Senior Horse Retirement Jobs - Therapy and Rehabilitation Horse

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"When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes."
 - William Shakespeare, Henry V 

How this Section Works

Retirement Jobs: Jobs with their own pages, see Table of Contents at Left

Therapy Horse  Guide Horse         

Equine Eligibility 

Temperament and Ground Manners

Age  Special Needs  Sex  Disciplines/Training

Vices Conformation, Movement and Gaits

Why You Must Choose a Professional Center  Standards Horse Care Horse Work

Finding a Facility  

Alaska  Arizona  California Colorado Connecticut Florida

Louisiana Maine Massachussetts Montana New Hampshire New York Ohio Oregon 

Texas Washington Washington, DC  Canada

Specialty Programs such as Prison and Juvenile Detention Inmate Rehabilitation Programs, Private At-Risk Youth Rehabilitation Programs that Use Horses to Teach Life Skills

Choosing a Stable

Real Retirement Other Resources

Featured Horses This Quarter: Arabiis Mickey and Minnie. (Arabiis pictured left.) These horses have the most important job of any horse in America.  They are members of the Ceremonial Honor Guard Caisson platoon stationed at Ft. Myer, VA, which is part of 3rd Infantry (The Old Guard) our nation's oldest active duty unit, formed in 1795.  Their main job is laying national greats and service members to rest with dignity, respect, and honor in Arlington National Cemetery, and participating in the most important state ceremonies of our country.  However, since 2006 they have taken on another mission.  They also provide physical and psychological therapy for wounded troops, particularly amputees. The trainers say they can tell from how tender they are to the veterans that Arabiis, Mickey and Minnie appreciate their new detail. The troops gain immediate improvement in balance, coordination, stamina, core body strength, control, and most of all, relaxation. The horse's walk feels much like a human walk, so they regain the sensation of walking and feel free and whole when with their horse. More of the story from ABC News

Aging people learn to wear hearing aids, and eyeglasses.  They learn to wear support stockings and dentures.  They drink Ensure and take Senior Multi-vitamins and MSM and glucosamine and chondroitin and baby aspirin.  They learn to use a cane, buy a special contour support mattress and gel inserts for their shoes and rub creams on their achy joints. They are active and enjoy working much longer than their grandparents. Grandma loves to do her volunteer work, even if she has to give up her knitting and uses audio books instead of reading.  If they are horsepeople, when they can no longer ride, they learn to drive.

And so it is with our senior citizen horses.  They are loved and valued team members at many stables. They are useful well into their twilight years, because we didn't wear them out or break them in their youth or their prime.  Years of training and experience does not go to waste, but teaches the next generation of horsepeople.

One of the missions of Del Camino is to help horse owners find timely information that guides them through this journey.  We want to keep our seniors as fit, as active, as contented as possible, as long as possible.  It can be done.

We dedicate our work to a few of many beloved Del Camino horses:  Freckles, who left us at age 43, Miss Cricket, who delighted children until age 38, Captain Oliver "Ollie" who fought Cushing's until age 32, when he lost his best friend of 13 years, Jordan, to bladder cancer, at the age of 28.  Also Brandy's Prince, and Smokey, both of whom had Cushing's which caused laminitis at age 26.

Thank you for having graced our lives, and taught so many people the joy of horsemanship.

How This Seniors Section Works                (Top of Page)

Please read the overviews of the topics before clicking on links.  We can't possibly list every reference available on the internet, and we do not accept any compensation for a listing.  None of these listings were solicited. 
This site is meant to distill information from a variety of sources, as well as our own experience, before sending you off on your own quest.  
The descriptive paragraphs at the start of a section are there because we believe they are important.

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	Large sections acquire their own page, to keep it easy to read.
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	Topics progress from those for people caring for their senior horse, to those wishing to place their senior horse in a new job, and finally, how to prepare for and make arrangements to euthanize a horse to prevent suffering.

Retirement Jobs

Sometimes you can't give an older horse the gentle exercise and continued attention he needs.  He may be serviceably sound for light work, but no longer able to enjoy the strenuous sport you want to keep doing.  If he is still sound on the flat at the walk, trot, and canter, you may consider finding him a new job where his years of training and experience will enable him to enrich other lives as a teacher.  Temperament and ground manners are very important for these jobs. If your horse is very tolerant of rider and handler mistakes, being ridden and handled by many different people, and especially calm and easy-going, he may be suitable for rehoming as a school or therapy horse.

