Brook Hill Retirement Center for Horses

Sir Gus was awarded the Thoroughbred of the Year Award by The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program for excelling in a non-competitive career in equine-assisted therapy.

Services: Sanctuary, Rehabilitation, Adoption, Equine-Assisted

Location: Forest, VA

Founded: 2001

Website: brookhillfarm.org

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Since its inception in 2001, Brook Hill Retirement Center for Horses has been unique in its focus on working with lame horses and horses in their third or fourth career.

Fully accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the nonprofit organization is a rescue, rehabilitation, and retirement center that utilizes an experienced team of veterinarians to create individual rehabilitation programs for each horse that comes to the facility.

The plan begins in an on-site lab where horses can receive physical therapy, radiographs, wound care, medications, farrier and chiropractic work, and whatever else is necessary to aid in their recovery.

Well-trained volunteers help with the Brook Hill mission by aiding in basic equine care, farm maintenance, and office work, while college interns earn academic credit assisting in rehab
efforts. The average stay for a Brook Hill horse is 12 months, during which most of the horses are able to recover from their injuries, or have been retrained for new jobs.

Brook Hill also is a retirement center for those with special needs or who are aged and thereby hard to adopt into homes. These horses are paired with disadvantaged, at-risk, or disabled teens in an equine-assisted therapy program. As a Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International-accredited center, the youth learn life skills that enable them to be successful in school. During this pandemic, Brook Hill is home to a pod school for at-risk youth, the students spending half their day in a traditional classroom at the farm, and the other half working on the rehabilitation of horses. Many retired broodmares and pony horses are in this program.

To date, Brook Hill has rehabilitated and placed 508 horses.

Brook Hill Retirement Center for Horses Success Stories

Sir Gus – The son of Tammany raced 43 times, winning six races, but now helps children to gain self-confidence and grow into caring, compassionate adults. Read more >>

Devil’s Passion – The son of Saucy Token was ready to slow down, but was accustomed to a regular routine and human interaction through his two careers spanning approximately 18 years at the track. Read more >>

Big Deuce – Thanks to Brook Hill, he found a new home and career as an older horse. Read more >>