NURTURING YOUTH AND HORSES WITH MORRIS HOOF CARE

“Before you can shoe a horse, you must understand the horse,” Justin Morris says. “It’s the same with youth – before you build a relationship, you must get to know the individual.”

This is the motto of Justin and Lisa Morris, husband-and-wife team and co-owners of Morris Hoof Care in Red Bluff. At each appointment, Justin is the farrier, but only after Lisa has calmed and secured the horse. Justin says, “One time, there was a very wild pony that no farrier wanted to touch. Lisa spent just 20 minutes with him and then he allowed me to work on his feet.”

Lisa says, “I like to love on the scared ones, calm them down and let them know that no one is going to hurt them. You introduce yourself to a horse and they relax. You introduce yourself to youth and they do the same.”

Love of horses, youth, ministry and each other bring couple full circle

A lifetime of experience with horses and people has led to this husband-and-wife venture, which became official in January 2024 after Justin apprenticed as a farrier for a year and graduated from a Farrier School in Texas. “I’ve trimmed our horses’ feet and helped friends and neighbors with their horses for most of my life,” Justin says. “I grew up on a ranch outside Red Bluff and my dad introduced me to the trade. He probably thought I’d stick with the cowboy life right after high school, but I kept him guessing,” he says with a laugh.

Instead of just getting bucked off rodeo horses, Justin fell head over heels for a life of ministry and for his wife, Lisa. “Soon we will celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary and, no need to ask, I can talk all day about my love for Lisa and for the Lord.”

 “By the time we moved to Kenya, my dad had gotten used to his ‘wayward’ son,” Justin says. “We spent four years there before realizing that our mission field was back here in Red Bluff. Our ministry, primarily with youth up until that point, expanded to the whole community when we opened our own church, Country Bible Fellowship, in 2024.”

“It has been a full circle for us to be back with a full-time ministry and now a business,” Lisa says. “I live with chronic pain, so this is the first full-time job

I have had in 24 years. There is something about horses and healing, however, and working with them lessens my pain—sometimes making me forget about it altogether. There is something very therapeutic while working to reduce pain and stress in animals and that can be true when helping youth, too.”

Relationships blossom through caring for horses

Some of Justin and Lisa’s closest relationships began over the necks of horses. When they started Morris Hoof Care, they met a struggling family that now attends their church. Recently, Lisa was present for the birth of the family’s third child and Justin and Lisa are overjoyed to be honorary grandparents.

“Loving God and loving people has always been our goal. It’s safe to say we can add ‘loving horses’ in there, too,” Lisa exuberantly says. “We feel so blessed to drive out to remote properties, meet new horses and be welcomed into clients’ homes. Sometimes we will visit afterward or go for coffee or lunch. And we are always happy to take youth along. We get to know them on the drive and somehow talking while you work with horses, rather than face-to-face, helps them let down their guard.”

“Just like horses need their shoes to be fitted to their feet, we need to remember that all people need customized care,” Justin adds. “We have never walked in someone else’s shoes and we need to meet them where they are at. Another added benefit of our husband-and-wife business is that women clients appreciate Lisa being there – they feel safe.”

Justin and Lisa hope to continue in work and ministry as long as possible, so they came up with a treatment for Lisa’s chronic pain and for all the injuries and back strain that come with working as a farrier, “We take ice baths,” Lisa says. “They are a game changer! They also make us laugh – a lot of things do. We love working together and spending every day together. It is our joy.”

If you’re a teen interested in riding along with Justin and Lisa, with parental permission, call (530)366-6096. Justin says, “In five years, our area will need new farriers. We’re eager to mentor any youth interested in the trade.”

Kate Hiller’s 78-year-old dad still trims his horse’s feet and his patience and love toward animals and people have always been an inspiration to her.