Overview of Therapeutic Riding Video from the Christopher Reeve Foundation available on YouTube

Therapy Horse Jobs                                      (Top of Page)

"Equine assisted activities/therapies (EAA/T) is a comprehensive term for all equine activities and therapies designed for people with disabilities or diverse needs. Some examples of EAA/T include: Therapeutic Riding, Equine Facilitated Learning, Therapeutic Driving, Vocational Rehabilitation, Hippotherapy and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. Though the term is a newly developed one (since the 1990’s), these activities have been gaining popularity for decades" - The Horses and Humans Research Foundation

The hippotherapy concept is not new, and was used as much as 2,600 years ago as documented in 600 BCE by Orbasis of Lydia as a viable treatment for people with disabilities.  It is considered highly effective as a treatment for numerous conditions, and has been extensively studied. 

In fact, in the 1860's, even during the Civil War, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. used horseback riding,  which he taught to all four of his children, to treat the childhood conditions of his eldest daughter, Bamie, who had a deformed spine, and his eldest son, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., who had severe asthma beginning at very young ages.  One of the treatments for an asthmatic attack when the future President was a boy was for his father to take him for a long drive or ride, often in the middle of the night.  Due to his keen interest in using activities, rather than the torturous braces, to help Bamie, Roosevelt founded the first American orthopedic hospital in New York.  He worked with physicians who approved of Bamie's riding, rather than discouraging it and keeping her bedridden.  However, the beneficial effects of the Roosevelts' routine were not publicized, so they are little known, even among today's therapeutic riding proponents and practitioners.

Like many of our advancements in medicine, prosthetics, and therapy, equine assisted therapy grew out of efforts to serve the battle wounded. Modern hippotherapy was.begun by a nurse in WWI who was working at Oxford Hospital. She was treating British soldiers who had been wounded in the war, and had no access to any kind of rehabilitation equipment or really any kind of equipment at all, but they did have horses. Kind of out of desperation, she put these wounded soldiers on the backs of horses for physical therapy. These programs grew out of that.

The concept didn't really seize the imagination of non-military therapists and medical and psychiatric professionals until after WWII. But Therapeutic Riding was not adequately studied or accepted by the medical community at large until an eventful day in 1952 - when a remarkable woman named Liz Hartel made Therapeutic Riding a reality. Liz was an accomplished equestrian who completely lost the use of her legs when she contracted polio in 1940. She was absolutely determined to ride independently again and used the largely unknown treatment of Therapeutic Riding to successfully build muscle strength, agility and coordination. Twelve years later Liz Hartel and her therapy horse Jubilee, did something extraordinary that profoundly demonstrated the value and therapeutic potential of riding to the world. In 1952 they won the Silver Medal for Grand Prix Dressage at the Helsinki Olympics – a venue previously reserved for military teams, many of which no longer existed following the war.  The medical world sat up and noticed what horsepeople had known for millennia.  "There is nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse."

Today, there are at least 700 NARHA certified centers alone in the USA, "staffed" by over 5,000 horses, and serving about 40,000 clients annually.  There are many more of these kinds of programs across the United States that are not certified, as well as programs at hospitals and on military bases.  More start up every year.  Presently, William Shatner is leading an effort to raise $10 million to ensure that every Israeli citizen who can benefit from an equine-assisted activity is able to do so through one of the centers where all staff are certified.  Hundreds of therapeutic horsemanship programs exist in Europe.

In addition to Delta Pet Partner miniature horses and donkeys, equine-assisted mental health therapy, hippotherapy, therapeutic riding and driving, the European equine sport of vaulting (gymnastics on horseback) is experiencing one of its periodic revivals in the U.S.A.  Therapeutic vaulting is now emerging at U.S. equine therapy centers, modelled after the outstanding work of Dutch therapeutic vaulting pioneers.

Two of this quarter's featured therapy horses, Arabiis and Minnie at work at Fort Myer.

