Helping Hooves

1) Create a realistically sustainable rescue model.
2) Rescue abused, abandoned, and unwanted horses.
3) Rehabilitate and train horses for use in various equine assisted therapy and equine therapeutic activities.
4) Re-home trained horses into programs throughout the United States of America.
5) Adopt horses out to the general public if horses are not suitable to therapy programs.
6) If horses are older or have special needs we will work with horse sanctuaries to find them a permanent loving facility where they will receive the care they need.

In order to make a sustainable rescue model Helping Hooves has multiple strategies we will be implementing.

1) Having a re-homing/adoption fee of the horse that is at fair market value. This helps us twofold, not only do we generally receive back the complete cost of care for the horse but it also help separate those who are able to care properly for the horse from those who are looking for a 'cheap' horse. We believe that just because a horse is a rescue does not mean it isn't valuable.

2) Being selective about the horses that stay at our facility. While we will rescue any horse in trouble we will be working closely with other rescues and sanctuaries so that if a horse we rescue will not fit our goal of training for therapy we will be able to place the horse with an organization whose goals align with the horses breed/problem/condition etc. Keeping only horses in training for therapy at our facility and finding better placement for horses that do not align with our goals allows us to focus our time, efforts, and energy on training the best therapy horses that we can.

3) 90 day turnaround. When and where possible we plan on only having a horse at our facility for 90 days. The first 30 days is a quarantine period where only light ground work and trust building with the horse occur. The next 30-60 days we will begin training for therapy this includes but is not limited to; desensitization to common object in therapy such as wheel chairs, oxygen tanks, masks, etc., riding, getting the horse used to side walkers, leader, position changes, loud noises, and many other aspects that come along with working in a therapy setting. Each horse is the evaluated by our trainer before being placed for adoption/re-homing.

4) Membership: Annual and monthly membership provides us with a way to estimate exactly how much we will be receiving in donations for the year and plan accordingly.

One of the biggest tasks we have is placing horses in appropriate programs/homes this our process and how we plan on finding the best possible fit for every horse we re-home.

1) Initial approval. Every potential therapy center or adopter must fill out an initial pre-check. If the interested party passes our standards for pre-check we will do a home/facility visit to make sure the horse will have excellent care. If they pass this they will then be placed on the waiting list.

2) Waiting List: While on the waiting list we will speak with the potential adopter and find out what their goals/uses are with the horse and provided them with a list of horses we believe will work for them. If we do not have anything at the time that will work for them we will contact them in the future if we find a horse that will suit.

3) Once the adopters have a narrowed down list of horses they will come to the facility to meet and work with the horses they are most interested in, once they have selected a horse they will fill out and sign the re-homing/adoption paperwork and pay the re-homing fee.

2 of our board members have extensive experience working with rescue horse and therapy programs. They will use their knowledge from their involvement in other organizations to pick out and train horses best suited to therapy. They will use their knowledge of natural horsemanship training methods to create personalized training plans for each horse.

Scott, the treasurer and secretary has many years of experience running a profitable business and will be able to help manage finances in a way to make the rescue as sustainable as possible.

Helping Hooves has so far secured a facility to house rescue horses on and has 6 horses in its care and training program.

The next steps for Helping Hooves are to:
1) Finish the training on horses currently in it's care and to re-home them.
2) Build better and more efficient facilities for rescue and training.