10040 Highland Avenue, Lucerne Valley, California 92356, United States
Transforming Lives Through Equine-Assisted Learning and Psychotherapy
Through the “magic” of horses one hoof-step at a time
Help Our Cause
Your support and contributions will enable us to meet our goals and improve conditions. Your generous donation will fund our mission.
Team Building
Here’s how Can You Dig It Ranch can help enhance communication, collaboration, and morale within your team through our Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) Team Building Programs:
Horses are highly intuitive animals that respond to non-verbal cues. During our sessions, participants learn to communicate effectively without words, which enhances their ability to convey messages clearly in the workplace.
Example: Teams may engage in activities where they must guide a horse through an obstacle course using only body language and gestures. This fosters understanding and sharpens their ability to interpret non-verbal signals.
Collaboration and Teamwork
Working with horses requires teamwork. Participants must collaborate to achieve a common goal, fostering a sense of unity.
Example: In one of our exercises, teams must work together to lead a horse through a series of challenges, requiring them to strategize and support each other to succeed.
Enhanced Morale and Engagement
Interaction with horses provides powerful learning experiences because the interactive experience changes and evolves — just like the workplace it is a changing environment.
Example: After interactive activities, teams often reflect on their experiences, sharing insights that enhance cohesion and foster a positive atmosphere back at the workplace.
Interaction with horses provides powerful learning experiences because the interactive experience changes and evolves — just like the workplace it is a changing environment.
Engaging with horses in a natural, stress-free environment boosts morale.
The unique experience breaks the monotony of traditional team-building activities and re-energize participants. And, have we mentioned how being in a beautiful, quiet ranch in a high desert setting with colleagues for a day can literally change team dynamics?
Customizable Team Building Sessions
At Can You Dig It Ranch; we understand that each organization has unique needs. Therefore, we offer customizable programs that can accommodate:
Group Size: Whether you have a small team or a large corporation, we can tailor activities that ensure everyone participates. All team building sessions are up to 10 people at a time.
Outcomes and results of Equine Assisted Learning: •
Stronger Leadership & Improved Teamwork •
Amplified Productivity •
Increased Emotional Intelligence •
Effective Communication & Listening •
Boost Trust & Commitment •
Enhanced Relational Skills & Ability to Positively Influence Others •
Greater Creativity in Problem Solving
Sample Program
Structure Icebreaker Activities
Start with low pressure activities that allow team members to relax and get to know each other.
Equine Interaction
Move into structured activities with horses where teams must work together to communicate and collaborate effectively.
Reflection and Discussion
After activities, teams engage in reflection sessions to discuss what they learned, how it applies to their work, and strategies to implement these lessons.
Discovery
$65 per person, up to 10 people.
*Equine Assisted Learning Session
*Certified Equine Assisted Learning Instructors
*Two exercises; approximately 2.5 hours
*Use of Horses, all equipment and materials
*Light morning refreshments and water
Quantum Leap
$130 per person up to 10 people.
*Equine Assisted Learning Session
*Certified Equine Assisted Learning Instructors
*Three exercises; approximately 4 hours
*Use of Horses, all equipment and materials
*Light morning refreshments and water
*Catered Lunch
*Use of tables and chairs for breakout
Please contact us to schedule your session. Thank you and see you soon!
Sandra Mahoney canyoudigitranch@gmail.com 760-248-7224 www.canyoudigitranch.org EIN 93-4543955
About Can You Dig It Ranch
Our Story
Meet the Crew
Meet the Crew
The Founder/CEO, Sandra Mahoney
Horses have been part of her life since she was 8 years old, with learning to train horses, shows, parades, barrel racing and just enjoying life with horse as a child. She understood how her horses centered her as a young lady and wanted to bring this “magic” to other people.
Fast forward a few years--- She received a degree in Psychology, became certified in PATH Intl as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor and Equine Specialist in Mental Health. Certified in OK Corral Series with Greg Kerstin.
Founder of BJP Youth Ranch Therapeutic riding program.
Equine Director for The Painted Turtle camp, a Paul Newman camp.
Program Director of Spirit Ridge Equine Center, where she worked with Beck Pride Center assisting Veterans using EAP and the founder of the Special Olympics Equestrian of Tehachapi.
