By Jim Rooks*

May 2007 – Paul Daily’s life changed from that of a rough and tumble guy to that of a gentle giant. Daily’s Wild Horse Ministries, founded in February 1997, is having a dynamic impact on people across North and South America. For some, it is a life-changing experience.

“I was always a sledge hammer and power saw man,” Daily said. “If it didn’t go, I would just get a larger hammer.” That worked pretty well on the job in the Louisiana oil fields, but not for his favorite hobby, training horses.

His longtime love for horses led Daily to his desire to train horses. But he began to realize that he was too rough with the horses, often acting as if he had to beat sense into them.

Daily’s faith and walk with the Lord began early in his life. He said his parents did the best they could and instructed him in the correct ways of life. However, as a young adult, he strayed into a selfish lifestyle.

After he and his wife Joanna had children, Lenora and Dan, Daily began to think about being the kind of Christian dad they needed. About that same time, he also realized God had plans for him. He saw that God was trying to get his attention, just as Daily himself did with the horses he trained. When he was alone in the round pen working with the horses, he began to feel the presence of another Person with him.

It was as if God were saying, “You see that horse? He is running from you – and that is what you are doing with me.”

“I saw then, rough was not going to get it,” Daily said.

Soon, using a different method, Daily found that he could get a horse to work for him because it wanted to, not because it was scared of him.

Learning Godly principles
It was then he realized that God was teaching him another principle: “Paul, I want you to serve me because you want to, not because you have to.”

Before long, Daily began experiencing a deep desire to share with others what he was doing with horses in the training pen. He and his wife invited several youth groups and others to their home for a Sunday afternoon demonstration. Ninety–two people showed up wanting to know what was going on. After the show, they were so amazed, they said, “Do it again, do it again!” That Sunday event in February 1997 led to the ministry he and his family have today.

In 2000, Daily left his 20-year oil field career to devote full time to ministry. Less than two years later, his wife followed suit. After a fruitful decade, Wild Horse Ministries has impacted Daily as well as the community at large. It has given him a greater awareness of the need for believers to be obedient to God’s call in their lives, and it has changed him from a selfish man to one who has a burning desire to share Jesus Christ with people around the world.

Daily says the number one goal of his ministry is to reach lost folks for the Lord so they can experience new life.

Most people come to watch him break a horse that has never been ridden. But in that process of training the horse, Daily shares the Word with them and how God loves them and wants to gently train them to follow Him. Countless people have told him how they can relate their lifestyle to the wild temperament of the horse and they realize they need a change in their lives.

“I tell them that the round pen, or the church, is the training area,” Daily said, “and then we go out into the world for service for the Lord.”

Daily will tell you quickly that this ministry is not about him; it is God’s ministry. He does not want the praise, for it all goes to God.  

*Jim Rooks is a freelance photographer and writer from Sulligent, Alabama.

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Wild Horse Ministries
460 Appleby Road
Trout, Louisiana 71371
Phone: 318-992-4667
Fax: 318-992-7377
Email: [email protected]