Thank you for your interest in donating or leasing your horse to the University of Maryland’s Equine Studies Program! We appreciate our horses and all that they do to help us share our passion for horses and horse care with our students. The horses are housed at our on-campus farm with exceptional care provided by our dedicated staff and well-trained students. We are always looking for those special horses to be our partners in teaching. Our horses must have excellent ground manners so that they can be handled by novice students in class, and they must be sound so that they can be ridden 5-6 times per week in a lesson program with professional instructors. We require a 14-day trial to ensure that we are the right fit for the horse and they are the right fit for our program. If you are thinking about donating or leasing one of your horses to us, please view our criteria and donation process below.
Donation Horse Criteria:
- Excellent ground manners. Horses will be handled by beginners and therefore must be patient and willing when handled.
- 5-17 yrs old
- 14.2 to 16.2 hands
- No vices
- Sound.
- We do not accept horses that have existing health or soundness conditions. Some maintenance for older horses with arthritis can be provided. Horse should be suitable for a riding lesson program that includes jumping up to 2’6”.
- We do not have a breed preference, but warmbloods, Quarter Horses and draft crosses tend to work out the best in a teaching environment.
- We take horses of all riding levels, but prefer those that can be ridden by beginners.
- Horses must be able to be turned out in a group and tolerate being stalled periodically through the day.
RIDING HORSE DONATION PROCESS
- Complete the PROSPECTIVE HORSE DONATION FORM. Submit the completed form along with photos showing the horse's conformation and videos of the horse being ridden at the walk, trot, and canter to Dr. Amy Burk at amyburk@umd.edu. Videos that are large in size should be uploaded online (i.e. youtube.com) and then the link should be shared with Dr. Burk either via e-mail or within the donation form.
- We will review the horse´s information, photos, and video.
- If we believe the horse could be a good fit for our program, we will contact the donor to schedule a visit.
- A member of our staff along with 1-2 students will visit the horse to ride it at the walk, trot, canter, and over small jumps.
- After the visit, we will determine whether the horse will be accepted into the program on a 14 day trial basis.
- For horses accepted to our program on trial, we ask that the donor complete the trial agreement and horse health information form prior to the horse´s arrival at our campus farm. All horses should be up-to-date on vaccinations and have a current negative Coggins.
- During the trial, we will regularly inform the donor of the horse´s progress and owners may visit their horse during normal visiting hours. When the trial period is over, the donor will be notified if the horse has been accepted into our program.
- All horse donations are tax-deductible and UMD will sign the appropriate IRS forms for the donor.
- Owners should keep in mind that if they believe the horse is valued at or greater than $5,000, an appraisal is required by the IRS. Owners getting their horses appraised must do so prior to the horse being donated.
Thank you for your interest in donating to the Equine Studies Program at the University of Maryland!
Prospective Horse Donation Form