She has now moved to Lucerne Valley, CA and wanted to provide the “magic” of horses to her new community.
My husband, Kevin is the Co- Founder of the ranch. Without his tireless and devoted work on building the stalls and the other many projects on the ranch to better the lives of our rescue horses. We would not be in place today to offer our services starting in May 2024 without Kevin!
We would like to introduce our new certified Ok Corral Series instructor, Kari McCoy. We welcome her, and also she will be bringing her two horses down to help in our sessions with their different personalities.
We also will have a Licensed therapist. Ashley working with our Psychotherapy participants in the near future. More about Ashley soon.
Ashley's rates will be added soon.
We would appreciate your help with feeding and medical supplies, etc. It is all possible because of your help, Thank you!
We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.
Meet the Crew
Meet the Crew
Meet the Crew
Spirit, a black bay Arabian gelding, about 7 years old. He was a rescue from Arizona, arriving pretty thin and knew nothing about being a productive citizen. He is in the process in learning how to be a riding horse.
Onyx, a grey 18-year-old Andalusian gelding, who also was a rescue. He is blind in one eye and has melanomas and a hurt back knee. We have figured out he performs the Spanish Walk, so not sure who he belonged to in Arizona, maybe a large ranch as he has a brand on his thigh. Onyx is in the process in learning how to pull a cart and then a carriage.
Lily, a 14-year-old Azteca mare. She arrived at the ranch the end of December 2023. She was a brood mare most of her life.
Lily has trust issues right now, we are working with her to show her that life is good. Lots of carrots for rewards and scratches is some of our ways to make her feel special and trusting of people.
Lily is really responding to lots of scratching and learning to trust us.
It is a labor of love!
We have our miniature horse now, a little Bay mare named Mistee. She was a rescue from Texas.
Mistee is starting to settle down and become part of our family here. With love and patience, she has realized that carrots are the best treats and her new "family" is not so bad. She and Spirit have become buddies. Mistee in a short amount of time is a very vital part of our crew.
However, as of March 2025, Mistee has been diagnosed with Cushing’s disease. While there’s no cure, she is starting a new medication that costs $100 per month to help her feel better and manage the disease. If anyone is interested in sponsoring Mistee and supporting her ongoing care, it would be greatly appreciated! Your generosity would help ensure that Mistee continues to live a happy and healthy life.
Can You Dig It Ranch 501(c)3 non-profit
All donations gratefully accepted either monetary or equipment or feed.
To feed the horses
Bermuda hay -$200 a month
Rice Bran -$80 a month
Beet pulp -$80 a month
Multi-Fly feed through four 25# bags per year
Carrots
Wish List
Indoor Building for our Arena 60' x 80' minimum
Capital champaign to raise funds for our indoor arena.
Office building or building materials
Solar lights for arena and round pen
Concrete benches for participants to sit
Wind screens for the round pen and arena
Our back fence needs replacing would like to replace it with solid fence to cut down on the wind in the round pen and arena.
Thank you, a head of time, and may a higher power (if you so believe) bless you and yours.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! WE HAD A PORTA POTI
Officially now the Outhouse.
DONATED TO THE RANCH!!
4 Wheel steel garden cart- DONATED
Water lines installed, thank you to our donors!
What we do
Meet the Crew
What is Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) or Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) and how will it help?
Equine Therapy has proven to be a powerful and effective approach that impacts individuals, families and groups.
Today, more than ever, everyone faces conflict, uncertainty, and personal challenges in their day-to-day lives. Programs offered through Can You Dig It Ranch assist in promoting self-awareness through positive choices, accepting consequences, and behavior modification-All things that lead to living to one’s full potential.
At Can You Dig It Ranch, our horses serve as a critical component of communication between client and therapist. Many people, especially children, are unable to articulate or even recognize their feelings and they are often unaware of the connections that are made between their feelings and their behaviors.
Our horses provide non-threatening intermediary for spontaneous and unconscious communication thus allowing observation by the trained eyes and ears of a therapist who specializes in behavior issues. Participants learn about themselves and others by participating in activities with horses and then processing and discussing feelings, behaviors, and patterns.
