MEET OUR HERD
Partners in Healing
Our equine partners at Hold Your Horses are a special group of professionals! Each member of the herd is carefully selected and trained for their job of partnering with our staff and clinicians to provide therapy services. They amaze us everyday with their wisdom and generous spirit.
Yoder
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 2008
Breed: Percheron/Fjord
Favorite thing: Fresh produce!
Previous Experience: Amish Cart Horse
Purchased with financial support from Mary & Armand Brachman
Bingo
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 1999
Breed: Shetland/Fjord Cross
Favorite thing: Being “Pony Soprano”
Previous Experience: Show Pony & Family Pony
Graciously Donated by the McCann Family
Karl
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: May 15, 2005
Breed: Norwegian Fjord
Favorite thing: Words of Affirmation
Previous Experience: Therapy Horse at Stable Pathways
Purchased thanks to a grant from the Ralph S. French Charitable Foundation
Champ
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 1999
Breed: Quarter Horse
Favorite thing: Scratches!!
Previous Experience: Show & Family Horse
Graciously donated by the McCann Family
Remi
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 2011
Breed: Quarter Horse
Favorite thing: Jumping & Making Friends
Previous Experience: Gaming
Gibbs
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: April 29, 2005
Breed: Thoroughbred
Favorite thing: Maxwell & People
Previous Experience: Trail Horse
Maxwell
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 2008
Breed: Warmblood/Freesian
Favorite thing: Gibbs
Previous Experience: Hunter/Jumper Shows
Dash
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 2018
Breed: Quarter Horse/Paint
Favorite thing: Naps
Previous Experience: 4H/Western Pleasure
Moose
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 2015
Breed: Andalusian/Quarter Horse
Favorite thing: Scratches & His Buddies
Previous Experience: Ranch work
Purchased thanks to a grant from the Mount Sinai Community Foundation
Ghost
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: 1998
Breed: Pinto
Favorite thing: Peppermints!
Previous Experience: Been with HYH since 2006
Rose & Ida
Mental Health & OT Partner
Birthday: November 2014 (Ida) & May 2020 (Rose)
Breed: Miniature Donkeys
Favorite thing: Zooming around the paddocks
Previous Experience: Hospice care
Graciously gifted to us by Dr. Sarah Carlson.
Donkey shelter lovingly built by Don and Pam Shea.
Help us find our next therapy horse!
Hold Your Horses is looking for a new horse to join our therapy team! The ideal candidate would match these specifications:
- Gelding
- 7-16 years old (will consider older horses)
- Can carry adults, and is, under 15.2 hands
- Healthy, sound & safe
- Well-trained, on ground and under saddle
- Can be an intermediate rider horse but must be beginner safe on a lead-line
- stands well in cross-ties
- good for farrier
- good with farm animals
- Acclimated or can easily acclimate to different:
- environments (indoor arena, barn aisle, pasture, wooded trails)
- people
- equipment (therapy supplies, toys, etc.)
If you think you have or know a horse who fits this description and could thrive as a therapy horse, please contact us at (763)-498-0007 or email loveaya@holdyourhorses.org
Forever in our Hearts
Lily
A founding member of the HYH herd and a true Queen Bee, Lily inspired the vision of HYH. She was a Haflinger/Fjord cross mare who retired from mounted work in 2018 and continued to amaze us with her active senior lifestyle until she died September 18, 2021 on a day filled with sunshine and sadness. She was one pony that touched a thousand hearts. Her legacy is love and these important truths:
-Good food is good life
-Never make assumptions (about her)
-Be curious
-Play
Bentley
Bentley was a true mental health champion, supporting so many people of all ages to connect with their mind, heart, and bodies, and helping them recognize their own strength to create the lives they deserve. A true lover of life, he enjoyed frolicking in the snow and was delighted with the arrival of summer when his favorite treat of watermelon rind came in season.
He had a deeply playful spirit and a penchant for lighthearted mischief, requiring a sign on his stall door saying: “Please latch my door. I like to take field trips. Love Bentley.” It feels right to imagine that he’s simply taken one more field trip ahead of us, carried with love, and still very much part of this place and this community.