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Donate a Therapy Horse

Donating a horse to a therapeutic riding program is a wonderful way to help others. These animals can make an incredible impact in the lives of people in need. That being said, being a therapy horse is absolutely work that can be difficult for a horse, and many horses are not suited to do the job. Many horses will not have had a chance to be exposed to what their job as a therapy horse will entail, and we usually take horses on a trial basis for training before we agree to accept them into our program.

The most important trait a therapy horse can have is a kind and willing temperament. These horses have to be willing to put up with a lot of situations they would not encounter in other barns. Breed is not important, and many excellent therapy horses are unregistered horses with no pedigree of any kind. Age can be a factor, as older horses tend to be quieter and more accepting, but we look at each horse individually.

Generally, horses that have been exposed to a lot of things, like those that have gone to shows, rodeos, hunts, big trail rides, or other events tend to deal with the activity of a therapy center better than those that have never left home. However, some horses are just naturally suited to being a therapy horse, and as long as they have been exposed to things like bicycles, lawn mowers, and traffic going by their pastures, many do just fine.

Size is also a factor. Ideally, most therapy horses should be between 13 and 15 hands. Very tall horses are difficult to side-walk with, and may be more intimidating to riders. However, since Pathways provides other classes than just therapeutic riding, we may be able to take a few horses that are larger in size.

The following is a description of what working as a therapy horse may be like:

A therapy horse’s job includes exposure to wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and other objects foreign to horses. They must stand, walk and trot quietly at all times with a rider who may be unbalanced, overexcited or noisy. Sudden loud noises might get their attention, but should not spook them. The horse will need to be comfortable with people all around them and walking or jogging along right beside them. The horse will need to be able to deal with items such as balls, hula hoops, bean bags and other odd objects being passed to and from the rider. The horses must be conditioned to carry riders, so should also be able to walk, trot and canter on both leads. Horses should be accepting of contact on the bit and should guide willingly. Ideally, all gaits should be fairly smooth, regardless of length of stride.

If you have a horse that may work for us, please contact Bonnie Dingman at pathwaysaat@yahoo.com, or at (785) 594-3827. Thank you!