Everywhere in the world, we can observe and be touched by acts of kindness. People from all walks of life, faiths, and cultures extend themselves beyond the call of duty to help others unconditionally. Through their noble deeds, humanity as a whole is elevated.

To commend virtuous actions and encourage more people to be inspired by their examples, Supreme Master Ching Hai has lovingly created a series of awards, including the Shining World Leadership Award, Shining World Compassion Award, Shining World Hero and Heroine Awards, Shining World Honesty Award, Shining World Protection Award, Shining World Intelligence Award, and Shining World Inventor Award, to recognize some of the most exemplary, generous, caring, and courageous people who walk amongst us.

In 1970 a herd of horses living around Plantation Acres in Florida, USA was found to be infected with equine infectious anemia (EIA), a blood-borne disease found in the family Equidae, which includes donkeys, zebras and horses. Asymptomatic carriers of EIA show no signs of illness and are able to live out their normal life spans. The disease is not contagious to humans, and the chance of one horse infecting another is only one in six million.

However, a law in the state of Florida requires that EIA-positive horses be either euthanized or kept on property at least 200 yards or 182 meters away from the nearest EIA- negative horse in the area. Wishing to save EIA-positive horses from euthanization, a special lady named Susan Young and several others co-founded the first “no-kill,” EIA-horse-rescue ranch, the Florida Research Institute for Equine Nurturing, Development and Safety or FRIENDS.

My grandmother started a ranch back in the 1970s, when the tests came out for equine infectious anemia and she had several horses that tested positive for the antibody, and she didn’t believe they were sick. They didn’t show any symptoms of illness. So she got permission to move these horses to a special place. And throughout the years we have studied them, working with the University of Kentucky (USA), to try to find a vaccine or a cure for this disease.

Today, with over 50 equines under its care, FRIENDS continues to rescue and provide a safe, loving haven for EIA-positive horses in Florida and those horses in Broward County, Florida who are in need but are not necessarily EIA-positive.

When I graduated from high school and started going to college, I began operating the rescue. I operated the ranch as a non-profit, and we created a board of directors. And we decided that we were going to do this on the largest scale possible for the horses of Florida.

Symbolizing intelligence, freedom and beauty, horses are beloved around the world.

They are very similar to people. They have feelings, they have emotions; they react. You can see in their eyes how they feel, the way they move their ears, you can see what they’re thinking, if they’re listening, if they’re happy just by watching their ears you can learn a lot about them.

If their ears are forward, they’re happy. If they have an ear that’s moving around, sort of like a propeller, they’re listening.

Horses treasure their family members and loved ones just as humans do. Debbie now shares some touching stories about how horses interact on her love-filled ranch.

We’ve had horses that have been faithful for years at a time, and actually when one passed away, we had another one die within three weeks of a broken heart. We had one horse that was with a small horse, and when that horse passed, the horse was buried, and that horse stood at that place for weeks.

When we have hurricanes or high-pressure systems, terrible storms that come through, the best thing to do is to turn them all loose in an area, so that they don’t get hit with debris, they don’t get caught up in a storm. Out of natural instinct, they put the young and the old in the center, and they kind of crowd around them in a circular pattern, and if the horses are old, and it’s going to be very severe, they tend to lay down, and all the horses stay right around them. And even if they were in a separate group, in an emergency they will all stay together, they will all group together.

Horses inspire me because of their personalities; they are a lot like people, but they have a free spirit. I’ve always been drawn to the independence of a horse. They’re majestic, they’re mythical, people want to create their horse with wings, as Pegasus, they create the unicorn in their mind. To me, a regular horse is the free spirit that I would choose to be. And their inspiration that they give me, these particular horses, they were all in need at some point, and the destruction of them was never an option. Whatever we have to do to preserve these animals is what we need to do. Each one of them means something different to me. Each one was rescued from a different place. I love them all.

At FRIENDS the diet of each horse caters to her or his specific needs.

If you have an elderly horse, we put them on palatable food, easier for them to digest; it’s more of a pellet with nutritional value. They also get supplements if they’re thin, then they have a weight gain supplement in there.