Guide Horse                                                      (Top of Page)

The Guide Horse Foundation, Kittrell, NC   Rescues miniature horses and has a program to train miniature horses as Guide Horses for persons with disabilities.  The photo is from their website  The Guide Horse Foundation relies on donations from large breeding farms and individual donations.   If you are fascinated by the concept of Guide Horses for the Visually Impaired, please visit the Guide Horse Foundation for more information, or better yet, support them by purchasing this inspiring and practical book by Janet Burleson.

NOTE:  Per The Guide Horse Foundation, "An international Poll by the Discovery Channel showed that 27% of respondents would prefer a Guide Horse if they required a guide animal."   

Since miniature horses can live to the ripe old age of 50, training your mini to drive as a therapy horse, or to be a Delta Visiting Pet or a Guide Horse may be an excellent way to plan for its future beyond when you can care for it.  Health requirements and training for Delta Visiting Pets and Guide Horses are stringent, and training must be done with professionals to achieve appropriate certification.  Less than 1% of miniature horses are suitable for the Guide Horse program, and all horses must have exceptional small size, physical health and above average intelligence. All Guide Horses undergo the same systematic desensitization training that is used by riot-control horses and Cavalry horses. Guide Horses must learn to "spook in place" and they must master this skill to 100% proficiency.

The miniature horse that visits nursing homes and small children, whether or not it is a member of the Delta Society Pet Partners program, needs to have special skills and manners.  The Creatures and Kids Oklahoma Certification Requirements give you a good overview.

A miniature that has passed the basic levels for those professions is much more likely to find a home as a therapy horse, than an untrained lawn ornament would.   

Equine Eligibility                                                      (Top of Page)

If he has the right movement, temperament, ground manners and training, he might be suitable as a therapy horse. 

Temperament and Ground Manners

Of these characteristics, temperament and ground manners are generally considered critical.  Essentially, the horse is so gentle and docile, in hand and under saddle or while hitching and driving, he can be called a "babysitter."  In the event the rider or handler does something wrong, or becomes unbalanced, or makes an unexpected noise, the horse does not flee or speed up or jig or buck.  On the contrary, he slows down, breaks gait, or stops, and waits for his rider or handler to reorganize, rebalance, and calm down.  Likewise, their attitude toward being crowded and being touched by people and objects, and around strange colorful objects must be unflappable.  The rider who is not a completely independent rider will have spotters very close on both sides of the horse, and will often travel through a sensory stimulation course, or take objects from barrels, throw balls into basketball hoops, swing rings on outstretched arms, or ride sideways, backwards, or assume traditional vaulting positions, such as kneeling or standing.  Special bareback pads and surcingles are used as much as traditional saddles.  Doesn't fit the typical description of horse behavior, does it?  These horses, when found to employ this way are truly special - "worth their weight in gold." 

Age

Generally they are at least ten years old, to have proven this temperament consistently.  Therapy centers typically prefer the horse to be under age 20 upon acceptance, so that they can work with the horse for many years, and care for it properly while keeping it serviceably sound and healthy.  When the horse can no longer be ridden, or its health requires great expense and attention to maintain, they, like any other owner, must retire the horse.

Special Needs                                                               (Top of Page)

Consequently, a horse that "needs work" or is already on serious medications or supplements or special shoeing, or 25 or older, or has a history of lameness issues, is isulin resistant, or already Cushings' symptomatic is usually past the optimal intake criteria for a therapy horse.  Many centers go beyond basic preventative care to give the horses equine massage therapy and other special attention, often in partnership with a local college's Equine Studies program.  However, special nutritional needs, expensive special shoeing, or a likelihood that the horse will need to retire within a year will generally cause a center to hesitate, or only to lease your horse.  Afterall, horses that have been with them for years do have first priority on limited dollars, and their feed bills are going up right along with those of all other horse owners - yet they have to rely heavily on donations, corporate giving, and fundraising events to subsidize their programs.

Sex

Geldings are preferred by most centers.  Stallions, and mares in foal or at their side are obviously unsuitable.  Mares who are not too alpha and do not change temperament when in season are usually acceptable. 

