Whether you're an experienced horseman or a beginner looking to learn - we can always use your help around our ranch! There are few things more fulfilling than volunteering to help horses heal physically and mentally from their past. For many of our horses, our staff and volunteers are the first humans to treat them with gentleness and kindness. Want to make a difference in the lives of our rescued equines? Read below to learn more about our volunteer program!
Getting Started
Nothing is more satisfying than knowing you give your time, talent and effort to saving equines! But volunteering isn’t for everyone. Please consider the following before applying:
The First Six Months: All incoming volunteers will be required to sign up for one 2-hour barn shift on the same day and time every week for their first six months of volunteering. You will sign up for your barn shift after your in-person volunteer orientation. Volunteers will be permitted to miss one barn shift per month. After the 2 hour barn shift each day, volunteers are more than welcome to stick around and groom horses around the ranch, spend time with their favorites, or help out in additional ways! Barn shifts are physically active and include lifting 50 lb bags, moving 40 lb hay bales, filling and distributing hay nets, mucking stalls, cleaning water troughs and more. If you have physical limitations, please email volunteer@habitatforhorses.org for more information on how we can accommodate!
Age Requirements: Independent volunteers must be 18-years-old or older. Youth volunteers (13-years-old to 17-years-old) must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Volunteers younger than 13-years-old are not permitted due to safety restrictions.
Safety and Following the Rules: Volunteers are required to follow all safety practices put in place by Habitat for Horses and adhere to our Code of Conduct. No tobacco products are allowed at Miracle Ranch, including chewing tobacco and vapor-based cigarettes.
Background Check: Due to the nature of our work and our close involvement with law enforcement, all volunteers must submit to a background check.
Volunteer Fee: A one-time payment of $30 per person is required to join our volunteer team. This fee includes the cost of the background check mentioned above. After you fill out the form below, you will be taken to our payment form.
Why does Habitat for Horses charge a one-time volunteer fee? As an organization, we love investing in our volunteers and giving them a meaningful experience at Miracle Ranch. We provide each volunteer with educational resources, skills trainings, opportunities to attend clinics, and so much more. Our hope is that as volunteers spend their time helping the horses at Miracle Ranch, they also gain valuable experience that they can utilize in other areas of their lives as well. So this fee not only helps enrich the lives of the equines in our care, it also enriches the lives of our volunteers as well. If this fee hinders your ability to join our team, please reach out to us by email - office@habitatforhorses.org.
Our Program: Volunteer hours are every day (including weekends) from 7:30am - 2:30pm. On major holidays, we are available for half days from 7:30am - 11:00am. Incoming volunteers are required to sign-up for a once per week barn shift for their first 6 months of volunteering with us (of course you're welcome to visit us more often than once per week if you would like!). This helps build understanding and community within our volunteer group. After your shift, volunteers are encouraged to stick around and go out to pasture to get to know and groom our horses! We love that our program is a great mix of structured barn shifts and more "hands-off" personal time. Our horses love attention, and our volunteers enjoy the peace that being out in nature and surrounded by horses brings. Whatever it is you like to do, we want you to feel the freedom to participate in what you love most!