Now let’s meet some volunteers and the wonderful equine friends they sponsor on the ranch!

My name's Briana. I'm 18 years old. I've been here about nine years. This is Junior. Here's my boy. He's very sweet and we just have a good bond. We like to be together and play together and stuff. We feel very comfortable when we're with each other and he knows me and he trusts me and I can tell from his body language what he's saying to me. So I can understand and do what he needs me to do. They're really smart and they are just like people and they deserve to be treated with respect in the right way. And they deserve every bit of happiness that we do.

My name is Jake Dillon. And we come from the Florida Keys. We have four horses. I'm 11. I've learned a lot about horses. I didn't really know too much about horses. We learned about which horse does what and what he or she likes. She is one of my favorite horses. I think she's 20, 21 (years old). She's nice and easy going. Sometimes she'll fall asleep. Like you can be petting her and she’ll fall asleep. And she's just a really sweet horse.

Touched by the organization’s outstanding achievements in saving and giving our innocent equine friends care and attention in their time of greatest need, Supreme Master Ching Hai honored the Florida Research Institute for Equine Nurturing, Development and Safety with the Shining World Compassion Award, along with a contribution of US$10,000 to further the group’s selfless work of helping horses. The following is an excerpt from Supreme Master Ching Hai’s loving letter to Debbie Beye-Barwick, chief executive officer and manager of the group:

The energy and love your team has put into this noble project is beyond measure, providing each horse a bright future and every sponsor a chance to bond with and understand these graceful beings. God bless and thank you for your uplifting endeavors that bring life and new hope to our animal companions as well as inspiration to people around the world on how to create harmony within humankind through unreserved kindness and care shown to all of God's creation.

For unconditionally and lovingly rescuing our beautiful horses, for providing them with affection and care, for benevolently establishing a strategy for their long-term well-being and for being a dedicated and virtuous role model, we hereby applaud and celebrate the compassionate deeds of FRIENDS, with special thanks to all the precious staff and volunteers who give their heart and time so that these majestic creatures can once more roam free. With Great Honor, Love and Blessings, Supreme Master Ching Hai

Thank you, thank you very much. Thank you.

Along with the framed letter and a beautifully crafted, crystal Award plaque, Supreme Master Ching Hai lovingly presented the kindhearted animal lovers at FRIENDS with her #1 international best sellers, “The Birds in My Life,” “The Dogs in my Life” and “The Noble Wilds,” as well as a selection of her inspiring CDs and DVDs.

Thank you very much, and we'll put this in our library so everyone has access to the reading.

Debbie has the following message for Supreme Master Ching Hai.

I would like to say thank you for your generosity, for your emotional support, for your realizing the importance of what we do, and recognizing that these horses are special, and I would hope to meet you some day.

To further express their thanks to Supreme Master Ching Hai for her loving concern and contribution, FRIENDS presented her with a beautiful, bronze, horse bust, which one of our Association members accepted on her behalf. The following are the words of appreciation from FRIENDS to Supreme Master Ching Hai that are inscribed on bust’s base.

It is with humble gratitude that we present you with this token of appreciation for your very generous donation and support of FRIENDS Horse Rescue. We thank you for your devotion and selfless commitment and aiding us to save these very noble, spiritual, loving and majestic animals. Through your great insight, you have assisted all of us by promoting a bond between mankind and all of God’s creations.

Because of your timeless efforts, your continued dedication, and outstanding leadership skills in building this bond, you have not only inspired others, you have set an example for all of us to follow. Your kindness has joined diverse cultures together to create a bridge for all of us to cross that leads to compassionate hearts, the ability to coexist, peace, harmony, and goodness throughout our world.

Our sincere thanks Debbie Beye-Barwick and the other members, staff and benefactors of FRIENDS for the compassion and kindness you show to equines. May your life-saving efforts forever bring harmony and peace to horses in need.

For more details on FRIENDS, please visit: www.EIAHorses.org

Sweet viewers, we enjoyed your lovely presence today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment after Noteworthy News. Maybe our hearts always be blessed by heavenly love.