Horses in the All About Equine Animal Rescue, Inc.’s (AAE’s) rescue program will be handled and evaluated to ensure a compatible match with potential adopters. Incoming horses will receive an initial evaluation for body score, age, breed type, and riding ability/prior training, and training will begin with all horses at phase 1 of ground work. While some rescues may have been ridden in the past, beginning the training program from the ground up regardless of past history ensures consistency and harmony in ridability.
AAE’s goal is to rehabilitate rescued horses in three key areas: nutrition, maintenance (farrier, worming, vaccines), and training. Horses will be trained to ride if they are sound and at least 3 years old, and youngsters will be taught safe ground manners using natural horsemanship principles.
The basic premise of natural horsemanship is “as gentle as possible, as firm as necessary” and the cardinal rule of “Do no harm”. Establishing trust and encouraging respect in the horse are the two most important goals in our training program. The horse needs to be a willing partner, trusting the person to lead, and the person must be trustworthy and learn to speak “horse” to realize harmony in communication.
All training volunteers will be given the opportunity to view various training videos, including Stacey Westfall’s groundwork exercises ( phase 1 of training), John Lyons groundwork, Parelli, etc. in AAE’s resource library. We will also demonstrate what we have taught each rescued horse to the potential adopters, so they can build from the foundation provided and maintain consistency in cues.
Adoption fees are based on a multitude of factors including the horses’s age, type, and health status, as well as training and experience. Adoption fees are one of AAE’s primary sources of funds for recouping some of the rescue and maintainance costs associated with our horses. Adoption fees are returned to the program and used for supporting costs associated with ongoing care of existing horses and future rescue horses.