On average, The Shea Center program horses serve for about ten years before retiring. When looking for new program horses, the preferred age is between 6 and 15 years old, allowing many optimal years of serving our clients. Many factors are considered when pondering...
Some of The Shea Center's equine members are shaved/clipped during the winter and summer. Shaving the horse's entire body helps them cool down quicker after being worked and stay cool during the hot summer months. For fun, some horses get fun clipped designs. However,...
We encourage all staff and volunteers to carry and use a dressage whip when necessary for horse leading and riding. Here’s why: In natural horsemanship, there are four natural riding aids: voice, seat/weight, leg, and hand/rein. When leading a horse, we use these...
The Shea Center Program currently houses 28 therapy horses acquired through purchase, donation, or loan. These horses possess diverse backgrounds in disciplines such as dressage, jumping, western, English, reining, arena work, or trail riding. While many horses are...
Walking through the barn at The Shea Center, you may notice that some stalls have “low starch treat only” or “no treats” signs. Every program horse is on a specific diet consisting of hay and supplements (donated by Platinum Performance), but adding treats is a fun...
Walking through the barn, you will notice some horses munching on hay balls and treat dispensers. Our dedicated volunteers and Lesson Treatment Assistants (LTAs) fill them twice daily for the horses to enjoy. The Shea Center uses hay balls and treat dispensers as...
Every week, our horses are exercised by program staff members. Each horse has a specially designed exercise/schooling schedule developed by the Equine Operations Manager with veterinarian guidance. Nearly all the horses, with the exception of some ponies (Mac and...
Meet Boots, our charming chestnut Quarter Horse, standing at a perfect 14.1 hands high. He loves going on a trail ride with his herd mates and thrives in adaptive riding lessons, where he serves as a wonderful partner for clients who are building their independent...
The horses at The Shea Center serve a vital role in helping clients achieve their goals. There are expenses to help keep the herd in excellent condition. To this end, we rely on generous donors to support our horse sponsorship program. The funds are used to acquire...
Learn more about Sage, our dun Quarter Horse gelding, who excels in our military and adaptive riding programs. Why we love him: Sage's highly social and playful personality has made him a go-to horse for a variety of our programs! He is always one of the first...