Frederick County 4-H Therapeutic Riding Program

07/18/2024

We had some VIP’s visit the farm today. They were from Country Meadows Senior Care and Rehab. We are doing some outreach as part of the Maryland Horse Discovery Program. We all enjoyed some horsing around. We will be taking our show on the road to 3 more senior and memory care facilities in August. A big hug to our wonderful volunteers who came out to help.

07/15/2024

We recently shared that a film crew from Frederick County Government’s tv show Farming Frederick came out to the farm for a visit. Well here is the final product. They did a great job featuring TRP and what we do.
Follow this link or it can also be found on You Tube.

https://youtu.be/hyKPDWqrS8c

Our Fall session begins September 7. We need volunteers; horse leaders, sidewalkers and barn crew. Come out, join the fun, get great exercise and do something good for others. Check us out at fc4htrp.org or call 301-898-3587. We will return your call.

06/29/2024

Tater enjoying the beautiful riding day yesterday. Classes start in just 8 weeks. We need volunteers for the Fall session starting September 7. Check in at FC4HTRP.org for information. It’s great exercise, lots of fun and helps others to enjoy the benefits of therapeutic riding. No horse experience necessary.

06/14/2024

Something big is cooking at the farm. A film crew from Farming Frederick was out filming today for a story about our program. Scheduled to come out on Frederick Co. Government Channel 19 in July.

06/11/2024

We have just wrapped up our Spring Session. It was unusually rainy. Thank goodness for the indoor.
Thank you to our riders who inspire us with their courage, willingness to learn and their positivity. Their strength of character always amazes us. Thanks to their parents/guardians who bring them to us and support our program. We could not do what we do without our dedicated family of volunteers. Without each of them loyally coming out in all types of weather generously sharing their weeknights and Saturdays, our riders could not enjoy the experience of riding horses. They are truly the heart of our Program. Some of our volunteers work behind the scenes in the barn grooming and tacking the horses for lessons. Many are young people who responsibly show up an hour early to have the horses ready at class time. We thank them for their dedication to making it possible for our horses to perform their important jobs. Last but certainly not least, we thank our faithful horses. They are our loyal partners. We have a herd of 23 horses and ponies in the program. Therapy horses are a breed apart. They improve with experience and age. They are patient, gentle and kind. They bring their magic to work with them everyday. Unknowing and selflessly they make a remarkable difference in all of our lives. They will rest over the Summer and they will be ready to continue to teach us their unspoken but powerful lessons in the Fall. If you or someone you know would like to come out and be a volunteer, see our website at FC4HTRP.org. New family members are always welcome. See you in September.

05/31/2024

Would you like to learn about horses? Or maybe just get a horse fix? Join our Horse Buddies Program this Summer at the Frederick County 4H Therapeutic Riding Program at Silverado Stables, 11515 Angleberger Rd, Thurmont, MD (near Lewistown). Sessions meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings 4-6pm in our barn. Ages 11-Adult. No prior horse experience necessary. Activities will include grooming, horse anatomy, basic healthcare, basic safe-handling practices, light groundwork, tacking, despooking, bathing, and horse socialization. Help us keep our therapy horses happy during the Summer break. Our therapeutic riding program starts back up in the Fall. Participants have the opportunity to join our volunteer barn crew in September if interested. To learn more, call Holly at 301-471-8627. This program does not include riding. Appropriate footwear a must. No crocs or sandals in the barn.

05/22/2024

Dakota Too is working on becoming his best boy therapeutic self. He’s our new recruit. He is sturdy, young for us and quick to learn. All goes well, you’ll be seeing him in the Fall sessions.

05/12/2024

Many thanks to those who purchased raffle tickets for the trip to Virginia Beach this Summer. We appreciate your support of our program. Sophia Stone’s family won the trip. Congratulations to them. We’ll all be dropping by.

05/12/2024

Saturday, 9 am

05/09/2024

Tuesday at 6pm.

