Sunday, March 15 was a great day for another VEWS volunteer education event, led by our fantastic trainer, Ashley Oliver. Training focused on lunging and ground work with horses. Volunteers practiced in pairs first, with one being the horse and the other being the handler : ) Then volunteers moved to lunging our rescue pony Lola with coaching from Ashley. It was a very successful day with lots of opportunities for learning and refining skills.

We had a beautiful day March 1 to observe our trainer Ashley assess Noah and Rex for adoption status. Both horses were worked in-hand by Ashley as she demonstrated her strategies for assessment. Noah also did well under saddle; taking saddle and bridle easily and riding inside the round pen. Rex proved to be great at lunging and listening to Ashley's cues on the ground. Great opportunity to VEWS volunteers to watch how our horses are evaluated and prepared for their forever homes!

Our first Education Event of 2026 was held Feb 21 and featured Dr. Callie, from Dover Equine, who presented a fantastic session on equine medical conditions and treatments. Discussion topics included soundness, colic, Cushings, and more. VEWS' volunteers attend a minimum of 2 education events annually to remain current on all aspects of equine rescue.