Disciplines/Training

Most centers prefer horses that are trained both English and Western (direct and indirect reining) and have solid voice commands.  Most prefer a horse that already knows how to work on the longe and has good manners on the lunge line.  Horses that ground drive or drive are also valuable for therapeutic driving, and horses that have already worked in vaulting programs successfully are often at an advantage.  Your horse should lead very well according to U.S. Pony Club standards, without barging, crowding its handler, lagging behind or rushing ahead, and back quietly and slowly.  There should be no mounting issues when mounted from a standard two step mounting block, or from the ground.  Your horse will then be trained to accept a rider using a wheelchair ramp to reach a platform from which to mount.  Not all riders need to use the ramp, but all therapy horses must be able to accept a variety of mounting methods, and some centers use a double platform similar to a chute, so that assistants may stand at a good height on the off side of the horse, as well as aide the rider on the platform.

Vices

Herd bound horses that call to their buddy when separated are generally unsuitable.  Stall vices like cribbing, weaving, and stall walking are sometimes acceptable, depending on the policy of the individual therapy center.  Vices such as cinchiness, head butting, nipping, biting, and bucking are unacceptable, as is, of course, rearing. 

Conformation, Movement and Gaits                            (Top of Page)

Horses in different conformation are used - some riders need a slab-sided horses, while others need a wide barrel.  Most centers have narrow, medium and wide treed saddles to fit their therapy horses, as well as gel and riser pads for those that need them.  Different gaits are also needed by different riders - some need a smooth-gaited horse with smooth transitions, others need one who stabs the ground hard in a choppy gait.  Horses with lateral gaits (amblers and pacers) are used as well as trotters.  Useful sizes include ponies of 14 hands up to 16 hand horses for large adults.  A program that includes therapeutic driving may be able to accept smaller ponies and miniature horses.  A program that does community outreach and hospital, senior center, etc. services with Delta certified visiting miniature horses or burros occasionally has an opening.  This is why you need to find out about the therapeutic riding center before you call, and have a good idea of their needs, as well as your horse's attributes and history.

Not all older horses can do this job, and there are a limited number of openings.  The therapeutic riding centers cannot absorb all of them. 

If you honestly think he can do this job for a long time, and would adjust to it well, look into the possibility carefully.  It is not enough that the work they do with special needs children and adults is valuable and commendable.  Not all therapeutic riding centers are financially sound.  With skyrocketing hay costs, and other expenses outpacing inflation, some are struggling to care properly for the horses they already have. 

Why You Must Choose a Professional Center                    (Top of Page)

There are two concerns when choosing a new home for your senior horse:

1. General horsekeeping or daily routine horse care, and

2. The work the horse does.

Horse Care

Everyone who starts a hippotherapy center means well.  But some volunteers who care for the horses at some therapy programs are not experienced horsepeople, and do not receive much training.  All non-profit horse stables, rescues, therapy centers, and retirement sanctuaries rely heavily on volunteer labor with possibly high turnover, and different volunteers every day doing only a few hours of work.  The center must then depend on the organization and supervision given by the Equine and Barn Manager to know each horse, because even a trained volunteer who is an experienced horseperson but only works on Tuesday evenings for three hours realistically cannot. The horsemanship skills of even NARHA Registered Instructors who give therapeutic riding lessons may be excellent, or rudimentary.  NARHA Advanced and Master Level Instructors are likely to be very qualified experienced horsepeople, and have met higher standards of training. 

Older horses need daily supervision by qualified barn managers who monitor their condition, eating and socializing, sleeping and elimination habits, as well as monitoring their work schedule and training, in addition to ensuring the training and consistency of the volunteers.  A busy center with many volunteers and too small of a permanent staff wearing too many hats may not be the best choice for a senior horse, even though it is just fine for a younger horse. 

Horse Work                                                              (Top of Page)

Centers that adhere to NARHA standards limit the number of lessons or hippotherapy sessions per day and per week for the horse to a reasonable amount, frequency, etc.  They also mandate proper exercise and training when the horse is not working with clients.  They do not, however, require the riding or driving instructors to have horse training skills, or advanced riding skills themselves, or formal training in classical humane riding techniques, such as an understanding of the rider's aids and how to apply them to communicate with the horse.  In many instances, demonstrating that they can get around the ring at the walk, trot/jog/running walk, canter/lope and negotiate a simple pattern is all the riding skill they need to become a therapeutic riding instructor.  No requirement to take formal training in Equine Studies, tack, bits, gaits of the horse, lameness, horse body language, etc. is generally required.  Likewise, no formal training in how to teach a physical skill or sport to children or adults is required.  Many have websites urging people with little riding experience to become therapeutic riding instructors with as little as 25 hours of on-the-job training.  Considering the standard work week is 40 hours, this is very "entry level" employee orientation, not professionalism in any field. 

