"When I lost my daughter, I lost my will to live"

When her 17-year-old daughter died by suicide, Sarah Love was blindsided by grief, anger and loss.

The despair that encompassed her was suffocating. Unable to claw her way out, Sarah felt she couldn’t carry on.

“I tried to take my own life twice,” she says.

However, 10 months after Sarah’s daughter Caterina passed away, the grieving mum was thrown a lifeline when she adopted a family of Brumbies (pictured.)

“I felt that if I could save something wild and pure, maybe it would help me.”

How did the Brumbies help you?

“I wasn't just sad. I was angry as well. I was in a really dark place.

“I'd sit in their pen on a bale of hay crying. And they would stay away.

“But they would edge a little closer every now and then.

“And when I started to settle, I realised they knew something was wrong with me.

“You can't be around Brumbies when you’re in that state, because they’re like a mirror. They reflect back your anxieties.”

Two months after adopting the brumbies, something incredible happened

“One day I was crying in my round yard. And one of my Brumbies, Phoenix, came up behind me and gave me a nudge.

“He’d never touched me before and I’d never been able to touch him.

“It made me realise my own darkness was affecting everybody else around me because I could see it in the Brumbies.”

Tell us more

“Because they have no human imprint on them, they're a true reflection of how you're feeling.

“If you go into their pen and you're full of anxiety and you haven't got control of your own heart rate, their heart rate goes up, their anxiety goes up.

“I didn't want them to feel that way. So I took a step back and took some deep breaths to balance out my heart rate.

“When you're calm and peaceful within yourself, they react the same way.”

Why do you think Brumbies are able to read us so well when we’re down?

“You move differently. So if I'm down, my shoulders are slumped. I don't look up so there’s no eye contact

“When you're with Brumbies and you're acting that way, they don't trust you.

“How can you have their back when you don't have your own back?”

It’s 17 months since Caterina passed away and Sarah is feeling much stronger

"I still cry every day and feel like I have a big gaping hole in my heart. It doesn't get any easier, but I think I'm getting better at holding it together

"However much it hurts I have promised my loved ones I'll be here for them and work on making the world a better place for all beings.

"I saved the Brumbies because I needed saving. But I’m a lot better now and I want to focus on what I can do to help others.”

That’s why Sarah is setting up an equine centre on her acreage property, so she can offer assistance to people who’ve experienced trauma

What would Caterina think about it all?

“She'd think it was a little crazy, because of the amount of work that's involved. But she would be over the moon. She'd be so happy.”

Sarah is sharing her story to speak out against the culling of Brumbies

“We need to look after these sorts of animals. They're so kind and have no malice in them.

“They are incredibly intuitive and help us with self-awareness by reflecting who we are. My Brumbies helped save my life.”