MISSION & PROGRAMS

Mission:
Detroit Horse Power teaches under-resourced urban youth valuable life lessons through riding and caring for horses. Our goal is to repurpose vacant land within Detroit's city limits to build a new urban equestrian center that will be home to year-round youth programs and support stronger communities.

Our organization conducts Equine Assisted Services in accordance with the EQUUS Foundation Guidelines on Qualifications of Organizations Conducting Equine Assisted Services (EAS).
Our organization provides community outreach and/or public education programs involving horses.
Our organization relies on other organization(s) for the care and shelter of equines involved in our programs.
100% of our total programs and services are horse-related.
Our organization does not use satellite, overflow, foster, and/or outreach facilities

Equine Assisted Services (EAS):
Our organization provides the following Equine Assisted Services (EAS):
    Equine-Assisted Learning involving Personal and/or Professional Development

1: Total number of Equine Assisted Service Providers at Willowbrooke Farm

     1. David Silver

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Willowbrooke Farm

         RELATIONSHIP: Employee

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Equine-Assisted Learning involving Personal and/or Professional Development

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Oakland University, Masters in the Art of Teaching. Michigan Educator Certificate

Overview of our programs involved with providing EAS to individuals with special needs:
     Detroit Horse Power's unique curriculum focuses on the social-emotional skills that horses teach us. We focus on Perseverance, Empathy, Responsible risk-taking, Confidence, and Self-control (PERCS). Through a mix of mounted and unmounted activities, urban youth in Detroit Horse Power's program develop the success skills they will need to thrive in school and in life.
     
     During each day of our free summer horse camp, participants rotate through several stations in small groups. While one station is always the riding experience that inspires our work, at others youth learn about horse care, work on unmounted skills with horses, and dive deeper into the social-emotional traits we focus on. Lunch, snacks, and scheduled guest speakers from various equine professions (veterinarians, blacksmiths, etc.) bring the whole group together throughout the day. On the last day of camp, we provide additional transportation for families as we showcase the personal and equestrian skills and knowledge our youth have developed during the week. It is moving to witness what our participants can accomplish even in this short window of opportunity.
     
     After our horse camp program provides an introduction to horses and the life lessons they teach us, students can continue to build their equestrian and character skills through our year-round after-school program which has grown to accommodate 38 advancing students. But our goal has always been to deepen our impact by making the power of horses accessible within Detroit's city limits to scale participation and transform vacant land into a community asset. Detroit Horse Power currently anticipates opening the largest urban equestrian center dedicated to youth development on a 14-acre demolished Detroit school site by 2024.

Overview of our programs involved with providing community outreach and/or public education programs involving horses:
     Founded to fill a need for more safe and enriching spaces outside of school, Detroit Horse Power (DHP) has developed an innovative skill-building program that partners at-risk urban youth with horses to foster five core character traits: Perseverance, Empathy, Responsible risk-taking, Confidence, and Self-control (PERCS). These characteristics have been selected from the research on social-emotional development and equine-assisted learning. Detroit Horse Power’s curriculum and assessments have been custom-developed based on our unique impact model.
     
     DHP’s introductory program has been bringing Detroit youth to partnering horse barns outside the city for five-day summer camps since June 2015. Programming has grown to well over 100 participants in most recent average years. Youth are recruited through community partnerships with Detroit-based schools and other nonprofits. One-week participants are between 7-19 years old. Preliminary results from these programs demonstrate that our program model is effective and that students believe horses help them develop our five core character traits. Summer camp participants are eligible to apply to continue in our PERCS after-school program, which has consistently increased enrollment through the global pandemic to meet the heightened needs of our student population.
     
     Over the last five years, Detroit Horse Power has also been searching for the right vacant land site within Detroit’s city limits to build an urban equestrian center. This future facility will increase the scale and accessibility of Detroit Horse Power’s youth impact program and strengthen the Detroit neighborhoods where students grow up. In October 2019, DHP reached an agreement with the Detroit Public Schools Community District and is now on a trajectory to open this facility on a 14-acre demolished school site by 2024.

Research/Medical Use of Equines:
Our organization has never made, and would not ever consider making, equines available for research studies or medical training that involves invasive procedures and/or that which may cause pain or suffering to the equine. 

Religious Affiliation:
Our organization does not promote religious education, religious purposes, or a specific religious faith or use donations for religious education or religious purposes; require participants to be of a certain faith; require participation in religious, instruction, activities or services; or require participation in prayer, worship, religious instruction or other religious activities as a condition of receiving social or secular services offered. 

Auction Donation:
Our organization has never allowed, or would not consider allowing, an equine to be sold, transferred, released, or otherwise placed into possession of any person or organization that would cause or allow the equine to be sold at auction for slaughter. 

POLICIES: ACQUISITION

Our organization acquires horses/equines from the following source(s):
    Lease  

Our organization does not acquire horses/equines from the following source(s):
    Donation  
    Purchase/Adoption from Owner  
    Auction  
    Kill pen/Feedlot  
    Return  
    Surrender  
    Seizure  
    Abandonment  

Our organization will accept the following:
    Geldings
    Mares

Not Checked:
    Pregnant Mares
    Foals
    Stallions
    Only Stallions to be castrated

Additional information about our acquisition policies and practices:
Detroit Horse Power does not own horses; the horses involved with our programs are leased.

