Big Billy is the newest kid on the block at Horses For Hope, arriving as part of the Harness Racing Victoria rehoming program, HERO, in July 2022.

Too slow to race, Billy was sent to the HERO program to be retrained as a riding horse, however his worries about the world prevented him from taking this next step. Since arriving with us, we are slowly taking him back to square one, and teaching him all the ways he can be safe in the world.

Standing a huge 17hh, he is a gentle giant and loves nothing more than a scratch and to hang out with kind humans. We know he will help so many people with his big heart and kind eyes.

Alex came to us many years ago, quite a scared and traumatized little pony. His caring owner asked Horses For Hope if we could help him out. While Alex was here unfortunately his owner got very ill and she passed away, before she passed, she asked if we would have Alex and ensure he is looked after into the future, so of course, we agreed.

Alex was progressing well working with many different participants, all working to convince him that people are OK to be around and can be trusted. When he was ready to graduate, he got lucky - one of the families who had worked with Alex in the program offered to take him home to be with their family and hopefully continue his progress. They did just that and he became a trusted and safe little kids riding pony. Unfortunately, kids grow, and Alex stayed small. Because of our commitment to our agreement with his previous owner, he has come back to us and back to our herd (and his old friend Simon) where he will remain until another pathway emerges for his future.

One of the many horses who unfortunately ends up at the horse sales is a terrified, unhandled, traumatized horse.

Phoenix was purchased by the abattoirs along with his brother and mother. By some miracle the staff at the abattoirs saw something in him - enough to try and find him a home instead of processing him. Out of time after a busy day at the abattoirs Phoenix had a lifeline thrown to him when a lady finally managed to get the money raised to purchase him. After an horrific accident while at the breakers Phoenix cut his leg deeply and due to his past trauma no one could go near him to treat the injury. Two years on and Phoenix was still so afraid of the world, flinching at any sign of being touched, running away when people got near, but still so longing to be loved. Finally, his owner contacted Horse For Hope and asked if we could help. Once here it was obvious how traumatized and anxious he really was, slow and steady was the pace with Phoenix and after a while he started to realize he was safe, allowing more and more touch on his body. He can now work with most clients as he has so much to give and an amazing kind soul.

Peanut is our resident ratbag, abandoned on a property he came to us from White Angels Horse Rescue. Although not at all traumatized or afraid, he has a special place here at Horses For Hope.

Peanut is great for our younger clients and those who need to practice their horse yard skills before moving onto other horses. Peanut's favourite past time is escaping his paddock and going wherever he wants, causing havoc with the other horses and being a bad influence on the horses who are still wary of being caught. He is tiny and an escapologist and we often find him in places he is not supposed to be.

Bought from the horse sales along with her foal, Breeze was a horse no one could get near. Afraid of the world and with a terrible scar on her face, she came to join our program many years ago. After time and a lot of effort from staff and clients alike, Breeze slowly started getting though her past trauma and started seeing the world in a different light. Fast forward 5 years and you would not recognize her. She is the matriarch of our herd, guiding the newer horses into their new lives. Breeze is now easy to catch, handle, and love. She loves nothing more than giving the people she is with cuddles and helping them with their Horses For Hope journey. Whether they be horse or human, she leads the way. From a traumatized horse whose only other future was death, to an amazing cart horse, Breeze is a brilliant example of what our program is all about - people and horses working together to get past their trauma and anxiety and leading the way to having a great future.

Brea has been part of the program for a long time. She is an RSPCA rescue who came from a large herd of around 50 on a large property, some of whom had unfortunately passed away or had to be euthanized due to starvation and sickness. Brea was one of the youngest on the property and thankfully was rescued in time - however while not physically damaged - she was scarred emotionally. She was taken in by a family who saw her potential, but they soon realised she needed more help than they could give and as such she came to Horses For Hope to begin her new life. These days Brea still has her troubles but nowhere near as much as she did. She is now one of the very few horses here that do occasionally, with the right person, come up for a pat out in the paddock. Her shyness and need for protection is obvious to our participants, some finding parallels with her nervousness and in the way she sees the world. Brea requires a very patient, considered and calm approach.

Rain is a special girl. She joined our program along with her long term friend Billy. We don’t know what her past involved but what we do know is that to her, the world is still a horrible place.

Obviously she went through trauma but to what extent only Rain herself knows for sure. She has a long journey ahead of her, still so fearful yet she has the kindest heart and the personality to match.

Rain longs to feel safe with you, but it’s so hard for her. Currently Rain is used by clients who are well into their Horses For Hope journey so they can help her through her own troubles

Queenie is a striking looking mare and was noticed at the sale yards, where she was sent after she was used as a brood mare on a station breeding Walers. She was bought by a pair of friends at the sales and sent to a horse breaker.

She returned home and was able to be ridden, but showed signs of significant shyness and was untrusting of humans. The owner felt Queenie needed more pretraining help and so she was sent to Horses For Hope for extra care and support in learning how to feel safe around humans.

Queenis is very sensitive and responsive but is learning to be in the presence of humans, sharing her big heart.

Simon is our little Shetland pony who was rescued from the abattoirs yard, taken in by White Angels Horse Rescue, yet far too traumatized to go near or catch. We visited Simon 11 times just to gain his trust before we could catch him and bring him to Horses For Hope to begin his journey.

Simon has taken a long time and heaps of participants to get him to where he is today, still scared to get close to people, but once he connects to you it is an amazing thing to be part of. These days Simon has become quite a cheeky boy, each day his quirky personality is coming out more and more.

We don’t quite know what happened to Billy in the past. All we do knew when arrived was that Billy had so much love and potential.

Joining us in 2019, we are so pleased that he was able to graduate the program and return to his loving owner a happy and healthy horse in September 2023 - thanks to the thousands of hours of support given to him by our participants over many years.