Hi, I would just like to let you know. That this is really disrespectful to put your signage over our business flyer as there is plenty of space on the board. It's really a slap in the face to another business and unethical. read more

Fahnestock Ranch - Community Service/Non-Profit Near Me - Acton, California

I volunteered over the course of 4 months at the Fahnestock Ranch and it had such a positive impact on my life. Never has my nervous system been as calm as when I got the chance to consistently be around horses. I am honoured to have been able to work beside Michael and learn from his experiences in horsemanship. In my eyes it was truly an enriching experience to see how we can teach a horse to trust again through consistent presence, training and care. Overall working with the animals and Michael has helped me attain much confidence in my abilities. Hopefully I'll come back in the near future. read more

I volunteered few weeks at Fahnestock Ranch and it was an amazing experience. Michael taught me so much about horses psychology and trained me with a lot of patience to be able to ride with him. The area is beautiful, peaceful and we take good care of horses, goats and pigs over there. I wish I will come back soon ! read more

I cannot, with good conscious, recommend anyone volunteer or do business with this farm. The last straw for me was when two of the horses were injured and Neiman, the wife, was utterly careless about it. I stayed there for twenty days as a live-in volunteer. I didn't interact with Michael much, but he seemed ok. Neiman on the other hand was a total nightmare. When I first started she was sweet and answered my questions patiently but towards the end she had horrific mood swings and would be sarcastic, condescending, and downright nasty out of nowhere and for no reason. In addition to her rude speech, she expressed a deep hatred towards immigrants and the LGBT community. I am a total beginner at this and have some fear of horses. I was told that there would be three other volunteers there, but there was only one, and I was expected to do half the work by myself, regardless of how long it took. After the first week of training Neiman said "are you gonna be okay on your own?" and I replied "I'll take any help I can get" to which she replied "okay, let me finish this task then I'll come help you." Two minutes later, she comes back with a nasty attitude and says "You do know you're supposed to be doing this all by yourself, right?" I explained to her that I was expecting more volunteers and a group effort. She cut me off and rudely said "Listen, I'm not your assistant, I'm your woofer host. You'll have other volunteers to help you." I was totally shocked because she had just been sweet and offering help. I tried to ignore her moods but every day she would snap at me for one thing or another. When local volunteers came around she was all smiles but when it was just her and I she spoke to me with total disrespect and commanded me around like I was her servant. There is a horse in one of the stalls that is wild and untrained. I was told to muck the stall and given no instructions. The horse almost kicked me. I talked to the other woofer for advice. The second time it happened, the horse was throwing its body around the stall and kicking it's legs aggressively. I was pinned against the wall, and had to jump out of the way. I would have been severely injured. I explained to Neiman that I did not feel safe being in that stall. Instead of concern, she acted annoyed. She came back later that day and said "I'm not going to do the stall, YOU are" and jabbed her finger at my chest. I told her again that I did not feel safe and she proceeded to try and guilt trip me saying I was 'bailing' on my duties. Once again I held my tongue and was polite with her. The last week I was there, I noticed one of the horses was not standing on her back foot. She was limping. I usually clean her hooves but I could tell she was in pain and not able to put weight on that leg. I tried to tell Neiman that she was hurt, but she cut me off and said "What I need you to do, is clean her hooves!" I said I didn't want to hurt the horse further, so she stepped in and aggressively forced the horse to put weight on that leg. I could tell the horse got more hurt because she was walking very slowly and limping even more the next day. Seeing her treat the horse like that made me furious. The final straw was when one of the horses had heavy bleeding coming out of its nose and lip. I noticed it and was naturally worried and exclaimed "oh wow, she's bleeding! Do you see this?" Once again, Neiman replied with a tone of annoyance and said "if a kid scraped it's knee you can let it bleed, once you have kids you'll understand!" At this point I was totally fed up. All I did was express concern for a bleeding animal and she hit me with a condescending attitude. I'm not sure what she is going through but I pray she finds peace in her heart because this woman is full of anger and spite, and she treats people like her emotional punching bag. read more

We adopted our house from Mike, and it was such a wonderful experience. He made the time for us to come out on several site visits, answered or questions, and really made sure that we were a good fit for our horse (and vice versa). We couldn't be happier with the experience! read more

