Equine Retirement Fund

Our High Hopes Herd are hard workers! In fact, the average therapeutic horse works 5 years in another industry before coming to work at High
Hopes. Many of our herd join us in their late teens and early twenties, ready for a second career.

It takes a very special horse to be a High Hopes therapy horse. A horse suited for equine-assisted services must be calm, adaptable, and tolerant of both their environment and people of all types, in situations ranging from ground-based horsemanship classes to working under saddle. A good horse for equine-assisted services is a herd animal who need to be comfortable being fed, groomed, tacked, led, and worked with by many different people.

Approximately one in five horses meet the requirements to join the program. These special horses are diligent employees of High Hopes, providing the delivery of service for our programs. Without them, all that we do would not be possible.

And as with humans, when our horses are planning their retirement, we want to ensure they have the best experience possible. Some of our retired horses will find new, vetted, private owners that they will spend their golden years with. However, many of our horses will need additional care through a retirement farm. This is not without expense – the average retirement farm may cost between $800 and $1200 per month. Only a few special cases will enable a horse to remain on the High Hopes farm in their retirement. Those costs vary by horse, veterinary care, special diets, and more, ranging between $500 and $900 each month.

Your support is vital to ensuring our retired equines receive the care they deserve after giving so much through their work. Advocate for the well-being of each retirement horse through a donation to our Equine Retirement Fund.

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