volunteer & horse training levels | orientation

Volunteers must work at each level for at least 20 hours before they will be allowed to take the first level test.. Volunteers arriving with horse experience will be evaluated by our Equestrian Specialist and placed accordingly. Only very experienced equestrians are permitted to work with training young/inexperienced horses or riding our horses with behavioral problems. All horses that are ridable, without behavioral issues, and awaiting adoption are ridden by their fostercaretakers. Inexperienced volunteers are not permitted to ride except in volunteer play days.

All our horses wear a color coded marker on their halters to designate their temperment and lack of experience level. The color designation is as follows:

• GREEN - Quiet, well trained, horses with few handling issues that can, in most situations, be easily led or groomed by an inexperience volunteer.
• YELLOW - Horses that require at least an intermediate horse knowledgeable person to lead and groom.
• RED - Horses that require experienced, evaluated. horse personell to handle, lead or groom. (For the safety of our volunteers, red markers are also used on horses that staff have not yet evaluated.)

All our Volunteers wear namebadges based on experience levels as follows:

• PINK - Has not been evaluated by staff as to experience level.
  
• GREEN - Has been evaluated and is capable of working with GREEN Level horses.
  
• YELLOW - Has been evaluated and is capable of working with YELLOW Level horses.
  
• RED - Has been evaluated and is capable of working with RED Level horses.

Below are Days End Volunteer Job Opportunities:

• DEFHR - Program Volunteer - Those volunteers that help with special events, programs and booths ONLY.
  
• DEFHR - Volunteer- Trainee until evaluated and passes requirement for other position.
  
• DEFHR - Farm Tech I - Stall Mucking, Follows Directions, Leads Level I horses, Cleans & Fills troughs etc..and helps to put feed together and feed horses.Grooms Level I horses
  
• DEFHR - Farm Tech II Groom horses, tacks horses (English or western), or bareback, cleans tack, bathes level I horses. Can put feed together and feed horses. Grooms Level I & Level II horses.
  
• DEFHR - Equestrian Specialist I - Assists in riding, training and / or lessons of level I horses. Dis-assemble and re-assembles tack. Must keep training record book current on horses worked with.
  
• DEFHR - Equestrian Specialist II - Works with the Senior Equestrian Specialist regarding training and / or lessons of level I and II horses. Assists with and receives training to do Barn Checks. Records all training that is done to the horses in the training book.
  
• DEFHR - Senior Equestrian Specialist - Evaluates Equestrian Specialists I and II's capabilities and recommends level of capabilities to the Farm manager. Also works with DEFHR visitors, who may be visiting farm for riding purposes and should therefore be capable of evaluating the riders abilities through conversation and choose a suitable mount for that person. Able to evaluate adopters with thier chosen horses. Trains for Doing Barn Checks. Make sure that the training book is kept up to date with the training that has been done on the various horses.
  
• DEFHR - Maintenance Engineer I - May be asked to repair buildings or fences, paint buildings, assist with repairs around the facility.
  
• DEFHR - Maintenance Engineer II - Must br Age 18 or older. May be asked to repair buildings or fences, paint buildings, observe and repair items that need it. Passed all safety requirements to Operate all farm equipment. (Kabota, Lawn mower, weed wacker etc..)
  
• DEFHR - Chief Maintenance Engineer Maintains farm grounds as well as repairs buildings, fences and farm equipment as needed. Drives the farm truck and trailer to pick up new horses or to deliver adopted ones. Pick's up feed and various farm supplies as directed by the Farm Director. Insures that the horse waste is properly disposed of on a regular basis. Insures that shavings are delivered on a regular basis and as needed. Insures that fields are maintained, seeded and kept as well as possible given the population of those there residing.
  
• DEFHR - Administrative Assistant - Helps to maintain all records at the farm (Data Base, Horse Records). Answers phones, general office work.
  
• DEFHR - Special Projects Volunteer - Volunteer that accepts a special project assignment. (Installing Frost Free Taps, Creating a Data Base etc...) Special Badges or Pins:
  
• DEFHR - Health Aide - (Must be Farm Tech II or Equine Spec. II) Passes training for the following;
  • Vitals
  • Foot Wraps
  • Wound Care
  • Disease Control
  • Eye Meds
  • Leg Wraps
  • Shots
  
  
• DEFHR - Farm Inspector (Must be Farm Tech II or Equine Spec. II) (DEFHR ID with passport pictures) Passes training for barn inspections and follow up inspections on adopted horses.
  
• DEFHR - Tour Guide - Can give a factual tour of the farm including history and stories of the horses.

If you are a DEFHR Volunteer, or thinking about becoming one, check out our Yahoo! Group! We keep a current of DEFHR Events, Volunteer Opportunities, and other news. The Group also hosts moderated chats, discussion boards, and a cyber-place for DEFHR folk to hang out.

Subscribe to defhrfriends
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For more information call:
301/854-5037 or 410/442-1564
E-Mail: info@defhr.org

Physical Address:
1372 Woodbine Road
Woodbine, MD 21797

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 309
Lisbon, Maryland 21765

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Days End Farm Horse Rescue, Inc. is a non-profit, volunteer based humane organization whose mission is Fostering compassion and responsibility for horses through intervention, education, and outreach.