Preparing our horses for their new homes
Our horses come to HNR with various levels of training and different histories. We always start by making sure our horses are healthy (this is the ‘rehab’ part of our mission), but once they are we start thinking more about their training. We work with our horses to ensure they are the best citizens possible, and to work through any past traumas they may have. We always begin working on basic groundwork and handling requirements for their health. When horses have all the skills to be trimmed, vetted and handled easily, they have achieved our courteous companion certificate, at which point they are listed for adoption. We then work with our horses to teach them as many skills as their health will allow to help them find the perfect forever home. See below for the required skills associated with each of our certificates. Our horses achieve each certification level when they have a basic mastery of each skill.
🏅 Courteous Companion
Easy to halter
Stands for farrier
Stands for vet
Takes dewormer
good for grooming
Leads well
🏅Barn Basics
Leading into and out of barn
cross tying and being groomed
Going into and out of stall
Tacking
🏅Groundwork Guru
yield to pressure
front end yield
back end yield
lunging (w/t/c)
Walking over poles
🏅Riding Readiness
Wearing tack (saddle, bridle, etc)
Standing at mounting block
Standing when mounting from ground
Understanding rein pressure with and w/o bit from ground
understanding rein and leg pressure from saddle
stop
walk/trot/canter
back
riding in pasture
riding in arena
trails with friends
trails without friends
Adoption ready horses
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Sassy
🏅Courteous Companion Certificate | 🏅Barn Basics Certificate | 🏅Groundwork Guru Certificate | 🏅Riding Readiness
Price: $1,000
Breed: Grade Gaited Mare
Age: 16
Height: 14.1 hhLikes:
People: sweet, friendly, loving mare with people, enjoys attention and is easy to handle for her general daily care.
Trails: already an experienced trail horse before she came to Horse North, confident and forward moving.
What she can do:
Easy for handling – grooming, feet, blankets and fly sheets and boots, haltering, etc.
Leads well, though fast moving
Easy to saddle and mount
Rides well, good on trails
Management:
Sassy requires certain management to keep allergies in check. She will need an environment that offers 24/7 turnout, no round bales, and fly control. She has been on allergen therapy and on bad allergen days, requires some medication. We have her protocol ready to share with her future adopters
Strong mare in a herd
What is she working on:
Sassy has nothing specific that we are trying to improve, other than continuing to spend time under saddle. She has just had some time off as we figured out her management, so she is settling back into riding and will just get smoother and more laid back as time passes with more practice.
Her ideal home:
Sassy is ready to be a lovely, gaited trail horse for the ride owner. Sassy knows her business under saddle, but like many gaited horses, she is quite energetic and forward, and could be intimidating for a beginner or inexperienced rider. We would recommend her for an intermediate or above rider.
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Hunter
🏅 Courteous Companion Certificate | 🏅Groundwork Guru Certificate | 🏅 Barn Basics Certificate
Working on his Riding Readiness Certificate
Price: $1,600
Breed: Quarter Horse
Age: 20
Height: 16hhLikes:
People: friendly, becomes more ‘in your pocket’ with more work; loves attention and connection.
Learning: enjoys trying new things and is calm and thoughtful when faced with something unfamiliar.
Routine: appreciates consistent care and interaction.
What he can do:
Stands quietly for the vet and farrier.
Leads politely and enjoys being handled by a confident handler. However he is a big boy who can become pushy when excited.
Has begun riding work calmly and confidently — has already gone out on the trails and through the woods with no issues. Though he may be more likely to buck when restarting
Loads, ties, tacks and stands well in the barn
What he is working on:
Continuing saddle training: Hunter was not started under saddle before coming to Horse North Rescue, but he has completed 30 days of riding work and continues to learn under saddle at the walk. We would class him as a project horse for an intermediate or advanced rider
Mares: Hunter can form strong attachments to mares. For this reason, he is best suited to live with or next to other geldings, or at least a very calm, disinterested mare.
Maintenance:
Easy keeper and healthy
mild age-related arthritis in his front knee, not currently requiring any pain management, though this may change if he is ridden consistently.
His ideal home:
Hunter is a healthy, handsome boy with only mild age-related arthritis. He would make a wonderful general trail companion. With his excellent demeanor and calm mindset, he could suit an intermediate rider with support and guidance, though he is still green and will thrive with consistency. He would also make a rewarding project for an intermediate or above rider who wants a kind, steady horse to enjoy. -
Cayenne
🏅 Courteous Companion Certificate
Price: $1,000 (Price to increase with training)
Breed: Spanish Mustang
Age: 13
Height: 13 hhLikes:
Learning new things: this girl is smart and always keen to learn something new
What she can do:
Halters
Stands for farrier and vet
takes dewormer
happy to be cross tied, groomed, tacked
lines up at the mounting block
loads onto a trailer
Leads well and is confident on hand walksWhat she is working on:
Barn Basics: she is improving every day with cross-tying and tacking
Starting under saddle: as far as we know this girl has not had a rider, but has done incredibly well with the early skills and is very willing to learn!
Her ideal home:
A home with experience training or willingness to continue her training through other venues.
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OZZIE
🏅 Courteous Companion Certificate | 🏅 Barn Basics Certificate | 🏅Groundwork Guru Certificate |
Though he knows all the skills for the Riding Readiness Certificate, he will require a restart under saddle
Price: $800
Breed: Grade Gelding
Age: ~17
Height: 15.2 hhLikes:
People: Ozzie enjoys attention and connecting with humans he trusts.
Horse Friends: Ozzie is very playful with other horses, and could be an excellent pasture mate with another playful horse.
