Pleasant Valley State Prison Equine Care Program
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Pleasant Valley State Prison (Coalinga, CA)
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Year Established: 2019
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Acreage: 5
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Capacity: 5
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Partner: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
About the Program
The Pleasant Valley Equine Rehab Program is the first California manifestation of TRF’s Second Chances program. It provides vocational training for incarcerated men. During a rigorous 18-week training program, inmates learn anatomy, injury treatment, nutrition and other aspects of care. After their release from prison, graduates of the TRF Second Chances Program in other states have gone on to careers as farriers, veterinary assistants and caretakers.
In Coalinga, the curriculum is sanctioned by West Hill College, which offers Equine Science classes and degrees. It includes natural horsemanship-based desensitization methods, learning to tack up a horse for various disciplines and basic farrier work to safely trim a hoof after a lost shoe or other minor incident.
