Situated on 25 scenic acres in Burlington, North Carolina the small-scale, family-run horse farm and rescue, known as RH Farm Rescue and Stables is located. RH Farm prides themselves on utilizing the horses which they rescue for almost all of their riding lessons. Their program develops true horsemanship and an excellent overall feel and understanding of the horse, and it is truly believed that each horse has something of great value to teach.
At RH Farm, both private English and Western riding lessons to beginners through advanced level riders are offered. The facility also offers both stall and pasture board at their beautiful site. Owner Grace Ryder’s proudest achievement was working with two BLM Mustangs through TIP Challenges.
“Nothing compares to the moment when a completely wild horse chooses to make their first human contact with you.”
A career highlight was working with these horses, training them to halter and eventually giving them the confidence to accept a rider, bareback. RH Farm has rescued, retrained, and rehomed over 40 horses in the three years since opening their facility.
About Grace Ryder
Grace Ryder grew up in the suburbs and while she was interested in horses at a young age, she never considered a career in the equine industry, as the industry community was small in the area which she resided. She kept riding as a hobby and upon completion of a college degree, she worked in marketing for around 10 years.
“It was always my dream to combine my horse passion with community work.” – Grace
It was during the pandemic that Grace was spending time working with her first rescue horse, an appaloosa mare who was left out to pasture in mud up to her knees, that she realized an opportunity to teach lessons with their rescue horses. She wanted to show what these overlooked horses were capable of. At this time, RH farm was established. The program grew quickly and RH Farm even sees students who travel over an hour away because they believe in and support the mission.
A Sanctuary
Functioning as both a horse rescue and boarding/lesson stable, RH Farm was designed to be a sanctuary for abused and neglected horses. Their facility contains a quarantine field for all new intakes and surrendered horses, a dry lot for metabolic horses, and large 3-4 acre pastures for the rescue horses to “enjoy the freedom of just being a horse again” (Grace, RH Farm). RH Farm hopes to complete the building of their “big barn” in addition to constructing an obstacle course for training purposes. They are excited to execute their plans of hosting a schooling show series for horses and riders without show experience, or for those in training, like their own rescues.
RH Farm believes that their older rescues with manageable arthritis are great teachers for kids who are just starting out at the walk. Those who may have just one functional eye are excellent to teach students to build their leg strength to effectively steer. While many of their horses do not have any limitations, the overall dynamic of the program is found to be unique, and simply put, the farm recognizes the value of a rescue horse and strives to assist them reach their greatest potential.
Using StableSecretary to Stay Organized
RH Farm has been using StableSecretary for about 6 months now, although they wish they had found it sooner. It was found through a simple search through the app store while searching for a simple way to keep track of their horse’s records. With having a rather quick turnover of horses, having a digital file which allows vet records, treatments, and training progress to be adequately recorded and simplistic to share to the new owners, RH Farm was a fan from the start. When asked about their favorite StableSecretary feature, Grace elaborated on the photo attachment with notes feature, as it makes it very easy to keep track of any rehabilitation or healing progress. The multiple user feature is also a huge asset, as all of the barn staff can update the activity log directly from the field. RH Farm appreciates the new StableSecretary features that are always coming out.
