Horse Farm Volunteer Program

 for ages 13 and up

Volunteer opportunities available if you are at least 13 years old or older. As you might imagine, a lot of work goes into running a horse farm. The types of things you'd be asked to do include guiding trail rides, giving lessons, grooming, tacking up, clearing trails, maintaining pastures and fences, oiling tack, de-worming, feeding and watering the horses, giving baths, etc.  If you don't know how to do these things (and most of our volunteers don't), we'll teach you.  That's the huge benefit of being a volunteer.  You'll learn more by volunteering than we would teach you even if you were paying for lessons, because in our lessons, we only teach you to ride - not how to de-worm a horse and how often; give necessary vaccinations; what to feed, how much, and how often; recognize when they're sick; know what to do in a situation where a horse is colicing or injured; and when to call the vet. You'll also have an opportunity to work with some of our rescue horses.

But there are additional benefits to volunteering that aren’t as obvious. For instance, your balance, strength, and coordination will improve. You’ll become more confident when you become a proficient rider and are asked to give the riding demonstration because you will be sharing skills and knowledge with people who are eager to learn what you can teach them. You’ll also become more comfortable with speaking in front of an audience since you’ll need to have eye contact with the people who are watching the demonstration, and you’ll need to project your voice so that everyone can hear you. In short, you’ll become effective at public speaking, which will result in a huge boost in your self-confidence.

And you'll become a better rider since you earn riding privileges in exchange for your work. If you work full days (8am-7pm), you get to ride for at least 1 hour each time you volunteer. However, if you choose to work half days (8am-2pm or 12pm-6pm), you will be allowed to ride at least 1 hour every other time you volunteer.

Volunteers will need to pack their own lunch and bring plenty of water to drink each day. You'll need waterproof boots, and you'll need insulated, waterproof boots for the winter. Riding boots are best. For a nice selection, we recommend Triangle Horse Sports in Raleigh.