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Volunteer

How to Volunteer
Q&A
More Opportunities

How to Volunteer

Free Rein Foundation is thriving thanks to our amazing volunteers, who contribute 14,000 hours each year. Join our team and make a meaningful impact with rescued horses and at-promise youth. No horse experience necessary! We welcome volunteers for various roles, including horse care, fundraising, events, marketing, social media, gardening, construction, photography, videography, graphic design, and administrative work.

Ready to make a positive impact? Complete our online application, specifying your availability and interests. We’ll contact you about our next volunteer orientation. Open to all ages and abilities, with direct horse interaction for those 16 and above.

For horse care volunteers, two days of hands-on training (fee: $400) is required. Learn essential skills and commit to one three-hour weekly shift for a minimum of 6 months. It’s physically demanding work, rain or shine.  Weekly volunteers must be 16 years or older.

Submit Application
volunteers

Meet our Volunteer Coordinator

Kim Dablow
Kim Dablow

Kim Dablow served the Orange County community as the head of Carden Hall school in Newport Beach for many years. Upon retirement, she and her husband Jay brought their expertise and years of wisdom to Free Rein Foundation. Kim oversees all volunteer training and relations, leads homeschool groups, and creates curricula, while Jay creates beautiful custom horseshoe art, cares for the horses, and leads tours. With nearly 100 active volunteers, Kim is an important role model and leader, ensuring safety in the pasture and fostering an environment where all volunteers feel appreciated and happy to contribute their time.

Q&A

Q: How can I become a volunteer for Free Rein Foundation? And what is the time commitment to become a volunteer?

There are always opportunities to volunteer with FRF by helping to fundraise, marketing, managing and staffing events, photography, graphic design and other tasks. If you are interested, please fill out our form.

Being a volunteer horse handler for Free Rein Foundation is a big commitment because our horses need care every day, 365 days of the year. At all times we employ approximately 80 volunteer horse handlers, with each working a minimum of three hours per day once a week. These volunteers are responsible for grooming and feeding the horses and keeping the stalls and pastures tidy. Our more experienced horse handler volunteers walk the horses around the equestrian center and give the horses baths.

In order to become a horse handler volunteer, you must complete our training program which includes three different training sessions over the course of two to three weeks. There is a cost to the horse handling training of $400 because we must pay the trainer for their time. If you are interested in becoming a regular horse handler, please contact us and we’ll get in touch as soon as we need you.

Q: Do volunteers ride the FRF horses?

No, our volunteer program does not include riding any of our horses.

horses in paddock

More Opportunities

Saturday Projects: Join us most Saturday mornings for skilled work on horse pasture and facility improvements, including building enclosures, fixing fences, irrigation, landscaping, weeding, and planting.

Group Volunteering: Schools, churches, and community groups can engage in community service projects like Saturday Projects.

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