POLICIES: INTAKE, ASSESSMENT & TRAININING

Prior to a horse being accepted and/or arriving at the facility, the organization requires the following with respect to the health status of the horse:
    A current Coggins
    Vaccination records that have been administered within the last 12 months
    If health records are not available or are out-of-date, the owner is responsible for having vaccinations administered.
    If health records are not available or are out-of-date, our veterinarian will administer appropriate vaccinations

Prior to a horse being accepted and/or arriving at the facility, the organization has the following policies in place:
    Equines are not taken on trial

Following arrival of the equine at the facility, the following is performed:
    Physical examination by trained barn staff
    Photographs are taken of each equine upon arrival at the facility and kept with the equine's health records

Upon intake, the organization has the following quarantine policy in place:
    The equine is confined to a designated and separate area for isolation and quarantine at the facility for a prescribed period of time

The typical length of quarantine is:   Up to 10 days

Horses are assessed for following skills and behaviors:
    Retrieval from a pasture/paddock
    Leading with a halter and lead rope
    Temperament, disposition and attitude, such as rated from very calm to very high spirited
    Saddling
    Bridling
    Lunging
    Loading onto and unloading off a trailer
    Mounting and dismounting
    Riding at the walk
    Riding at the trot
    Riding at the canter
    Riding by a beginner and/or unbalanced rider
    Jumping
    Tolerance to unusual objects and loud noises
    Known vices, i.e., cribbing, biting, kicking, weaving, stall walking, etc
    Grooming
    Bathing
    Clipping
    Tolerance to multiple handlers at the same time

Our organization has the following policies and procedures in place pertaining to the ongoing assessment of horses in its care:
    The Henneke Body Condition score or other body conditioning score is updated at least annually
    Photographs are taken of each equine annually and kept with the equine's health records
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine chiropractor
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine massage therapist
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine nutritionist
    Physical examination by a veterinarian at least annually
Our organization has the following policies and procedures in place pertaining to the weight-carrying or workload capabilities of horses/equines that are ridden in our care:
    Our organization evaluates at least annually and maintains a written record of the weight-carrying and workload limitations for each equine that is ridden

The following variables are considered in determining the weight-carrying and workload limitations for each equine that is ridden:
    Equine age, weight, breed, body condition, fitness, balance, health and soundness
    Equine conformation to include the top line, length of back, strength and width of loin, bone density (measured by the circumference of the cannon bone just below the knee)
    Size, shape, condition and angle of the hooves
    Participant weight, height, body proportions, balance, fitness and riding skills as well as behavioral issues and safety concerns
    Weight and proper fit of the saddle and other equipment
    Terrain and footing in the working environment
    Duration and frequency of working sessions, as the frequency with which an equine is subjected to maximum weight carrying and/or workload
    Nature and pace of work, repetitive or varied, radius of turns, degree of incline and regularity of footing when equine is subject to maximum weight-carrying capacity
    Temperature and/or weather conditions
    Seasonal impact on the equines' workload and weight-carrying capabilities and limitations


Horses provided formal training (groundwork or riding):   Daily

Additional information about our intake, assessment & training policies and practices:
Since Detroit Horse Power does not have horses of our own, these response reflect our primary partner facility, Willowbrooke Farm.

POLICIES: BREEDING

The organization has the following policies related to breeding and stallions:
    The facility or facilities where our organization conducts its programs, including foster facilities, does NOT breed equines.

POLICIES: EUTHANASIA

The organization has the following policies related to euthanasia:
    Our organization will never have an equine euthanized for space
    Our organization will never have a healthy equine euthanized under any circumstances
    Our organization may have an equine euthanized upon the recommendation of the veterinarian after all reasonable treatment options have been explored
    Euthanasia is done on site when possible to decrease trauma from transport
    Disposal of the carcass is handled within 24 hours

The following are authorized to administer the procedure for your organization in accordance with state laws:
    Veterinarian

Additional information about our euthanasia policies and practices:
Since Detroit Horse Power does not have horses of our own, these responses reflect the policies of our primary partner facility, Willowbrooke Farm.

POLICIES: RE-HOMING

View Re-homing Agreement
Re-homing Agreement not applicable.
Our organization has the following re-homing (adoption/purchase) policies and procedures in place:
    Our organization does not have the authority to transfer ownership and/or does not own any of the equines involved with our programs.

Our organization has the following policies and procedures related to horses that need to be retired, are no longer useful, or are no longer manageable:
    Our organization does not have the authority to transfer ownership and/or does not own any of the equines involved with our programs.

Additional information about our rehoming policies and practices:
Since Detroit Horse Power does not have horses of our own, these responses reflect the policies of our primary partner facility, Willowbrooke Farm. Willowbrooke is a private boarding and training facility, which would best be characterized as buying/selling horses, rather than re-homing.