The Horse Who Helped Others -- and the First Responders Who Showed Up for Her

At FullBucket, giving is woven into the crew. Not just what we make, but the people behind it. Some of them just give. It’s not a program or an initiative. It’s just who they are. Hilary Holsteen is one of those people.

Hilary has been part of the FullBucket team for 13 years. She’s the one making sure your orders move, your questions get answered, and the operation runs the way it should. The kind of person who never needs credit for it. But outside of work, Hilary built something from the ground up: Harnessing Hope, an equine therapy program in North Georgia that serves teens in foster care, veterans, first responders, and adults working through trauma.

The horse at the center of it all was a Percheron mare named Maddie.

The Mare at the Center of It All

Maddie came into Hilary’s life in the early 2000s when Harnessing Hope was just getting started in the suburbs of Chicago. From the beginning, she was unshakable. Big, calm, and steady in a way that made people feel safe the moment they were near her.

She had a gift for the work. Her size alone changed things. Adults could sit bareback, feel that shift in perspective, and start to trust in a way they hadn’t before. She helped teens in foster care find their footing. She gave veterans and first responders a different kind of ground to stand on. She spent years doing it, and that work left a mark on everyone she touched. 

She also had her moments, like all the great ones do. Maddie was known to take down a fence line when the grass looked better on the other side, and a fence post was no match for a neck itch that needed scratching. She did everything with confidence and a certain kind of poise that never really left her.

Her personality made her perfect for the work in a way you can’t really train. She taught clients how to set boundaries by pushing theirs. She was assertive, a little cheeky, and completely herself. The same horse that helped someone find their footing on a hard day was also the one figuring out how to get to the greener pasture by any means necessary.

The Ones Who Showed Up for Her

In early September 2026, after a lifetime of that work, Maddie’s body let her know it was time. She went down in her pasture and couldn’t get up.

It was nearly 93 degrees. Humidity was brutal. Hilary’s vet was there, but they needed more hands.

The local fire department showed up. So did first responders from a neighboring county. About ten firefighters in total. Trucks, tents to give Maddie some shade, and an elaborate pulley system they assembled to physically lift her.  These are people trained for structure fires and car accidents and medical emergencies. On this day they were in a pasture in the Georgia heat, doing everything they could to help a horse stand up. And they did it without hesitation.

You could see it on their faces. The kindness. The determination. They had assembled an elaborate pulley system just to give her a fighting chance. This wasn’t in any training manual, but it didn’t matter. They stayed for hours. 

They didn’t give up.

And because of them, Maddie didn’t go down in that pasture. They got her up. Got her comfortable and settled in her final hours, and that meant everything to Hilary and everyone who loved her. Maddie’s injury was too severe to recover from, but she was peaceful and she was cared for the way she had spent a lifetime caring for others.

What Hilary saw that day stayed with her. A group of people who show up for others every single day, showing up for a horse who had spent her whole life doing the same thing. The veterans she had carried. The foster kids she had steadied. The first responders she had helped find solid ground. In her final hours, it was first responders kneeling in the dirt in that September heat, making sure she was okay.

That full circle doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because of people like Hilary, who carry this kind of work into every corner of their lives. And it happens because of first responders who show up with that same heart, whether they’re called to an emergency or a pasture in the Georgia heat. They are the ones who give everything, every time. Maddie knew that. And on her last day, so did everyone watching. 

National First Responders Day: October 28

To the firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers, and emergency personnel who give everything every single day, thank you. Stories like Maddie’s are a reminder of the kind of people you are, not just on the job, but in every moment it counts.

In honor of National First Responders Day, we’re saying thank you with 20% off sitewide. Use code THANKYOU20 at checkout. Valid now through October 31st.

Hilary trusts FullBucket Probiotic Pellets as the daily foundation for her therapy horses at Harnessing Hope. The animals who do this kind of work deserve the same care and consistency you bring to yours.

Shop at fullbuckethealth.com.