Community Corner

Riding Program Braces for the Storm

The Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program is bracing for the storm

For more information on what to do to prepare your horses for the storm, click .

The staff at the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program is prepping their 17 horses for the upcoming storm by making sure the animals have plenty of water and shelter.

“We are actually on a well, so if we lose power, we lose water,” said Maryrose Bornhorst, program director.

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Stationwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Clifton-based riding program offers riding lessons to persons with disabilities and special needs.

The organization has several generators waiting to be hooked up in the event that they lose power, Bornhorst said. One staffer actually lives on the property and will be checking on the horses during the storm.

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Stationwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We are also filling up our water troughs that we use during the winter,” Bornhorst said, adding that horses drink an average of 12 gallons of water per day.

The organization also has extra bags of grain and shaving. During the storm, most of the horses will be in stalls or in a 12 by 14 foot shelter.

“We are putting them in groups of two,” Bornhorst said. “They will be with a buddy that they like and get along with so one of them doesn’t kick the other one out.”

For more information on what to do to prepare your horses for the storm, click .


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Fairfax Station