At Can You Dig It Ranch,
We are here to utilize the human-equine connection, to improve the quality of life of people in our communities.
Equine Assisted Activities (EAA) is a system that works with the
horse’s energy and intention. In EAA, the reaction of the horse
reflects what is going on within a person’s heart and mind.
Horses are excellent partners for experiential education.
EAA is a process, sometimes the answer will be obvious to the
facilitator, but not to the participant. Sometimes the participant will
see a piece of the puzzle; sometimes they will get a piece of the puzzle; sometimes they will put the whole puzzle together. It all depends on where they are in their emotional development.
Just remember the old saying:
“You can lead a horse to water; but you cannot make them drink.”
Experiential education means that participants learn about themselves and others by participating in activities that bring meaning to their lives. By processing or discussing their thoughts, beliefs, behaviors and patterns, they can change the way they react to stressful situations. At Can You Dig It Ranch, our facilitators ask the questions that apply to the activity and the goal of the participant(s).
Some principals of experiential education are:
*Experiential learning occurs when carefully chosen experiences are supported by reflection, critical analysis and synthesis.
*Experiences are structured to require the client to take initiative, make decisions, be accountable for results. The participant has the possibility of learning from natural consequences, mistakes and successes.
*Participants are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, soulfully and /or physically.
*Throughout the process, the participant is actively engages in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative and constructing meaning.
This involvement produces a perception that the learning task is authentic.
The beauty of bringing a horse into the session, is that they are a living, breathing, sentient beings that reacts to our energy, intention and movement. Horses enhance the work of personal development with their beauty and grace. They give us honest feedback, and because they live in the moment, they reflect back to us what we need to do to create change.
We look forward to meeting you! 
Sandra Mahoney, Founder, ESMH, TRI
Can You Dig It Jewelry
Kevin is very excited about offering rock cutting and polishing classes for the non- participants or general public in the near future.
Custom made jewelry, He is willing to teach jewelry making classes from silver work, rock carving to casting.
We have machines to polish rocks, faceting machine to learn how to cut the little facets, like in a diamond. Large rock cutting saws to smaller rock cutting saws.
All classes or any rock cutting is by appointment only. Class prices vary on what is being taught.
Rock cutting prices vary on what is to be worked on.
We also have finished unique jewelry -pieces available, ready to pick up and enjoy.
Please e-mail canyoudigitjewelry@gmail.com or call 951-314-2092 or 760-248-7224
What's Happening
What we offer:
Team building programs EAL for businesses or groups, maximum of 10 people a session.
EAL (Equine Assisted Learning) & EAP (Equine Assisted Psychotherapy) for adults, families, children and Veterans.
Please contact us to make your appointment.
If you are interested in a demonstration, please contact Sandra and she will be happy to set one up for your group.
Groups:
Up to 10 people for team building session
Please call to schedule
Discovery
$65 per person, up to 10 people.
*Equine Assisted Learning Session
*Certified Equine Assisted Learning Instructors
*Two exercises; approximately 2.5 hours
*Use of Horses, all equipment and materials
*Light morning refreshments and water
Individuals/Families:
Please call to schedule
Now offering Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts Horsemanship Badges class.
Class will be held on Saturdays by appointment, the cost is $50 per person for a day long class. Limited to 10 scouts a day.
Troop leaders please call to schedule.
Donations: If you would be interested in donating for a person or family for a single session or multiple session's we would appreciate it.
We are a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible.
EIN # 93-4543955
New Additions
We have our miniature horse now, a little Bay mare named Mistee. She was a rescue from Texas.
Mistee is starting to settle down and become part of our family here. With love and patience, she has realized that carrots are the best treats and her new "family" is not so bad. She and Spirit have become buddies. Mistee in a short amount of time is a very vital part of our crew.
Mistee is doing well, she was in our 4th of July parade and the Apple Valley parade sporting her harness. She is in the process in learning how to pull a cart
However, as of March 2025, Mistee has been diagnosed with Cushing’s disease. While there’s no cure, she is starting a new medication that costs $100 per month to help her feel better and manage the disease. If anyone is interested in sponsoring Mistee and supporting her ongoing care, it would be greatly appreciated! Your generosity would help ensure that Mistee continues to live a happy and healthy life.