They Did It: More Than Doubled Their Non-riding Horse Placements
Many adoption groups find it difficult to adopt out non-riding, or companion, horses. But we’ve found that there are thousands of adopters who are interested in bringing these horses home! Often, it just takes a shift in mindset on the part of the adoption group, and some creative marketing, to engage these adopters. Colorado Horse Rescue (CHR), located in Longmont, CO, is one of many adoption groups around the country that has unlocked the secret to finding great homes for this special population of horses.
Who: Grace Degnan, Program Manager at Colorado Horse Rescue
Did What: Focused on marketing efforts, training and care that more than doubled the number of non-riding horse placements Colorado Horse Rescue sees each year.
ASPCApro: Why did you start the Companion Connection program? What need were you addressing?
Degnan: We started our Companion Connection program in response to the growing need to focus on retirees, who have traditionally received the least amount of attention from potential adopters. CHR takes in horses from every walk of life, whether they are rideable or non-rideable. Before we started the program, we found ourselves with a growing number of horses in need of retirement homes, and an adopter base primarily looking for horses to ride. Non-rideable horses are the most vulnerable in our community because they are often seen as less valuable. We wanted to bring to light the value these horses bring to someone’s life and to other horses’ lives, and we also knew that we needed to have a focused effort toward placing these horses more efficiently.
ASPCApro: How did the program get started?
Degnan: Almost every horse will reach a stage in their life where they can no longer be ridden and need to find a safe place to retire. It feels like there is a never-ending supply of these horses in need. We started the Companion Connection program to find homes for these horses more efficiently. We started by identifying the most common reasons our companion horses had not been a match for a potential adopter in the past and used those barriers to create a training evaluation specifically for non-riding horses. Some of the things we identified as being most important to adopters were ease of management for farrier care and veterinary care, as well as other management-centered skills. With these skills in mind, we started to focus more on training and began handling these horses’ feet more often, mimicked the act of giving a vaccine, and practiced getting them on and off a trailer.
We also started engaging our volunteers—specifically those who can confidently catch, lead, groom and independently work with a horse on the ground safely—in the program. With our growing volunteer arm, we were able to assign a volunteer to our non-riding herd to ensure that each horse is being handled multiple times a week under the supervision of the program’s manager. This part of the program helps our placement team know each horse very well without having to be the ones handling and training them every day.
“Many adopters who come to us through this program are first-time horse owners who have always dreamed of owning a horse but never had the time until later in life to get comfortable in the saddle. These horses can provide a wonderful first experience for an owner who is looking to connect with a horse but not necessarily ride them.”
ASPCApro: How do you market horses in the Companion Connection program?
Degnan: We market these horses through social media, blogs, word-of-mouth and education.
We educate our volunteers at CHR about equine welfare and make sure they understand that horses thrive when living with other horses. We encourage our volunteers to share what they learn at the rescue with other horse lovers and owners in their network. Often, through a connection in our community, someone will reach out after learning their horse may not be thriving because they have been living alone.
We also encourage our volunteers to share their experiences with the horses and how they’ve enriched their lives with their own social networks.
The demographic we are actively trying to reach are owners who need a buddy horse as well as first-time horse owners. We work with a lot of first-time horse owners in Companion Connection because having a non-riding horse can be a great introduction to horse ownership.
ASPCApro: What types of horses come into the program?
Degnan: The horses who participate in the program are those who can no longer be ridden due to a physical or behavioral reason. Most often, these horses are in their late teens to mid-twenties. We work diligently with our veterinarian to ensure that they have a good quality of life, can handle living in a larger pasture space, can keep up with the dynamics of a herd and can manage low-intensity work with a person on the ground. Some of the horses have graduated to retirement status due to a lack of training combined with their older age. We often have to weigh whether it makes sense—and is the best thing for the horse—to put them in training for riding if they are older. We’ve often found that a healthy horse in their late teens who has not been started under saddle can find a home more efficiently than a non-riding companion horse.
ASPCApro: What successes have you seen in the program?
Degnan: With the focus on marketing efforts, training and care, we have more than doubled the number of non-riding horse placements we see each year. The program has sustained progress and is on track to have more growth this year.
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