Care and Training

 

Horses that come to HPAF are typically malnourished, which is what comes to mind with "rescue". However rehabilitating malnourished and neglected horses is only a small part of what HPAF does. Malnourished and starving horses receive proper nutrition, veterinary care and hoof care to bring them back to a healthy state. Then the real work begins.
Almost every horse requires training or retraining. Training is a central part of the rehabilitation for horses at  HPAF. Many of the horses have been mishandled or  physically abused. Some have never been handled at all and are feral, never haltered, lead or taught to accept routine and necessary care such as hoof trimming, grooming or bathing. When a horse has never know the kind touch of a human hand and is fearful of any interaction or routine handling, the task to bring the frightened and untrusting horse to where we the human are their trusted partner is a monumental task.
Parelli Natural Horsemanship is the training program for horses at HPAF. Volunteers and adopters have the opportunity to learn this fun and exciting program, where the results and your enjoyment are limitless!
http://www.parellinaturalhorsetraining.com/

Natural Horsemanship – Natural Relationships

The Parelli approach is not to train horses, but to teach each horse owner to become his or her own horse trainer, and to succeed by building a relationship of trust with each horse. Of course, horsemanship skills are taught in the Parelli program, but the foundation of the method is built on the relationship as primary, with the principles of Love, Language and Leadership as guides.
The Parelli method of natural horsemanship enables horse lovers at all levels and disciplines to achieve:
Success without force
Partnership without dominance
Teamwork without fear
Willingness without intimidation
Harmony without coercion

The major way that natural horsemanship differs from other horse training methods is that it’s based on the belief that if people understand their horses — including what motivates them, frightens them, gives them pleasure, and how they operate in their natural settings — it builds a teamwork relationship between the horse and rider, and produces remarkable results in all disciplines. Indeed the ancient Greek Xenophon, sometimes considered the father of what became Dressage, and possibly the original “horse whisperer,” advocated sympathetic training of horses in his famous book On Horsemanship.
 

Holistic Care

Acupuncture, chiropractic, homeopathy and Traditional Chinese Medicine are part of the health care provided for the horses.

Veterinarians caring for the horses at HPAF include:

Dr. Lynn Peck DVM MS 

Dr. Marilyn Maler DVM

Dr. Gerald Wessner VMD

Dr. Ted Specht DVM

Hoof Care

The horses at HPAF are all barefoot (no shoes) and are trimmed under the guidance of Dr. KC LaPierre, founder of The Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry and April Dahl D.E.P. The Institute of Applied Equine Podiatry is a school dedicated to teaching Horse Owners, Farriers and Veterinarians the science of Applied Equine Podiatry.

 

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Click here to view before and after photos of HPAF rescues.