Horses : Rideable-Driveable Horses
Our rideable-driveable program is for horses that have come into our program and are now fully recovered and ready to ride or work. Some of the horses may have limitations due to past injuries, illness and/or past history. All rideable-driveable horses must have at least a 10' X 10' stall (12' X 12' for drafts) and at least 8 hours of turnout per day (weather permitting).
All of the horses in this program come with a varying amount of training. Some are fully trained, some are only ground broke but many fall somewhere in the middle with a fair amount of training. We utilize the experience of a local trainer and/or veterinarian to help determine each horse's riding ability and level of training.
All horses adopted from Happy Trails must have a companion animal. We consider an appropriate companion animal for a horse to be another horse, pony, donkey, mule or goat.
Profile for Crown Royal “Roy”
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About Roy
Royal Crown, "Roy", is a horse from our Amish Retirement program. The Standardbred is the preferred breed for an Amish buggy. You may have known that but, do you know why? "Both the Standardbred and Saddlebred have the unique inborn ability to trot more readily than canter or run at a fast pace. They’d rather high step in second gear anytime than gallop over the hill into the sunset." (marsha hubler.com) This is an interesting fact and also can be a neat feature in a riding horse. Roy is sturdy and loyal. Give this guy a place to prove it for more than meals and housing. Let him prove it for love and treats and attention.
Profile for Princeton
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About Princeton
Princeton is another buggy horse who arrived through our Amish Retirement Program. Did you know about two-thirds of the Amish live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana (National Geographic, web) Princeton has given years of service proudly leading his buggy for his Amish family. He simply could not go the distance any longer and came to us at Happy Trails. Buggy horses are smart and well trained and this guy will make someone a great trail riding companion. He deserves his retirement as he has earned every day of it.
Profile for Cabrio
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About Cabrio
Cabrio is a Standarbred gelding. At 15 years young he has found his way to retirement at Happy Trails through the Amish Horse Retirement Program. It's time for this guy to reap his reward. Can you be the one to provide his forever home where he can munch on treats and enjoy friendly chats and pats. And when he gets geared up to go for a ride, he will get as much enjoyment out of it as you!
Profile for Sandradee
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About Sandradee
Registered Name – Sandra's Sweetie
Sandradee is a 14-year-old bay Thoroughbred mare who was one of ten horses rescued from a situation of neglect in the Village Of Orange in June of 2010. She lives up to her name and is quite a sweetie! She gets a lot of compliments on being such a beautiful looking horse.
Sandradee's current evaluation is as follows: She can be ridden at a walk, trot or canter. She is in very good physical condition, is a good learner and athletic. She longes well, can sidepass, and can turn on the forehand or turn on the hindquarters. She stands well while grooming or when being handled by a vet or farrier.
For the past 18 months that she has been in foster care she has had a weekly training session under saddle under the supervision of a professional trainer (Ken Aberegg). She responds well to a soft touch, and would be a wonderful partner for an intermediate level rider.
We hate to include these but want to show how far she has come…
Will you be the one to ensure she never has to look back? 
Profile for Diamond
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About Diamond
A team of grey Percherons, one mare and one gelding, were ground-driven into the auction ring. The mare’s back right leg was clearly about three times as big as it should be. The bidding began. When the bidding ended with a private individual getting the highest bid, the auctioneer asked the buyer the usual question. “Times two?” This meant, do you want to pay that same amount for both horses or do you just want to buy one? The buyer only wanted the sound gelding, so the lame mare was immediately placed back up for auction. Bidding began again, with only a meat buyer raising his eyebrows to bid on her. We decided to step in and save the mare with the leg injury. Her life was only worth $175. We plan to have radiographs taken of the leg to pinpoint the source of the injury and to see what steps can be taken to provide her with treatment. She is a sweet mare, very docile, easy to work with, gentle, and was announced by the auctioneer to be broke to all farm machinery and to be a good worker. After her recovery period, we anticipate that she will be a good trail horse and easy to work with under saddle. I believe she’ll respond well to a calm voice and a gentle hand.
UPDATE: Our hopes for Diamond have come true and she is doing great! The radiographs did not show anything out of the ordinary. She has been given the ok to do light riding as long as she doesn’t come up lame or uncomfortable. Some days her leg may “weep” and drain, causing her discomfort. Often she doesn’t even limp with it.
