Equine Assisted Learning & Therapeutic Riding Horse Donation
Donating to Our Herd
The hardest-working members of the Healing Hooves team are our horses. Are you considering donating a horse? Please read on…
As our Equine Assisted Programs grow, we are open to a conversation with you about your horse and will consider all options based on the criteria for our ongoing needs. Here are some things you should consider reading before contacting us about your horse:
The concept that Adaptive Horsemanship lessons are easy, low-stress “pony rides” for people with disabilities is utterly untrue. In fact, our program horses must deal with even greater demands than a typical riding academy, including riders who cannot be balanced, loud noises, and unfamiliar arena equipment. Horses in our program must accept up to 2-3 volunteers surrounding them during a lesson and tolerate different people riding, leading, and handling them each week.
This is NOT a cushy retirement opportunity but a demanding work-from-home assignment for sturdy, patient, and well-loved horses.
Horse Donation Criteria Requirements:
Our horses work in a unique and demanding environment. To meet those needs, we can only consider horses for donation that match the following criteria:
Horse Donation Criteria:
- Between the ages of 7 years and 20 years.
- Between approximately 14 hands and 16.2 hands.
- Sound for flatwork and light arena and trail riding with only routine maintenance and medical needs. Restrictions on high-performance activities may be considered if the horse is stepping down from a performance career (example. jumping, barrel racing, or upper-level dressage).
- Do not require shoes to remain sound. Our acreage can be rocky or muddy on given days, and we cannot maintain corrective shoes.
- Able to walk, trot, and canter with smooth transitions.
- A minimum of 5 years under saddle, and is currently being ridden a minimum of 3 days a week.
- Offered for a minimum 60-day trial is preferred to ensure horses entering our program are happy!
Approving Your Horse Donation
During the trial period, we will determine if the horse is the right fit for our program.
What We Look For:
- Excellent ground manners.
- Interested in engaging with our participants.
- Accepting of inexperienced and/or unbalanced riders.
- Obedient to both voice and leg signals.
- Respectful of inexperienced volunteer handlers on the ground.
- Tolerant of people walking beside them during lessons.
- Accepting of assistive devices and equipment.
Connect With Us
Interested in donating a horse?
Partners that make it possible