Work with purpose: once he feels secure, he genuinely enjoys learning and being engaged.
Calm environments: he thrives in quiet, consistent settings where he can relax and build confidence.
Being serenaded: No really! One of our volunteers has spent many hours serenading him with her Eukele and Ozzie loves to snooze as he listens.
What he can do:
Leads, handles, and responds well to calm, confident direction.
Good for basic care routines, including vet and farrier.
Good cross tied or standing in the barn, tacks and loads, but is not good in a stall
Has a strong work ethic when his anxiety is managed through steady, kind guidance.
He has excelled at certain sports, such as a mounted archery class!
What he is working on:
confidence-building: Ozzie has experienced trauma in his past that left him anxious and insecure. At times this can lead to him becoming a bit mouthy, however the more he works with a person who demonstrates patience and steadiness, the more relaxed and trusting he becomes.
Maintenance:
Arthritis management: Ozzie has some arthritic bone changes in his front left fetlock, likely from an old injury. Our veterinarians recommend continued management with an oral joint supplement and daily Equioxx when he’s in regular work. He previously received a loading dose of Adequan, which improved his comfort significantly.
Movement conditioning: He should avoid jumping or tight turns but can enjoy plenty of low-impact activities, including trails, pleasure riding, and lower-intensity disciplines with proper care.
His ideal home:
A personal home or quiet stable where he can live primarily outdoors, as he is not comfortable being stalled. His adopter should have experience with sensitive horses and enjoy the process of helping a horse regain confidence and relaxation through trust-based handling.With the right person, Ozzie has many good years of trail riding, light sport, and pleasure work ahead of him.
Herd in rehab
not yet available for adoption
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Maggie
Maggie, a Connemara/Welsh pony cross. Maggie has been well-loved, but needs to find a home where she can have more time and attention. She is 17 years old and a stout 13ish hands. Maggie is overweight, but otherwise healthy and friendly. After a short amount of time to settle in, she will be evaluated under saddle and will be looking for her next home. Keep an eye on this cute pony!
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Rohan
Beautiful Rohan is a lovely, well-built grade mare. She came to us essentially unhandled and with feet in rough shape. Her hooves are now shaping up well and just about finished with their rehab, and she has really warmed up to people and interactions. She still has a lot of training to go to be settled into life in the human world and also learn to ride, but she has a very cool, down to earth personality and a very confident, independent spirit. She never gets overly attached to other horses and is always happy to wander off to do her own thing. She will make someone a fine trail horse someday!
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Zoe & Bella
Bella (left) and Zoe (right)
Both of these girls are here to get issues with IR under control and go through a period of hoof rehab, so they will not be available for adoption for some time going forward, they will definitely be a longer term rehab.
We have found them to be super sweet, kind, in your pocket girls. They have been nothing but gentle on the ground, and were both so willing while loading in the trailer despite neither girl having ridden on a trailer since they were a yearling.
We expect them to be lovely horses for a lucky new owner once they have completed their rehab, training, and evaluation. -
DIVA
Diva is a sweet, pretty, petite little Quarter Horse lady, 14 years old. She needs a little work on her hooves, but they are not in terrible shape and should clean up nicely. She will be heading into training and evaluated for temperament, and after that will be available for adoption.
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Lilly
Lilly is a big, beautiful Quarter horse girl. She is 7 years old and needs care to rehabilitate her overgrown and neglected hooves and is also being treated for ulcers. Once she is physically back in shape and healthy again, she will start training under saddle and soon be ready for adoption.
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Gemma
Sweet Gemma arrived at HNR at a body score of about 1.5, very starved and in desperate need of food and hoof care. She is a beautiful, 12 year old Quarter Horse mare. She will be with us for a while regaining weight and rehabbing her hooves!
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Phoenix
This beautiful Arabian lady came to us through the efforts of a private intervention and rescue situation of a large herd of horses. Though she is a grade Arabian, she has very nice breeding and is built beautifully.
Phoenix was completely unhandled, however, prior to her arrival, and we are slowly gaining her trust. She has a healthy curiosity and once she is comfortable among humans, she will really excel in further training! Keep an eye on this gorgeous girl!
Our adoption process
ONE
Download and fill out the application, and mail it, along with a $25 application fee, to Horse North Rescue, P. O. Box 7143, Traverse City, MI 49696. If you wish to email your application after filling it out, you may send the $25 application fee via PayPal. (If you use PayPal, please make a note that the donation is for an adoption application fee.)
FOUR
After your references have been approved, we will call or text you to schedule a Meet & Greet session with the horse in which you are interested. During the meet & greet session, our trainer will ask you to catch, halter, saddle, and ride the horse to see if you and the horse are compatible. In the case of a pasture pet, you will catch and handle the animal.
Two
Either before or after your Meet & Greet session, we will schedule a site visit at your barn, to make sure it is safe and comfortable for one of our horses.
FIVE
Once your adoption application is approved and your facility passes the site inspection, your application is good for two years, and it is not horse-specific.
THREE
Please be sure to notify all of your references that someone from Horse North Rescue will be calling, especially your veterinarian, since they cannot give out any of your information without your permission. If you don’t currently own equines, please give us the name and contact information for your small animal veterinarian. Please note that you may use only one relative as a reference.
NOTE
The HNR contract will transfer to the new owner as these horses are on a contract for life. All HNR horses are adopted out on a “right to first refusal contract,” meaning if you cannot or should no longer wish to own the horse, HNR must be contacted prior to the horse being advertised or transferred to another home.
