Mounted Eagles

It is with great pleasure that Mounted Eagles welcomes our fourth horse into the program! Jay is a nineteen-year-old Registered Rocky Mountain breed gelding. Here’s a little bit about the breed: The Rocky Mountain Horse exhibits a natural ambling gait, called the single-foot, which replaces the trot seen in a majority of horse breeds. The extra footfalls provide additional smoothness to a rider because the horse always has at least one foot on the ground. This minimizes movement of the horse’s topline and removes the bounce of a two-beat gait, caused by a moment of suspension followed by the jolt of two feet hitting the ground as the horse shifts from one pair of legs to the other. Jay has completed a 90-day trial period with the program where we found that the program is a fit for him and he is a fit for us.  This is standard procedure when bringing a new horse in as a member of our equine staff. The Chiropractor indicated he is a “young 19-year-old” which is a good thing to hear!  He has been dubbed “black beauty” by some of his riders.  Expenses for Jay’s trial period were paid with funds from the Jeannine Hemmerich Memorial Fund. Jeannine, who is the mother of our Executive Director, Lynn Fairbanks, passed away in 2021. Jeannine was a strong supporter of Mounted Eagles.   We are very grateful to Lynn’s father, Earl Hemmerich, for making Mounted Eagles the recipient of these funds. Please give the warmest welcome to Jay and a heartfelt “thank you” to Lynn to pass on to her family.

Mounted Eagles Therapeutic Horsemanship program, a 501©3 non-profit and PATH Accredited organization, based in Brainerd MN, is looking for a horse to add to our equine family.  Mounted Eagles has been providing therapeutic horsemanship and equine assisted activities to individuals who face physical, mental, social and/or emotional challenges who live and work in the Brainerd Lakes area and 5 surrounding counties since 1992.

The horse will assist riders a maximum of 3.5 hours per day, three days per week. Most lessons consist of riding activities but some are ground work only.  Program horses are enrolled in a minimum of 2xs per week Fitness and Training Program administered by the staff of Spirit Horse Center, www.spirithorsecenterinc.com ,to aide in sustaining their physical and mental well-being while working in our program lessons. Farrier work is scheduled every 6 weeks and chiropractic visits are quarterly as needed.  You may find out more about our program by visiting our website at www.mountedeagles.org or check us out on Facebook.

This horse will need to be physically sound with a stout build, possess an easygoing temperament, and trustworthy enough to be ridden by a diverse population of physically and mentally challenged riders.  Meaning they should be able to handle sudden spastic muscle reactions made by the rider, the shifting movement of an unbalanced rider, and/or hearing sudden vocal outburst from the rider.   While these descriptions fit a number of our riders, we do have some who are physically fit and able to ride independently.

The following criteria for consideration of any horse will apply:

• We will require a trial period of 60 days in order for us to see if the horse is a fit for our program and the program is a fit for the horse. All expenses for the horse during this trial period will be the responsibility of Mounted Eagles.
• The horse should be between the ages of 10 and 16 years old
• The horse should be between 14,2 and 15.2 hands high – no taller than 15.2 hands
• Must be up to date on all shots and have a current negative coggins test
• A Vet Check will be required (at the expense of Mounted Eagles)
• The horse must have the right disposition and training to work into the program quickly
• Preferably the horse would be a gelding
• Breed is optional depending on if all qualifications listed above are met

We are a small non-profit organization and have a limited budget for the purchase of a horse.  We offer a tax receipt for the market value of your horse if you were to donate it to the program.

Serious replies only, please.  Please contact Aggie at 218-820-0375 or email bstroot@tds.net.