We’re in this business for the love of horses – this page is dedicated to the spirit of sharing this love with friends, families and the community!
School Groups
At Tally-Ho we love to bring the world of horses to each child! We do countless school tours each year. The kids always have a riot and it’s great to see a child’s eyes light up as they feel the soft muzzle of a horse for the first time!
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Nickel, Archie and Kashe look forward to their annual visits with the kids at Keating Elementary School. It’s a great experience for the kids as many are meeting a draft horse for the first time (and realizing how BIG they are!), and the horses are treated to many, many carrots!
Charities we Support
We live in an amazing city and are proud to be able to help raise funds for many worthwhile charitable causes throughout the year. We donate many carriage rides to silent auctions or school fundraisers. In addition, we are proud supporters of the following charities:
- BC Children’s Hospital Foundation – through the Festival of Trees at the Empress Hotel, Tally-Ho is part of a team of businesses that have helped raise over $100,000 each year to support the work of BC’s premier children’s hospital.
- Santa’s Anonymous – each year we collect and donate toys that will be provided to less fortunate children at Christmas time
- Mustard Seed – through the donation of silent auction items, we assist a number of organizations raise the bar on the volume of food items donated each year.
- Helping protect the animals in our world is a high priority for us! In addition to our corporate donations each year, our daughters have also demonstrated that they understand what a difference they can make to the life of an animal: since their 4th birthdays they have each asked their friends to help them raise funds (in lieu of presents) for the following causes:
- BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
- Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC)
- Victoria Adoptables
- Island Equine Rescue and Recovery Society
- and the list continues to grow…
Happy Birthday Brianna!
Our daughter, Brianna, spent her 5th birthday celebrating My Little PonyTM style – although “little” wouldn’t be the word to describe her “pony”! Archie was, as his usual nature, a tremendous sport about becoming a beautiful, elegant steed, complete with stars, lucky horseshoe and butterfly (we used completely non-toxic hair paint on him – he didn’t even know it was there). The birthday party enjoyed a treasure hunt around the farm and then Archie and Donna took everyone on their own pony ride.
The Environment
The planet earth is an amazing place: one that we’d like our kids and grandkids to be able to enjoy as much as we do. With their future in mind, and just because it’s the right thing to do, we’re continually implementing new “green” initiatives for our company.
Did You Know?
Limosine = 13 CO2 emissions
Double-decker bus = 18 CO2 emissions
Horse-drawn carriage = 0 CO2 emissions!
Office
- Our office is located in our home – we reduce costs while also reducing our capital space and energy consumption.
- We’ve switched to 100% recycled paper – this reduces our Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHGs) by 37% and produces 48% less solid waste.
- We use both sides of the paper before recycling any scraps.
- We re-use old file folders.
- We refill ink cartridges for the printer/fax.
- We electronically file important emails rather than printing them for hard files.
- We limit our hydro consumption by only turning on the heat for extremely cold days… other than that, it’s a blanket or sweater for us.
Farm & Operations
- Needless to say, 17 draft horses produce a LOT of manure. Our manure is taken across the street to a neighbour’s farm where it is converted into fertile soil.
- Manure left on the streets of downtown Victoria is often delivered to local residents who compost it for their gardens.
- We operate a skid steer instead of a larger tractor as this reduces our carbon footprint and yet still meets the needs of our operation.
- Manure clean up in the paddocks is done the old fashioned way – by fork and wheelbarrow.
- All paddocks are equipped with automatic waterers, which reduce water waste.
- Horses are washed for work at the farm (opposed to downtown), where the excess water feeds the lawn around the barn (no additional watering required).
- In 2008 we leased a new horse truck that will reduce emissions and our fuel consumption by one-third.
Fond Memories
This piece of art was commissioned on a paper restaurant-style placemat!
Do you have memories you’d like to share of a Tally-Ho experience? We’d love to hear from you! Please send us an email and tell us what made your Tally-Ho experience so enjoyable.
