Back on track: Inmates find a second chance with the help of retired racehorses

COALINGA, Fresno County -- An innovative rehabilitation program is giving retired racehorses a new lease on life as well as the people taking care of the thoroughbreds.

Every morning, Julio Sanchez heads to the barn and grooms his favorite horse, Slicy.

"Slicy is a retired horse, he got injured and came here," he explained.

A year ago, Sanchez had never even seen a horse up close. Now, it's one of the few things he looks forward to.

"You let your guard down when you're here, you're a human," he said.

At first this story of a man and his newfound love of horses may not seem all that remarkable, until you zoom out and realize that his horse - in fact, the whole farm - is smack-dab in the middle of Pleasant Valley State Prison where Sanchez is an inmate.

Sanchez is part of a program by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation called Second Chances, which teaches inmates to become groomers, and stable cleaners, using horses that were rescued from the slaughterhouse.

"They got a second chance just like we do," Sanchez said.

Here, amid the concrete and barbed wire, redemption and empathy are found in the company of these animals.

Heidi Richards is a correctional officer and the farm manager. She said that while the idea is to give inmates a skill they can use on the outside, the program has proven valuable in more ways than one.

"These horses work magic on them, they break down the walls," she said. "These guys start caring about these horses, which in turn teaches them to care about themselves and others."

About two-thirds of inmates will return to prison after their release. Programs like Second Chances are known to reduce recidivism rates. Of the 100 inmates who completed the program only one has been rearrested.

"It gives them an opportunity to find a job so that when they go out, they don't reoffend," she said.

The program, which relies on donations and grants, costs about $70,000 a year.

Sanchez said he's been in and out of prison most his of his adult life. He's up for release in October. But now, he says, he's determined to make this stint his last.

"I've come to understand that if these guys got a second chance, I also have a second chance and be more successful on the streets," he said.