Thus, while most therapeutic riding instructors seek and gain more formal training as horsepeople or riders, to supplement their training as therapeutic riding instructors over time, while others enter therapeutic riding instruction from years of horse training and regular rider instructing, most new instructors have little understanding of how to teach horseback riding in a manner that is protective of the horse and truly moves the rider's skill along.  There is considerable teaching of the "kick and pull" method with reins too loose or too tight, balancing off the horse's mouth, and kick, then kick harder, then kick harder still to make the horse "fall into" the next faster gait because it is already going as fast as it can within the present gait, or by "scooching" with a driving, unbalancing seat. 

Consequently, studies conducted where the instructors do not teach good riding techniques from the outset, and do not notice the discomfort or confusion of the horse (do not have "an educated eye") can produce these results:

Standards                                                                 (Top of Page)

Fortunately, there are industry standards and associations that recognize this and provide accreditation and resources.  The NARHA (formerly the North American Riding for the Handicapped Assn., American Hippotherapy Association (AHA) Better Business Bureau (BBB), local veterinary association, and other respected professionals should be able to give them high marks for horse care and handling.  Both NARHA and AHA have professional standards for the care and use of the therapy horses. Most accredited NARHA centers train people thoroughly in their specific barn and horse handling procedures as horse care and handling volunteers.  Premier accredited centers meet very high standards and are rigorously inspected on these matters at five (5) year intervals. Personnel changes between inspections can affect compliance with those standards. Just because a hospital or university has plenty of licensed physical therapists or mental health therapists taking care of the clients engaged in equine-assisted therapy, does not mean it has knowledgeable barn managers or horse trainers taking care of the horses able to manage how the instructors and therapists work with them.  As a horse owner looking for a good home for your friend, this is the part of the operation you care about.

If your horse is lucky enough to be selected by a well-established hippotherapy facility, please visit it several times before loading him on the trailer.  Please visit him several times, during his first year.  Be prepared for a phone call if he does not work out, even after the trial period.

When you begin inquiries, armed with a list of therapy stables in your state, highlight the ones that are certified by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) and/or the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA), and employ therapists who subscribe to the equine use and care standards of the American Hippotherapy Association (AHA).  While no "magic bullet", participation in a national association that sets standards, including horsekeeping, and certifies the facilities, as well as therapists and instructors, gives some assurance that when there are staff changes, there will be continuity.

	Not all equine-assisted therapeutic centers are accredited.
	Accredited centers are not inspected annually.
	Premier Accredited centers are not inspected annually.

Some therapeutic stables get so many offers that they have posted some information about their horse intake, trial period, and adoption procedures on their websites.  It is ironic that when they have too many horses, they tend to be inundated with horse offers, and when they need a particular horse, they have to search for him for months.

Finding a Facility                                                   (Top of Page)

Donation Classified Ad website http://www.donatemyhorse.com  This site is a North America clearing house for therapy centers and horse owners alike serving the United States and Canada.

It is not possible to provide an up-to-date list for all 50 states and the provinces.  The  North American Riding for the Handicapped (NARHA) website lists their own over 700 accredited centers, but even here in Arizona, only about half the centers are accredited.  Likewise, The Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) maintains a list of members with small programs, and a list of residential therapeutic schools with equine-assisted programs.  The sampling here from around the country will give you an overview of the types and range of centers.

Alaska

The Rainbow Connection, Anchorage, AK

Arizona Facilities                                                  (Top of Page)

Horses Help, Phoenix Arizona  is a NARHA Premier Accredited Center.  Freedom Rider Program for wounded troops and veterans with disabilities.

Sierra Tucson, Tucson, Arizona  is a dually licensed, accredited psychiatric hospital that is internationally known and respected as a leader in the treatment of addictions and behavioral disorders.  It has a highly integrated professional equine-assisted therapy program.

Horses with H.E.A.R.T., Dewey, Arizona

Camelot Therapeutic Riding, Cave Creek Arizona,  founded 1980 NARHA Premier Accredited Center.