Profile for Woody
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About Woody
We originally saw the handsome Belgian gelding standing in a narrow auction stall. As we peered over the top rail, we saw the side of his back hoof, the entire side, sticking straight up in the air. It looked painful, and he held the hoof up as he balanced on his other three legs. We wrote his number down, determined to watch for him when he was run through the auction. Many times I am afraid that we’ll lose a horse in bidding to a meat buyer. Often they’ll run the price up when they realize that a rescue group is bidding on a horse, just because they can. Number 1488 was coming up next, and we watched as the big guy lumbered into the arena with a limp. It was obvious he was having difficulty walking, and no-one wanted him. He couldn’t work, and therefore, he was a useless piece of machinery. The value of his life? An $85 winning auction bid. He limped away and was taken back to the tie stall, where he would stand until we could load him up in one of our rescue trailers. Woody will need his hoof x-rayed and will most likely need corrective shoeing and trimming to remedy the injury to his back hoof. Otherwise, Woody now is in good spirits, friendly, easy to work with and should make a wonderful trail horse as his hoof issue heals. Please consider sponsoring Woody.
Profile for Editon
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About Editon
A very handsome Standardbred gelding was brought onto the auction block. He could “do it all” the announcer claimed! He was traffic-safe, kid-safe, good for the women, and an all around great buggy horse. I was sure that someone would pick him for their family horse. The auctioneer called for bids, but received only silence from the crowd. I couldn’t believe it! The horse appeared to be sound, sane, and simply beautiful. The only thing against him was his age – he was said to be 20-years-old. However, for a 20-year-old buggy horse, he was in great shape! The beginning bid was dropped down to $50, and a meat buyer jumped in. I couldn’t let this wonderful, gentle horse go to the killers. In the end we brought him home — home to Happy Trails.
What was his life worth? A mere $75.
I was completely amazed that such a great horse was slipping through the cracks. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Many healthy horses go to slaughter every week. Editon has a purpose yet in his life, and there is some person’s life he is destined to change. His life has meaning, and he needed a name to reflect his importance. “Editon” is an Omaha Native American name meaning “standing as a sacred object”. Editon is probably the most gentle horse I have ever had the pleasure of rescuing. He is obedient, quite, docile, unafraid of anything and will definitely make someone an incredible trail horse and can be ridden lightly by a lighter rider.
Profile for Super Hero
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About Super Hero
Super Hero came to Happy Trails through the Amish Retirement Program. He is a beautiful 15.2 hand gelding. He was broke to ride, but will need a refresher course. His previous owners also said that he is kid safe and street safe.
A message from Super Hero's foster home: Super Hero will make a nice addition for any home. From the time he came here back in November, for the first several weeks all he did was sleep. He was exhausted. Now he is rested and has a new spark in his eyes. Super Hero now nickers when he sees you. He loves his buddies and loves being brushed. It is amazing what a little R&R can do for the soul. I'm so glad he didn't go through a meat sale, not that any should, but they did the right thing for this precious horse who served his family. He worked for a good retirement.
Update: This guy also proves to be great with kids!
Profile for Pippa
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About Pippa
Pippa is a great horse. She would do best with an intermediate rider. She is kid friendly on the ground. Pippa recently started a refresher course to work on her training. She has a very smooth trot and canter. Her only bad habit is that she is a cribber. She is easy to work with and is a very sweet horse.
Profile for Sonic
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About Sonic
Sonic is a handsome 15-year-old bay Thoroughbred, who was one of ten horses removed from a neglect situation in the Village of Orange last June. Due to some arthritis in his ankles, he has been given the vet's blessing to ride at a walk or trot on mostly flat surfaces. He is gentle and kind and would be a great addition to your horsey family. He very much deserves a kind and caring family.
Profile for Crecencia
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About Crecencia
Crecencia is a twenty-year-old Quarter Horse mare. Crecencia was removed from a severe neglect situation in Trumbull County in August 2009. She was locked in a stall for a very long time before she was removed. She was very thin and her hooves were long. She has since regained her weight and her feet have recovered.
Crecencia was evaluated by our trainer, Ken Aberegg, and is ridable and is best suited for an intermediate rider. She is a pleasure to work with and still has a lot of energy for her age!
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