Online matchmaking to find YOUR RIGHT Horse at Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue
Horse Locations Typically: West Virginia – Kentucky – Virginia – Ohio – Maryland – PA – NC
Please inquire about a horse's specific location
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Adoption Application - Apply here
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We will direct you to the adoption profiles of horses that may work for you!
You do not have to apply for a specific horse. Instead, we encourage anyone looking for a horse to apply and let our team help you
through the search process. Applications are good for 12 months.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF OUR ADOPTABLE HORSES
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We have placed hundreds of horses into adoptive homes, and we are happy to chat with you about how
our process works great for ADOPTER and HORSE.
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We have a Right Horse, Right Match guarantee. If the equine doesn’t end up working out, the horse simply comes back to Heart of Phoenix.
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If you or your child outgrow your horse in skill or size, no worries. If you’ve been a great adopter, you can rest assured your horse comes back to HOP and you are welcome to adopt a horse that works better for you.
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If you your income changes or your health declines, you never have to worry about what will happen to your adopted horse. Your horse comes back to Heart of Phoenix, and you know he will be safe moving forward.
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The horses come with upfront and very honest assessments.
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If you have horses now:
We Adopt Nationwide
Adoptions are different than sales / purchases,
but we firmly believe for many horse people, they are
actually far more beneficial to horses and humans.
We will need to chat with your vet and farrier.
If you work with a trainer or lesson provider, we will chat
with them. Equine dentists, 4H leaders, Pet Vets, and
boarding barn owners make wonderful references, if you
do not have a trainer to chat with us about your skill level.
Before you apply, your horses must be up to date on
routine farrier care, dental floats and vet care.
We require income verification (various documents meet
this need) to demonstrate ability to care for an adopted horse.
Facilities should be tidy and safe. Your barn and fence
does not need to be expensive or brand new.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING to us is
compatibility between horse and rider
An adopter must be a suitable skill level for
the horse they select or place a horse with a trainer.
Applications cannot be approved if we cannot
speak with your references or gain needed documents.
Applicants need to be honest
and courteous during
their telephone interview, which is the last step of
the application.
First approved applicant who makes
an appointment to visit a horse and is a good fit as the
first option to adopt that horse.
We recommend reading over our adoption
philosophy here when you APPLY HERE
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Helpful Links
Are You are Beginner to Horse Ownership?
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​Are you new to overseeing the care of a horse or has it been years since you last owned a horse?
If you’ve ridden some with friends, on guided
rides and haven’t owned a horse independently, Or
you have ridden and have some horse experience,
but perhaps you haven’t had horses in so many years,
so you aren’t able to provide an equine vet and farrier
references when you are looking to apply, our process
is a bit different.
Beginner horses are rare. If mishandled by
someone newer to independent horse care, even
beginner horses can become very dangerous.
When horse problems surface, it is always the result
of a person who did not have enough skill to
work with their horse.
Because we do not want to see adoptions fail,
anyone who has limited experience needs to be taking
lessons and plan to continue with lessons even upon adoption/purchase for at least one year.
Horses will need boarding at facility
where lessons are possible.
This sets someone up for success with their new horse.
Typically, if you are taking lessons and plan to board,
adoption approval is easy as long as the boarding
facility meets our requirements.
Email us at equinerescue@live.com before applying,
so we can chat with you about your specific
circumstances and guide you.
We can and do adopt to many beginners that are
willing to work on a foundation.
We want you to find a good, safe partner and be
ready to give great care when you take a horse home.
To read some of our blogs about new horse owners,
beginner horses and training, click here
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Horse Locations Typically:
West Virginia – Kentucky – Virginia – Ohio – Maryland – PA – NC
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Adoption Application - Apply here
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You will need a photo driver’s license, photos of your facility fence, barn/run-in and current photos of owned horses and proof of income able to support a horse (paystubs, W2, or whatever means you can offer to prove income with private information like your SSN marked out) submitted at this link HERE
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LET YOUR Farrier, vet, equine dentist, boarding facility, trainer and/or equine reference know we will be calling and give them permission to talk to us
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Approvals are good for 12 months for any horse that is a good match for your skill set and needs. Your are not expected to adopt just because you’re approved.
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Submit the application fee of $20.00 once the applications team gets in touch with you. This fee is paid to the processor of your application, not to Heart of Phoenix.
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Read Only Adoption Agreement - When you apply, be sure you read over this adoption agreement, so you understand how the HOP contract works (HOP retains a lifetime first-right of refusal and contractual agreement on all adopted horses)
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Sign Only Adoption Agreement - Only open this when you're approved and ready to sign the adoption agreement on a horse
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Adoption Day Check List - Read this and submit on adoption day
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Understand we are processing many applications at all times. Sometimes this means even if you are approved, the horse you’re interested in may have been adopted to an earlier applicant. You are not expected to adopt just because you completed an application.
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Why Adopt a Horse?
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Heart of Phoenix has a reputation that makes adopters proud to partner with us
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We have a Right Horse, Right Match guarantee. If the equine doesn’t end up working out, the horse simply comes back to Heart of Phoenix. There are never any hard feelings, and we refund up to $800 of the adoption fee. We can work with you to see if another HOP horse would be a better fit.
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Often, our adoption fees are 50% or less than what the same horse would cost if you were purchasing.
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We have a mission meaningful enough that adopters are happy to honor their adoption agreements
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We have an easy way to identify and protect adopted horses with a well-known freeze brand and microchip
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We have a sensible screening process
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HOP offers a friendly “open return” policy that doesn’t make an adopter embarrassed or afraid to return the horse
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With our “good match” program, you know we do our best to make sure the horse is A GOOD FIT before adoption
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We offer ongoing support and education to our adopters.
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Each adopted horse goes to a home under an adoption agreement that provides terms to keep the horse safe for his/her natural life, so if the horse doesn’t work for you, the horse comes back to us through a first right of refusal agreement that stays in place, and the adoption fee is refunded.
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Adopted horses cannot be used for breeding or re-sell or be given away, but they are YOUR horses, as long as you care for them and want to keep them in your care.
Troubleshooting the APPLICATIONS or Questions about Applying?
Make sure your file sizes are not too large when submitting.
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Save the application and check your SPAM / JUNK folder for copy to get your saved copy.
If this doesn't work or you get errors,
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EMAIL TO Adoptions@wvhorserescue.org or call 304-962-7761 (Suzanna)
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If you've been approved before, you do not need to submit a new application. Please do this shorter "REPEAT Adopter" Form
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