Autism Spectrum Alternative Program for Autistic Children, Family, with Horses, Equine, Art Therapy, Donations  http://www.asapranch.org

Hooves for Hope - Therapeutic Riding Center. 

Stable Influence, 4 Phoenix NARHA locations.

Arizona State University's  Hunkapi equine pyschotherapy program run by its college of liberal arts and sciences psychology department. got its start as a research project for treating autism and ADD/ADHD and has three locations that offer individual and group lessons, parties, driving and adult services, at the Phoenix Zoo, in Gold Canyon and Litchfield Park.  [NOTE: The Phoenix Zoo has its own separate lesson program described in the private schools and specialty programs section.]

Therapeutic Riding of Tucson (TROT)  founded 1974 NARHA Premier Accredited Center.  NARHA Horses for Heroes Program for wounded and disabled veterans since 2006. American Legion June 2008 Magazine article, Saddle Magic.

Copper Canyon Academy, Therapeutic Boarding School for Girls, Rimrock, AZ

Connections Therapeutic Riding, Cornville, AZ

In Balance Ranch Academy, Residential Therapeutic School for Boys, Southern AZ,

Rio de Esperanza , Cottonwood (Verde Valley), AZ Adult Addictions Treatment Center subsidiary of Mingus Center Psychiatric.

California

National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT), Woodside, CA
 

Strides Therapeutic Riding Centers, Inc., Granada Hills, CA 

Colorado

Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center, Elbert, CO
 

Connecticut                                                                  (Top of Page)

High Hopes Therapeutic Riding, Inc., Old Lyme, CT

founded 1974 NARHA Premier Accredited Center and site of the 1995 Equestrian Special Olympics World Games

Florida                                                                            (Top of Page)

Marion Therapeutic Riding Association, Ocala, FL  founded in 1983 a Premier Accredited Center and site of the 2008 Area Special Olympics Equestrian Games.

Vinceremos Therapeutic Riding Center, Loxahatchee, FL
 founded in 1981 a NARHA Accredited Center.
 

Illinois                                                                          (Top of Page)

BraveHearts Therapeutic Riding and Educational Center, Harvard, Illinois  NARHA Premier Accredited Center with a Veterans Program.

Louisiana

West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital Therapeutic Riding, Sulphur, LA, includes Equestrian Special Olympics.

Maine

Equest Therapeutic Riding Center, Kennebunk, ME
 

New Hampshire

Recent classified ad that appeared at NH Equestrians OnLine:

"Horses needed UpReach Therapeutic Riding Center serving children and adults with disabilities is looking for sane, sound horses for our riding program.  Horses should be 14 to 15.2 hh and be able to carry riders up to 180lbs.  All horses must be UTD on shots, neg. coggins, pass a vet check by our vet and come in on a 45 day trial period. For more information, please contact Cindy at Upreach by e-mail, or by phone at (603) 497-2343. Listed 12/21/09

Email: cindy@upreachtrc.org "

                                                                                  (Top of Page)

New York

Everybody Counts Therapy Center, East Berne, NY (EBC)

Massachussetts

Windrush Farm Therapeutic Equitation, Inc., Boxford, MA

Montana

Eagle Mount, Bozeman, MT

NARHA Premier Accredited Center

North Carolina

Horsepower Therapeutic Learning Center, Colfax, NC  founded 1995 NARHA Accredited Center

Ohio

Fieldstone Farm Therapeutic Riding Center, Chagrin Falls, Ohio  NARHA Premier Accredited Center and home of the NARHA Therapy Horse of the Year for 2007, 32 year old Princeton.

Oregon                                                                      (Top of Page)

Healing Reins Therapeutic Riding Center, Bend, OR  founded 1999 NARHA Premier Accredited Center.

Forward Stride Center for Therapeutic Recreation, Portland, OR   founded 2003 NARHA Premier Accredited Center.

Bradley's Equine Assisted Therapeutic Riding Center, Inc.,  (B.E.A.T.) Banks, OR

Blue Heaven Therapeutic Riding Academy, Eagle Creek, OR

Texas                                                                               (Top of Page)

Equest, Dallas, Texas,  one of 19 NARHA Premier Accredited Centers, and 50 member centers in Texas, was founded in 1981. It serves 200 clients weekly with 33 horses.  Their horse page describes the service career of a therapy horse:

Ride on Center for Kids (R.O.C.K.), Georgetown, TX  serves adult and youth with disabilities, and partners with, among others for innovative outreach and service:

- Williamson County Juvenile Justice System to work with teenagers who have gotten in trouble with the law.
Individuals who complete the program and are dismissed from probation are able to come back and volunteer serving others.
 