Excellent training for your horse or a rescue horse. These people treat the horses like family. A very nice environment to board your horse as well. Mike is a very knowledgeable trainer with many years of experience and it shows. He uses Natural Horsemanship Training Techniques to teach horses how to behave with humans. Always gentle, yet firm. You will get top rate training for your horse at a fraction of the cost of a "famous trainer". The staff is always courteous and helpful. As a boarder of three horses I enjoy the absence of the usual barn drama that frequents boarding facilities. I can always visit my horses in a peaceful, relaxed environment. A fun place to be. Highly recommended! read more

I was a volunteer there and it was such an amazing experience. Mike and Neimon are such kind, caring people. Mike works with natural horsemanship methods and never seems to fail. He can train any horse and does so with patients and passion. I fully recommend going here if you need a horse trained or boarded. If youre looking to volunteer somewhere for horse experience this is the place for you! read more

I adopted my BLM Burro from Fahnestock Ranch after Mike broke and trained her. You would never know she was a wild burro less than 30 days ago! He has a great attitude always positive and I love the way he trains. I continue to have him come out and help me improve my riding and handling skills WELL WORTH IT! Just recently Mike brought my burro and one of his ponies to my nieces birthday party it was wonderful! The kids and parents loved it! He was great with the kids and the interns were super sweet. This organization is great and I am very lucky to have found them! read more

EXTREMELY UNHAPPY AND DISAPPOINTED! My family and I are experienced riders and we have been looking for a new place to go trail riding near the High Desert. We arrived five minutes early for our appointment, yet we pulled up to a locked gate. We tried to call multiple times so that we could be let in, but no one answered. After thirty minutes of waiting, honking the horn, and trying to get anyone's attention, we were finally able to flag someone down to let us onto the property. Even though it took thirty minutes for us to be let in, they were still not finished saddling up our horses and so we had to wait longer. No one apologized or acknowledged the fact that we had already been waiting for so long. When we were finally able to mount the horses, my husband's horse's saddle nearly fell off as he was trying to get up onto it; it was way too loose! Even when riding he noticed the saddle was STILL much too loose, even though we brought it to the attention of our guide. He did not seemed concerned and instead tried to blame it on my husband's position in the saddle. My daughter also noticed her saddle was much too big for her frame. When beginning to canter, my daughter's saddle was so loose that she fell off the horse!! This happened about only 30 minutes into our ride. We had to all stop to make sure my daughter was okay, and she was too injured to continue the ride. We decided to head back so that my daughter could get medical attention. However, one of the guides was unsure about how to even get us back to the stable! We eventually walked our horses back to the stable, and by this time, it had only been one hour since our ride began. We paid for a two hour trail ride, so we were hoping to be able to reschedule or at least get some of our money back. THEY DID NOTHING TO ACCOMODATE US. They kept our money for the full two hour ride and said if we wanted to come back and ride a different time that we would have to pay. Overall, the ranch seemed VERY unorganized, unprofessional, and without proper equipment. Save your money and go someplace else!! read more

My happy place! I started volunteering at Fahnestock Ranch about 6 months ago and enjoy every minute there, it's heaven! The ranch is beautiful, well maintained and surrounded by lots of wonderful trails. Mike (the trainer) is so knowledgeable, patient and kind. He rehabilitates horses using natural horsemanship techniques. I highly recommend Fahnestock Ranch for training, boarding, trail riding, lessons.. Excellent ranch to learn everything about horses in a safe and calm environment. I've been riding for 20+ years and still learn something new every time. read more

Mike Fahnestock and his staff have been more than helpful in helping me buy my horse. There are many sizes and breeds of horses at his family ranch and he helped me find the horse that is a perfect fit for my riding ability. Most of all he is friendly and honest. I am able to board my horse there and am learning many new horse training techniques. The trail rides are a fun way to get to know my horse Boonie too! Fahnestock Ranch is a great place to buy, board and find a wonderful horse to enjoy life with. read more

Very disappointed, horrible experience !!,I had an appointment at 10am we arrived at 9:45 , no one there to greet us, we began calling, calls were unanswered, honked the horn to try to get someone's attention , finally at 10: 30 we saw someone they were ignoring us, so we began to call to the people we saw, hello, hello, and began honking the horn again, finally a woman came to the gate, unaware that we had an appointment, we walked up to the barn, the horses were not ready, when they were finally ready the cinch was so loose the saddle slid down a lot, then only gone for 15 minutes into the ride and Mike was way out in front began cantering without checking to see if we were ready and one of our riders horse also began to canter without her asking and she fell off, we had to end our ride, we were not offered any refund at all, they said that they would give us a discount on a return ride. WHAT? Come back? ? I would never come back to get mistreated like that. I wish we would have left at 10: 15 ,before we even got acknowledged. read more