'Our Life with Horses'

Carol and Dan Ross reside at Country Living at Westview Commons following their pastoral life on a small farm in Brooklyn, CT. They recently hosted a conversation for fellow residents at Westview Commons to describe their passions and pursuits during this time in their lives, titling the talk “Our Life with Horses.”

Carol worked in real estate and had listed a home set upon a 20-acre parcel of land for sale. She still talks about the beauty of this property—with two ponds, a brook, and a waterfall directly in their backyard. She readily admits that she loved it from the moment she learned about it. As they lived there and maintained the property, they began to have conversations about ways to ease their landscaping needs. Earlier in life, Carol owned horses, and she remarked to Dan that having a few equine friends on their land would alleviate some of the need for lawn mowing—and Dan agreed!

They soon acquired their first horse together and began a chapter of compassion and caregiving for horses in need. Over the next 20-plus years they went on to provide care for over 25 horses. They proudly fostered retired racing horses and horses needing rescue from desperate situations; with 10 of them finding their forever home at the Ross ranch. In-between Carol and Dan’s narrations about their lives together, they played a series of personal videos that they had filmed during those farm years.

This provided the audience of residents an opportunity to visualize the actual look of the Ross’ farm by utilizing the screen in Westview Commons’ Picturedrome Movie Theater. It also provided Carol and Dan the opportunity to introduce their fellow residents to some of the peppy personalities that lived with them on the farm; ranging between horses, dogs, and cats. Throughout the whole discussion, as they reminisced through these times in their lives, Carol and Dan had beaming smiles on their faces, darling dialogue between each other, and a captivated audience of their neighbors at Westview Commons.

Country Living at Westview Commons is a 75-unit independent and assisted living community conveniently located in picturesque Northeastern Connecticut. Affiliated with Westview Health Care Center, a nationally-ranked nursing facility according to CMS and U.S. News and World Report for the past years, Westview Commons is a 115,000 square foot catered living facility dedicated to a genuine 5-star experience including outstanding service, culinary expertise and professional in-house entertainment. Located in Dayville, CT, Westview Commons combines convenience, tranquility and comfort; providing a lifestyle that seniors deserve.