05/07/2024

Thursday evening riders

05/07/2024

Scenes from Thursday evening.

05/01/2024

Making popsicles in Class 1-Tuesday.

04/28/2024

Saturday 1pm class.

04/20/2024

Scenes from Class 3 Saturday. They were having fun.

04/14/2024

Our new recruits Tater and Rusty have been working hard to become their best therapeutic selves. We are proud to announce these two fine gentlemen really showed us how it is done today. We are thankful they found their way to us. They will change lives.

04/07/2024

04/04/2024

Welcome Spring. The daffodils are blooming. The grass is green. The horses are shedding. The mud is epic. Our Spring session starts NEXT TUESDAY. Let’s make some TRP magic.

03/26/2024

If you ask with a smile…..we are in critical need of a 19 or 20 inch Western saddle for one of our long time adult riders who needs a little more support. Our Spring session begins in 2 weeks. If anyone has something to donate, please call or text Deb at 301-788-6418.

03/06/2024

We have very exciting news! We have some new horses. Rusty is a 25 year old Tennessee Walker and Tater is a 19 year old stocky Quarter Horse. Both are larger horses. They are in training in preparation for our season to start on April 9. Both of them are very good boys already. We are grateful to their previous owners for trusting us with their wonderful horses. They’ll get lots of love from our riders and volunteers.

03/03/2024

There’s nothing like a tidy barn.

02/22/2024

Faithful volunteers Holly and Rose exercising horses in the off-season. Spring classes begin April 9. We are looking forward to seeing our current volunteers and welcome any new members to our TRP FRamily. Check out the website FC4HtRp.org for details.

02/17/2024

A beautiful quiet day on the farm. Can you believe it’s only 7 weeks until we start back with our Spring session. It’s time to start planning.

02/10/2024

Join our Horse Buddy Club. Would you enjoy spending time with our equine therapists? During our off-seasons our horses still enjoy grooming and personal attention. Our Buddy Club meets at our farm on Thursday evenings 4-6pm. In addition to grooming our Buddies learn basic horse care skills, barn safety, horse health needs and also assist in keeping our herd’s therapy skills sharp during our breaks. This does not include riding. Participants must be 12 and up. Adults are welcome as well. Many of our Buddies continue as barn crew volunteers once our therapeutic riding session begins in April. Previous horse experience not necessary. Come out to the barn and get your horse-fix with our gentle horses. If you are interested, please call our Buddy Club program director Holly at 301-471-8627.

02/05/2024

we are looking for 3 equines for our spring session 12.2 hand pony, 14.2 hand pony/horse and 15.2+ or - hand horse. If anyone has something that might work for Therapeutic riding give us a call @ 301 788-6418 and talk to Debbie.

01/25/2024

The majority of our students mount their horses by climbing moveable mounting block stairs. But some cannot. Adaptive riding is all about way finding to serve individual riders needs to safely make it happen while preserving an individual’s dignity. This is a Sure Hands lift. Between this piece of equipment and a pre-conditioned horse, we can open up the self-empowering joy of horseback riding to more people. And so we do.

01/10/2024

Crispy is one of our pony Granny mares. She currently is suffering with a bout of laminitis and possibly a Cushings diagnosis. She has given her all for many years. She has seen it all, done it all and has been everything to many of our littles over the years. She may be letting us know she’s ready to retire. Our Program commits to a promise made to our horses. If they need to retire, they have a home for the rest of their days on earth. We also have another mare, Piper, dealing with issues. We are in desperate need of some new team member horses. Big and small and in between. Only requirements, sound, trainable and quiet. Please consider spreading/sharing the word. If you know of any horses that could join us and change lives, please PM us or call Deb at 301-788-6418.

01/03/2024

Peaceful view from high up on the hill. Don’t know where the crazy circles come from?

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas to all and to all a great day

😀

12/25/2023

Hilde delivering her list.