than 250 horses she's rescued. She named most of them herself.
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