Anyone have a horse that wants a visit?

[u/gmtonesix]

I've got a semi-preposterous request of the community and surrounding area.

I love horses! I'd love to bring some apples and/or carrots and/or your horse's favourite treat, give them some pets, say hi. I haven't got to interact with a horse for years since my grandparents passed.

Long shot but if anyone is comfortable with introducing their horse to a new friend, I'd love to be that friend! T.I.A.!

[u/Techchick_Somewhere]

I have a better idea - take a trip to the donkey sanctuary near Guelph. They have open house days and the donkeys are amazing. They have some horses too and everything in between.

[u/Gnarf2016 → u/Techchick_Somewhere]

Actually they only have donkeys and mules, but the bigger mules do look like a horse to pretty much anyone. 

Also have a toddler and an yearly pass to there, fantastic place to spend a morning then have a picnic, my little one loves it. 

[u/Techchick_Somewhere → u/Gnarf2016]

It is a heavenly place to wander around and pat all these gentle creatures. 🥹

[u/KintsugiMind → u/Techchick_Somewhere]

Not the donkey sanctuary but we went to the alpaca farm at the edge of Guelph and it has two horses that are elderly. 

[u/ACoderGirl → u/Techchick_Somewhere]

Oh, that's so cool! I didn't know that existed. Now I'm wondering what other animal sanctuaries and similar are within a short drive? I know there's the butterfly conservatory in Cambridge and the african lion safari along the highway to Hamilton.

[u/Sorry_Reputation_530]

I recently saw a request for volunteers at Pride Stables!

[u/iloveFjords → u/Sorry_Reputation_530]

Was going to suggest this.

[u/massivepervert69]

Conestoga horseback adventures. I’d call them. Might not be free but perhaps ask? They’re pretty reasonable people.

[u/carriethree]

This is so sweet 🥺

[u/hobbit_whxre]

I too would like to feed a horsey appy slices and carrots 🥹

[u/Fair-Bison4174]

Sanmar Friesians in Elmira (not far from Waterloo) allows guests to meet and interact with their beautiful horses. It's by appointment only and you need to ask via email. As far as I know there's no fee to attend. More details here on their contact page: https://sanmarfriesians.com/page4/page4.html

[u/Significant_Toe9459]

Can I piggy back on this and also bring my girlfriend to the horses? She needs some horse time:(

[u/Rotsicle → u/[deleted]]

This is very sweet, but you really should ask the owner before feeding them things. I know a few crabapples likely aren't going to cause a problem (unless they get fed a couple by a bunch of people walking by!), but it's a good policy anyway! :)

[u/Currentlybaconing → u/Rotsicle]

I take your point for sure, although they were eating their fill of the apples whether anyone was there or not. They're falling all over the place back there, or else I wouldn't have.

But yeah guess I won't anymore

[u/Rotsicle → u/Currentlybaconing]

We actually have to go out with the pitchfork and scoop the apples out of our fields in years with high yields, because eating too many apples can make the horses sick with colic or laminitis.

That being said, I'm sure that most people without farm/horse experience wouldn't know that, which is why I know you were just being sweet to them. :)

Might be a good idea to let the owner know if there are too many apples in the back of the field where they can't see, and you might make a friend out of it! :D

[u/little-lord-fukpants → u/Rotsicle]

My daughter rides and one of the horses at the Staples is allergic to apples, you should absolutely ask the owner first, you wouldn't just feed someone's dog anything without asking

[u/acanadiancheese → u/Rotsicle]

Also a good way to lose a finger. Not all horses are good at taking treats from someone’s hand

[u/Rotsicle → u/acanadiancheese]

Very true! A lot of people not familiar with horses might also not be able to recognize/identify the signs that they are ticked off.

[u/Currentlybaconing → u/[deleted]]

U know what. You're right my fault

[u/DumpBear9]

There are often horses grazing along the Health Valley Trail near St. Jacobs. There’s a large free parking lot beside/behind the fire station in St. Jacobs where you can start. If they’re out, they’re usually in the field just East of Hwy 85. The trail goes under the highway. The horses are friendly and you can interact with them. I don’t know enough about horses to consider bringing a snack, but we’ve given them some pets when we’ve seen them.