Sweet River Farm

Volunteer Program

Join Our Community of Compassionate Volunteers

Welcome To Sweet River Farm

Thank you for your interest in volunteering and becoming part of our farm community. We are excited that you are here to help support the facility, programs, horses, and participants. With your help, we can provide a fun, safe, therapeutic learning environment for all.

In order to provide reliable programming it is important that any team member who cannot cover an agreed upon shift communicate with us. If possible, try to arrange for a substitute or give us plenty of notice so we can find one for you.

Get In Touch

Open Volunteer Hours

During the times below, the barn will be open and we will be available to work with volunteers and continue on the job training. During each of these shifts, we will be cleaning the barn and grooming as many of the horses as is feasible. We may also do other barn jobs and general horsemanship activities.

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Tuesday AM: 10:00-11:30

Barn Volunteers and Horse Handlers
Barn chores including stall cleaning, grooming horses, and paddock picking.

Please RSVP for these volunteer shifts each week. It is fine if you aren’t ready to commit to a regular shift weekly. You can come for the whole time or part of the time! Just let us know when to expect you.

Volunteer Requirements

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Complete volunteer training and orientation.

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Complete all required forms.

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Sign in and out of volunteer log book each time you volunteer.

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If you cannot make a session, contact the Volunteer Coordinator as soon as possible.

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Abide by the confidentiality policy ALL information about our participants is confidential including all personal, medical, social, and financial information.

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Follow all safety rules of the stable and follow the instructor/barn managers instructions at all times.

Types of Volunteers

Barn volunteers:

Barn volunteers work in the barn creating a clean, safe environment for the horses and animals and ensuring their basic needs are met. Barn volunteers ideally make a regular commitment to at least one shift per week, but may also come on a less frequent schedule.

Barn volunteer tasks include:

Stall cleaning
Assist with feeding shifts (am, lunch, pm)
Water bucket/trough cleaning and refilling
Hay: throwing from loft, stacking, filling hay bags
Paddock maintenance

Horse handling:

Horse handlers are trained to work with the animals directly to ensure they are happy, healthy, and fit. A regular commitment of at least one day per week is required for horse handlers in order to ensure a positive relationship between horse and handler and to create consistency for the horse.

Horse handler tasks include:

Grooming
Walking
Basic exercise routines for each animal
Turn out, bring in

Lesson and Program Volunteers:

Lesson and program volunteers work with the licensed instructors during programming. They have direct contact with horses and with the students and clients we serve. These volunteers allow our programming to become accessible to a wide variety of participants. A seasonal commitment of at least one session/ program per week is required in order to create relationships between volunteers and participants. Lesson and program volunteers require additional training as well as a general background check and CORI/SORI.

Lesson Volunteer specific jobs include:

Leader: leading the horse during a lesson with a mounted or unmounted student
Sidewalker: Walking next to a mounted student to provide
Station/Activity Leader: During unmounted programming, lead an activity station for a camp program, Books with Bugsy preschool program, or other program

Facilities Volunteers:

Facilities volunteers help with the maintenance of the facility. Having experience in carpentry, repair, gardening/landscaping, or vehicle maintenance is helpful. There is no minimum commitment required for facility volunteers.

Facilities Volunteers tasks include:

Basic fence building and repair
Basic barn repair/carpentry
Tractor maintenance
Manure removal/tractor work
General landscaping and gardening assistance
Removal of invasive bittersweet along fence lines

Specialty volunteers

Do you have a specific skill that you would like to share? Marketing? Graphic design? Fundraising? Bookkeeping? Organizational skills? If so, let us know!

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Testimonials

See what our visitors have to say about their experiences at Sweet River Farm

Sweet River Farm makes you feel like one of the family. I’m an adult rider and my daughter participates in the camps and clubs. Both Annie and Alyson are extremely knowledgeable about all-things equine from horse care to English equitation while nurturing a love of horses that is both safe and fun.

Jennifer B.

Alyson and Annie have been incredible to learn from! They have openly shared their wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion for horses with me. Their natural ability and commitment to connect people and horses is inspiring. Supporting the mission of Sweet River Farm and working with the horses and community at the barn is something I look forward to each week.

Sam

I’m a participant’s grandfather, and I can attest she ALWAYS looked forward to going to your farm. I personally think this farm experience for children is an incredible step in their development. Most children think having a horse or in fact any animal, is just ride or play time. This program teaches them that owning a pet comes with an incredible amount of responsibility. The amount of work it takes to properly take care of an animal is learned and I believe it teaches the children to respect not only horses but all living creatures, including their fellow barn buddies. Thank you!

Steven M.

There are not enough positive words to describe Sweet River Farm! Alyson and Annie are truly amazing! They have helped my daughter become more comfortable not only as a rider and being around/caring for horses, but they have encouraged positive attitudes and social skills with their summer camps and after school programs. We can not wait to get back to the farm!

Martha M.

Our family cannot say enough good things about Sweet River Farm! Our kiddo went to camp last summer and had the absolute best time. She was so eager to go each day and learned so much, including how to take care of the horses and basic riding skills. Her confidence grew over the course of the week and she was so proud of herself as she showed off her new skills on the last day of camp! Alyson and Annie are gentle instructors and also establish and hold firm boundaries. We love Sweet River Farm!

Meaghan C.

I love Sweet River Farm! Everyday I learn something new. My riding instructors, Annie and Alyson, help me work through difficult challenges whether its on the ground or up on horseback. I’ve made so many new friends over the past two years and I even have a riding partner! Me and my friends love earning badges in the badge program. I am so excited for the rest of my journey at Sweet River Farm.