Equine Learning Program

The High Hopes Equine Learning Program offers a wide range of opportunities to learn skills related to hose care and stable management. The curriculum is designed on an individual basis to accommodate each student's needs and goals. The Equine Learning Program is an excellent way to individuals to develop confidence and learn how to become comfortable working with horses. The following are examples of areas of study.

• Horse Care - Students learn to lead, groom and maintain the cleanliness and safety of stalls and pastures, and gain knowledge of horse colors and breeds.
• Horse Handling - Students learn how to select appropriate tack and fit it to the horse, learn horse handling and training techniques, such as "longeing" and "long-lining".
• Horse Health Care - Students learn to apply elements of equine first aid, including cleaning wounds, measuring the horse's temperature, pulse and respiration, applying wraps and bandages, and identifying symptoms of various diseases.
• Cleaning - Students learn the basics of barn care, including sweeping, dusting, washing, cleaning stalls and cleaning tack.

Upon acceptance into the program, students are assigned a staff adviser and a Volunteeer Learning Coach trained by our staff. The student and Coach will work one-on-one.

Equine learning Program sessions are tuition based and are scheduled during the same 12-week and 6-week seasonal timeframes as the therapeutic riding-lesson semesters. The application process is the same as the riding program. Please click here for forms and applications.

Fees:  $450 per 12-week semester; $225 per 6-week semester.

Scholarships

The program fees collected cover approximately 30% of our costs, and donations enable us to subsidize the remaining 70%. With our commitment to accepting participants into our programs based on therapeutic need, regardless of financial means, we offer further scholarship assistance to those unable to pay the established fees. Fifty-five percent of program participants received direct scholarship assistance toward their program fees. In 2007, we awarded $73,450 in scholarships to school groups and individual families. Additionally, more than $465,500 was allocated to subsidize our programs for all. Click here to download scholarship application form.

To request an application or to get more information about our equine learning program, please contact High Hopes at (860) 434-1974 or email hhinfo@highhopestr.org.