Hope, Horses & Kids

11/15/2024

Thanks to our generous donors we have been able to get our large arena footed and finished. Watch this space for future equine events hosted here! 🐎

11/14/2024

Today is the Day! The launch of MC Gives! 2024! Help us help continue the magic at Hope, Horses & Kids! We are honored to be part of this amazing campaign and your donations, big or small, make a difference. Can you help? Get HHK on the Leaderboard today! Please share far and wide and let's make this the best MC Gives year yet!

Monterey County Weekly Monterey Peninsula Foundation Community Foundation for Monterey County

Hope, Horses & Kids provides safe and affordable Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) opportunities to individuals of all ages who live with physical, cognitive and emotional challenges. These activities promote developmental and educational skills while building confidence, through the quiet strength of....

11/13/2024

Not just a horse barn….. did you know we also have rabbits, chickens, goats, sheep, a cat and a cow? Sometimes the kids just love to decompress in the Bunny Hilton after a session with the horses

11/11/2024

🔔 Save the date - Saturday, December 7th 🔔

HHK’s annual wreath making event has got an upgrade this year!🎄
There will be a day full of fun, festive, holiday activities including a ‘reindeer’ photo shoot featuring one of our equine all-stars 🦌, ornament making and hot cocoa bar!

We will also have a large amount of used tack priced to sell 🐎

Even if these activities don’t interest you, everyone is welcome to come and visit the barn 🐴 🐄 🐰 🐔 for the day. We look forward to seeing you there! ⭐️

11/06/2024

“And in the end, that’s what it’s all about. Connection, really. Do we understand ourselves? Are we connected with each other in a way that is life-giving and life-saving?” - Kwame Alexander.

In every session we do, there is some form of connection happening between horse and student, and there is always a teaching moment in there. In today’s society of screens and instant gratification, it’s refreshing to have your feet grounded and to be connected with a 4 legged friend.

10/31/2024

🎃Happy Halloween from our herd to yours🎃

Our horses love the attention of getting dressed up and parading around the barn! What were you for Halloween this year?!

10/28/2024

We were honored to host the California Rodeo Salinas Golden Circle of Champions at our barn on Saturday. The CA rodeo and GCOC raises awareness and provides funds to help those children who are battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. You can learn more about the GCOC at the link below, but this was a special day to unite families who have all been facing these traumatic and stressful times, to bring them together and enjoy a day of fun family bonding.
The kids decorated pumpkins, went fishing, took part in EAL activities and enjoyed some horseback riding. Lunch was provided by Salinas City BBQ, cookies were supplied by the incredible Chef EJ and his culinary team from Rancho Cielo Youth Campus.
This is hopefully the first of many more events hosting these incredible, inspiring kids and their families.

https://www.carodeo.com/p/about-us/community/golden-circle-of-champions

10/28/2024

HHK, helping raise confident kids since 2010 💥

10/25/2024

That priceless moment when what you’ve been asking for for so long, finally becomes understood and completed ✔️ 🙌🏻
This was a lesson in pressure, patience and release.
Honey wasn’t sure it was safe to put her feet on the sand filled tire, but the connection 🧬 and trust she’s built with her human partner assured her it was ok to do so. Our student left beaming, feeling accomplished, connected, and understood. 🤝
These attributes are so important in today’s world of instant gratification. Having the resilience to work through something until you get the job done is a rewarding experience and one we hope our students take with them into their daily lives. Quitting is not an option 🙅🏻

10/23/2024

The yo-yo activity has the student asking the horse to move their feet either towards or away from them using a loose rope as the only connection. This teaches about how horses move away from pressure without having to touch them.
It also is a great exercise in assertiveness. If a ‘lazy’ horse doesn’t listen to a whisper, some students find it hard to find their inner warrior and ask that horse to step back. Intentions have to be set and outcomes met.

10/18/2024

10/18/2024

We are creating a group session for home school teenagers.
This will take place during the weekday hours and will include activities that boost self-confidence, assertiveness, self-motivation, communication and team work. If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining such a group, please share this with them, we can be relatively flexible on the schedule to try and fit everyone’s needs.
Cost is $35 an hour for group session, but if you are home schooled through Ocean Grove or Yosemite you can talk with your ES and get it paid as part of your home school curriculum.

10/14/2024

📣 🔊 Due to popular demand of our Pony Express Equine Escape Rooms course, we are offering a mini-camp the week of Thanksgiving. 🍁
This would be 10am-2pm 11/25, 11/26, 11/27, and Saturday 11/30 and cost $250.
Kids would complete the four equine escape rooms 🔏 along with horsemanship and life skill lessons. Please send us a message if you are interested in signing your kids up for this exciting opportunity 💫

10/03/2024

This year has been a tough one on our herd. We recently lost another of our legendary horses, Tommy, aka Mr Wonderful. One thing we are proud of at HHK is that we are able to give our horses the best of life, living in comfort up to their very last day. We honor their lives the best way we can. We are grateful to Sterling Reverie for the recent photo shoot with Tommy, we’ll cherish these photos forever 🫶🏻

09/29/2024

Pony Express Escape Room part 3. This one was a lot of fun! There were so many teaching moments in this one, not just academically but also how to push through when you are feeling frustrated and defeated, 💪🏻 and communication 🔊 with your teammates was a big one today. I don’t know who has more fun doing these, the kids or the facilitators 😂

09/24/2024

HHK took some of our teen saddle club riders to their first ever gymkhana at the Monterey County Sheriff’s Posse Grounds this past weekend and they absolutely rocked it 🤘🏻. It has been an amazing journey watching them work together as a team, overcome their fears and obstacles (metaphorical and literal!) and get out there and show up for themselves and each other. We are sure this will be the first of many, well done girls! 🙌🏻🫶🏻💯

09/22/2024

The second of our Pony Express escape rooms was a huge success yesterday! We love watching the kids get the ‘a-ha!’ moment when they figure out how to complete the next clue. This one included Lego word deciphering, creative writing and homophones. The beautify of kinesthetic learning is that the kids have so much fun with it! The teamwork and communication between this group is 💯 also.