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:
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. Our program is unique in that volunteers (after completing our orientation process) don't have to sign-up for shifts before coming to the ranch! Volunteers just sign-in and sign-out when arriving and leaving. We love that our program is very "hands-off" and personal. Most of our volunteers sign-in upon arrival, grab a few brushes, and head out to our pastures to groom horses at liberty! Our horses love the attention, and our volunteers enjoy the peace that being out in nature and surrounded by horses brings. Other volunteers enjoy helping us with chores around the barn like mucking stalls, cleaning water troughs, moving hay bales, and more. Whatever it is you like to do, we want you to feel the freedom to participate in what you love most!