= Horse Cavalry Detachment, 1st Cavalry Division, Ft. Hood, assist in helping soldiers who have sustained amputations, regain their balance for better walking.
Because of this partnership, a pilot program has been inspired and implemented for soldiers with amputations at Walter Reed in Washington DC. with the 3rd Infantry (Old Guard) at Ft. Myer (see below)
 

Washington

The Spotlite Foundation, Lacey, WA

Combines hippotherapy programs with equine rescue, with emphasis on the Arabian breed.

Washington, DC

3rd Infantry (The Old Guard), Ceremonial Military Honor Guard Caisson Platoon Ft. Myer, serves Arlington Cemetery and includes the caparisoned horse and caisson team.  The most important horses in the United States of America acquired another mission in 2006.  They now are also therapeutic riding horses, assisting the rehabilitation and recovery of veterans from Walter Reed.  see Military Horses page or read More of the story from ABC News and the February, 2008 story in Equitrekking.

Canada

Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association.  There are over 100 hippotherapy centers in Canada.  Here's one:

Therapeutic Riding Association of Ottawa-Carleton, Greely, Ontario

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Specialty Programs such as Prison and Juvenile Detention Inmate Rehabilitation Programs, Private At-Risk Youth Rehabilitation Programs that Use Horses to Teach Life Skills

A motto of Del Camino's lesson program was that we taught life skills to children and adults, using the medium of the horse.  To a riding and horsemanship instructor who enjoys seeing average and above average students develop relaxation, confidence, responsibility, self-discipline, concentration, anger management, balance, coordination, self-expression, by interacting with horses, it is a "no brainer" that horses are valuable partners to improve skills and overcome adversities for speech, occupational, and mental health therapists. Since many of these students did not belong in hippotherapy programs designed for physically challenged adults and youth, we were rewarded with those opportunities in a regular lesson academy.   While there are still only a few innovative programs to help our at-risk population, all of us can do more to support intervention and rehabilitation programs that use the versatile and powerfully effective medium of the horse.  If more occupational therapists and social workers witnessed the effect of a single horsemanship lesson on a troubled youth, many, many more programs would be founded and funded.

Most of these programs do not accept truly aged or companion-only horses.  However, they may give you ideas for other programs in your area that do.  All of the recommendations for evaluating a hippotherapy facility and its program, or a regular for-profit lesson program apply when exploring these alternatives.  Most of our examples come from Arizona and surrounding states as a result of our own independent research in recent years to help place horses.  Any program that would like to be added to our list should Contact Us, and any horse owner who wishes to let us know about a program where they were able to rehome their horse is encouraged to Contact Us.                         

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Salem Children's Home  is a non-profit child welfare agency in Illinois that accepts Arabians and Half-Arabians into its equine ranch program.  This is a Christian based rehabilitation program for troubled youth.  It receives no support from the Arabian Horse Registry, despite its breeding and registration program, and no support from the IAHA, the American breed show and sales association, or the Arabian Racing Association. The school holds special auctions to sell its young registered purebred and Half Arabian horses.  It does not appear to take aged Arabians.  It is allowed to market its fund-raising events to their membership by buying booth space at shows or advertising space like other commercial vendors.

Arivaca Boys Ranch and Academy, Arivaca, Arizona is a new (opening February 2008) private high school for troubled teen boys that uses one of the oldest cattle ranches in Arizona, and exclusively Arabian horses to do equine assisted therapy and "create men of integrity, one horse at a time."  It requires family commitment and is based on LDS Christian ethics and natural horsemanship techniques.  It receives no support from any Arabian horse breeding, showing, racing or marketing organization.  The work is with imprint training foals and backing 2-3 year olds.  Therefore, aged horses are not suitable.

Mustard Seed Ranch, Warner Springs, California

Residential treatment and day treatment programs for at-risk youth in foster care or orphanages, and at-risk young adults in probation or intervention programs. 142-acre working ranch operated by the Orange County Rescue Mission.

