New Horizon Ranch Therapeutic Riding Center

04/02/2026

The partnership with Central Heights continues to offer opportunities for leadership and character development to the students! This group did an amazing job of putting all the things they learned together to come up with some creative ways to face challenges each week! We trust they take these lessons back and not only apply them in the classroom, but as they grow in to even more amazing young adults!

03/31/2026

We want to give a HUGE shout out and congratulations to our good friend JoAnn on her official retirement!! 🙌🏻.

JoAnn has been bringing LakeMary students to do chores once a week as part of their job skills training for several years!! We have loved having you and will miss you!

We wish you all the best JoAnn and hope you enjoy your next adventure! 🌅

03/30/2026

Change lives at NHR with your support of the
Every gift will
Click the donate button at the top of our page or donate online at https://newhorizonranch.org/donate/

03/27/2026

Today Ashley provided the NHR team with our very own training session!!! Included in today’s learning, was a lesson on equine autonomic nervous system and some hands on practice working with some of the NHR horses, recognizing their responses and how they each learn!

It was great education for the staff, great training for the horses and a time for growing connections together! What a beautiful example of how we are better together!

Thank you, Ashley!

03/26/2026

We are thrilled to welcome Ashley Purdin to the NHR team!

Ashley will be joining us as our Equine Manager.
The horses are the heart of the program and we are so excited to have Ashley here to work with the horses on consistent training and conditioning, as well as managing their care and nutrition!

The horses are mixed on their reviews so far 🤣 - they have given her 10 stars for her grooming and pampering sessions but she is getting a solid needs improvement for round pen sessions 😉🤣

The future is bright at NHR and we are excited for this new addition to the team!

Stay tuned for more about Ashley coming soon!

03/04/2026

There is a giant yellow hole in our hearts and in our herd, as we unexpectedly lost our “Golden Boy,” Prince, last week. Prince served in every program at NHR, and we are deeply saddened to lose his steady, comforting presence.

His soft, welcoming brown eyes greeted countless riders, campers, and volunteers—easing minds and inspiring budding horse enthusiasts. As participants gently stroked his vibrant golden coat, he offered warmth, comfort, and confidence, holding space for whatever they needed each day. In EAL sessions with local school kids, we could always count on Prince to find the exact balance of energy or calm, connection or challenge, that each group needed. Whether in summer camps, grooming sessions, or therapeutic riding, his mane caught many tears, and his fuzzy ears held countless secrets and stories from clients, campers, and volunteers alike.

His slightly stubborn streak always showed up when paired with an equally strong willed camper—especially when it came to picking his hooves; he made you earn it! And when a camper’s determination or confidence needed a boost, Prince was always the best teacher, carrying his own built in motivation.

But his greatest and most endearing quality was his heart! He had an ability to meet us where we were, draw us in and connect with a depth that surpasses words. When you were in his presence you felt seen. ❤

His mark on our hearts and his impact on his participants will live on. Gone but never forgotten.

We will miss you always, “Princey Boy.”

Lazy K Prince
April 14, 2004 - February 23, 2026

02/19/2026

Check this out from our friends at JOY Closet in Gardner!

February Designated Donations will go to New Horizon Ranch
https://newhorizonranch.org/
you can donate on line by scanning the QR code

02/15/2026

💙🐴💛

02/11/2026

Everyone is excited about sessions starting back up! We have welcomed back our therapeutic riding clients and all our school equine assisted learning groups! Horses are teaching problem solving, respect, teamwork, focus, sequencing and SO MUCH MORE!!!

Blessed that the weather has cooperated and excited to continuing connecting with and changing lives!

02/05/2026

THANK YOU to our friends at Pleasant Ridge for providing the NHR horses with incredibly affordable hay again this year! Because of your generosity, the horses have all the hay they need to stay warm during the cold stretches of winter! ❄️🐴 ❤️

Started loading out the Hay Maze today. 100 bales going down the road to the New Horizon Ranch. Glad we can support their great programs.

02/03/2026

Thank you Ottawa Walmart for your donation! Together we are changing lives!!!!

It's a new year with new opportunities to help at New Horizon Ranch!!! We are so grateful to be able to help members of our local communities!! Check them out! 🐴

walmart.onelink.me/UIev/WalmartLocal

01/15/2026

Wow! This is so true! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

I believe God speaks through horses.

Not in words.
Not in sermons.
Not in thunder.

But in presence.
In stillness.
In the quiet way something can reach your soul without ever making a sound.

Horses have a way of meeting you exactly where you are -
when your heart is heavy,
when your faith feels tired,
when your prayers feel stuck somewhere between hope and waiting.

They don’t rush you.
They don’t demand explanations.
They don’t ask you to be strong when you are worn thin.

They simply stand with you.

And in that standing, something sacred happens.

Their breath slows your own.
Their calm steadies your racing thoughts.
Their awareness pulls you out of the noise and back into the present moment-
the only place God has ever asked us to be.

There is humility in a horse.
A quiet obedience to the rhythm of life.
A sensitivity to energy that feels almost holy.

They feel what we try to hide.
They respond to what we carry.
They soften when we soften.
They grow still when we need grounding.

And I don’t think that’s accidental.

I think God, in His gentleness, knew some hearts would need a different kind of language.

A language of touch instead of talk.
Of presence instead of answers.
Of trust built slowly instead of forced.

Through horses, we learn patience.
We learn surrender.
We learn that control is an illusion and trust is everything.

We learn that strength doesn’t have to be loud.
That power can be gentle.
That leadership is rooted in love, not force.

We learn to listen -
not just with our ears,
but with our spirit.

There are prayers I couldn’t put into words
that were somehow answered
standing beside a horse in the quiet of the barn.

There were tears I didn’t know how to pray through
that were met with a warm neck and a steady breath.

There were seasons of waiting
where the only peace I felt
was in the presence of something God created
to remind me that I was not alone.

Horses don’t replace faith.
They lead you back to it.

They remind you of how God moves -
patiently,
faithfully,
without forcing,
without rushing.

They show you what it looks like to trust.
To be led.
To rest in presence instead of fear.

And when a horse looks at you with those deep, knowing eyes,
it feels like being reminded:

“I see you.
You are safe.
You are held.
You are not forgotten.”

I don’t think that’s coincidence.

I think sometimes,
God speaks in hoofbeats and breath,
in stillness and trust,
in the quiet companionship of a horse who stands beside you
and somehow makes the weight feel lighter.

And if you’ve ever felt your soul settle
just by being near one,

you understand.

God doesn’t always speak loudly.

Sometimes…
He whispers through horses.

Do you feel this?