Another year has passed and 2017 has proven to have been a year full of blessing for Horses for Hope.

Baker roofing and Commercial Solutions took time off from being competitors and came together to give us a new barn roof.  The roof on our main barn had gotten in such bad shape that we could only safely use a small portion of the barn.  It’s such a blessing to now be able to use the entire barn.

Over the years we had been losing more and more of our riding ring sand to runoff from heavy rains.  We called Brinley Grading in Garner for advice on how to correct this problem.  After they came out and inspected our facility it was decided that our best course of action would be to simply resurface the ring with new sand.  Brinley Grading Co went way beyond anything we expected and called around to several sand companies in central North Carolina getting them to donate the 7 loads of sand needed for the job.  Then Brinley Grading hauled and delivered the sand and resurfaced our riding ring free of charge.

Mr & Mrs Joe & Libby Mitchiner of the Mitchiner Law Firm provided us with an awesome surprise in mid December when they funded our first Therapeutic Riding Scholarship Fund that will cover 4 riders for 2018 spring and fall sessions.

God continues to provide our needs through not only these incredible businesses and individuals but also the hundreds of volunteers that serve in various positions all year long.  Thanks to all of you for helping us continue our mission of helping those with Special Needs in 2018.

HfH is pleased to welcome the help of Red Hat Technologies.  On January 19, 2018 a group of approximately 15 volunteers from Red Hat Technologies, led by Alex Unger will be giving back to their community by volunteering at Horses for Hope.  They will be assisting in cutting new trails in the woods prior to the launch of our new trail riding program that is scheduled to start in the spring of 2018.  The additional income that this new program will generate will be used to help us continue our no cost Therapeutic Riding Program that is currently serving 40 families with over 270 families on our waiting list.  HfH extends in advance a huge thank you to Red Hat Technologies for all of their help.

Hello everyone, keep an eye on HfH Happenings for bi-weekly updates of whats going on around the barn and up coming events.

• Training:  In an effort to get more consistency and better responsive with our horse we have implemented an intense training program that all or our horses will be participating in.  Titan and Romeo will be the first horses to complete this program and are scheduled to go into our lesson program in the spring of 2018.
• We have added a training area complete with an obstacle course.  This area is being used to further our horses training, making them gentler, more respectful and more responsive for our students.
• We currently have three colts that we are breaking and training.  Rocky, Chase and Gunner are currently in our colt starting program and should be in the under saddle portion of their training in the spring of 2018.
• A Trail Riding Program has been added for 2018 and is scheduled to start in the spring.  Start date will be announced later.

Two local companies, Baker Roofing and Commercial Solutions are pulling together to help Horses for Hope and their special needs clients by donating their labor & materials to provide us with a much needed barn roof. Construction is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks. We are overwhelmingly thankful to both Baker Roofing and Commercial Solutions for this wonderful donation.

Horses for Hope would like to send a tremendous “THANK YOU” to the group that came out from Raleigh-Cary Jewish Family Services and for spending their Good Deeds Day with us this past Sunday, April 2nd. Many projects were completed and a bunch of the mini horses were groomed and loved on by this group. It was a pleasure working with all of you and we welcome the chance to work with you again soon!

The North Carolina State University Veterinary School has offered to do a complex castration for our mini horse, Cooper.  He is a cryptorchid stallion which means one testicle did not descend properly and is stuck on the other side of his abdominal muscles.  This will be a teaching clinic surgery for the more advanced veterinary students and as with all surgeries there is risk involved.  This surgery will be closely supervised and assisted by Dr. Callie Fogle, DMV, DACVS.  This will take place March 10th at the vet school’s main facility.  After the surgery, Cooper will be recovering at Gwen’s home so he can be closely watched and recuperate without the stresses of the other horses in close proximity.  It can take up to 6 months for the male hormone to be gone from his system and for his stallion behavior to disappear.

This donated service saves our organization $1,500 – $2,000 on this type of surgery.  It is necessary and potentially life changing for Cooper, and we cannot express enough gratitude to NCSU Vet School for this generous contribution.

We are grateful for the partnership that NCSU Vet School has formed with HfH. They have been performing all our standard castrations for years now – free of charge, but this is especially above-and-beyond standard. Please keep him and the staff/students at NCSU in your prayers for a successful surgery without complications.