Eagle Valley Youth Ranch, Bryce Canyon, Utah  a private residential facility for troubled teen girls with self-destructive behaviors, substance abuse problems, etc. on a 250 acre ranch that uses many outdoor activities, including horseback riding and individual, group, family, and equine assisted psychotherapy and is an accredited school.

Choosing a Stable                             (Top of Page)     

Stables specializing in using retired show, pleasure, and ranch horses as schoolmasters are few and far between.  Most training stables are competitive barns specializing in training, showing, and sales.  While they may keep a horse that is "between owners" to give lessons to new clients until they purchase their own horse, most do not specialize in managing the health and work routines of older horses. 

DO visit in person any ranch you have placed on your short list after reviewing their website or brochure, and talking to the operator on the phone.  You won't be making this trip regularly, so make it at least once before your horse sets hoof on the trailer ramp.

Many special needs aged horses cannot live at pasture.  Some cannot eat grass.  Most would get beat up and run off the hay by younger horses.  Some need daily medication.  Some cannot regulate their body temperature well enough to live outside all day in summer heat or in winter cold.  Ensure any lesson or training stable you consider has small group covered pens, individual covered pens, and inside stalls as options.  Have the routine for turning out and exercising these horses explained to your satisfaction.  Remember that the customer horses that are paying for training or turnout necessarily get attention first in a busy barn.

Find out how hoof care and veterinary care is handled.  Your loved one will no longer be trimmed and shod by his regular farrier, and no longer be examined and vaccinated by your trusted veterinarian.  Many retired horses go barefoot, especially if they have good hooves are are working very lightly in groomed footing.  But they still need regular trimming, even if old hooves grow more slowly.  Others need shoes for support, in which case the farrier doesn't need any fancy techniques, but needs patience with oldsters who may not be able to stand for long periods with stress on a bad stifle, or arthritic hock, etc.

But see, senior horse owner, you really can't just rely on a good farm's statement "we will schedule regular farrier work."  Find out how long the current farrier has taken care of their boarders, and how often he comes.  If I could schedule my visit (since it may be my only one) on a day the farrier and even the vet will be there, that would be ideal.

I would definitely watch more than one lesson, preferably both a private lesson and a group, or a youth and an adult lesson, to see examples of how my horse will be handled, groomed, tacked, warmed-up, ridden, cooled-down, and put away.

If you like one or two ranches, at the end of your visit, ask for a couple of references from people who retired their horse there.  Follow up.

For help evaluating a lesson horse program, we have saved our old webpage that described our intake of new schoolmasters and how they would be used and cared for.  It will give you an idea of what to look for.  Our old pages describing our lesson and lease programs for students may also help.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has established guidelines for the selection, care, client interaction with, appropriate activities of and well-being of animals that work in animal assisted activities and therapies.

Real Retirement                               (Top of Page)

If none of the retirement jobs we have discussed are appropriate for your friend, it is time to just let him hang out and be a horse.  It is time to visit with his pasture buddies most of the day, be groomed by you and enjoy his gentle stretches and massage to stay comfortable,  be inspected daily for possible injury, illness, or loss of condition or teeth, and get a treat.

The Retirement Stables page has information on retirement stables, and how to choose one, if you cannot keep your companion at home.

This happiness should last while he is still fit enough to enjoy it, a timeline no one can predict.  When rapid decline occurs, when constant discomfort or even pain invades him, you will know.  Your long association as friends and companions will have given you an "eye" and an empathy that is priceless.  No one else will have this insight into the change in his behavior, his demeanor, his eyes - not even your vet who has helped you maintain him for years.

When you reach this leg of the journey, please see it for the natural course of events that life is, and begin to prepare for him to leave you.  Please visit our Euthanasia and Memorials pages, so that you will be ready to help him across "The Rainbow Bridge" responsibly, just as you have cared for him all along.  Choosing to own a horse is something like a wedding vow, and the very best horsepeople are just as skilled at compassionate elder care, hospice, and end of life care as they are at any other.

Other Resources                             (Top of Page)

The Del Camino Products and Services catalog offers some horse products of interest to owners of senior horses.

Horse Welfare Statistics

Equinezone Horse Supply

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