HorsePower for Kids & Animal Sanctuary — Attraction in Oldsmar

Saw this place recommended on @toddlerfriendlytampabay's Instagram as one of the top 5 'petting zoos' in the Tampa area. It did not disappoint! We went on a Sunday afternoon (myself, my fiance, & our 15 month old) and although the parking lot was a little packed when we got there, it only took a few moments for us to find an open spot.

The property is so large that even when it's busy, you're spread out and it doesn't feel like a 'zoo' where people are all crowded around 1 animal exhibit and you have to wait forever. This is a much better experience. There's so much to do and see, you could really make a whole day of this, especially with older kids. My son is a new-ish walker, so he's a little wobbly on his feet and couldn't really use any of the climbing structures, but he had an absolute blast. The little red train was probably his favorite part. The gentleman who drives the train is super friendly and attentive and makes it fun for everyone onboard, almost like an unofficial tour of the sanctuary. It's an old antique train from a Sears Chicago display, so it's a little janky, but as long as children and adults keep their arms inside and aren't being silly, it's a great time. They do also offer 'train' rides pulled by a tractor. I like that these rides are included in the cost of entry (only the pony rides are extra $5, which we felt he was too young for anyway.)

Such a cool variety of animals here - we loved the goats, the camel, the zebra, and the zorse! Our favorite had to be the 3 week old piglets that were running around. SO CUTE! The guinea pig area/reptile room was also fantastic - I got to touch a python and a baby guinea pig!

Throughout the property there are picnic tables and sitting areas. It's well-maintained, easy and safe to get around, but the plant life (especially bamboo) makes it feel like a jungle and there are lots of shaded areas, which is essential in FL.

One tiny suggestion I do have for Horsepower is: consider offering discounted/differently priced tickets for different ages (namely, children under 2, and seniors -- maybe even a military discount also). Paying $14 for adult entry and for older children -who can take full advantage of the playgrounds/play structures and really interact with animals. Obviously this IS an animal rescue that relies on ticket $ and donations to operate, so I'm not complaining by any means, but I think it may be good to offer tiered pricing to get more folks in the door. We will most definitely be back, regardless of the entry price, so we can bring my fiance's 7&9 year olds.

The staff/volunteers we interacted with were very friendly, especially the ladies at the front desk & the train driver. I do wish there was more staff/volunteer involvement when it came to guest behavior though, because there were people feeding animals in areas where it was clearly marked 'DO NOT FEED' and we even saw two older boys chasing a poor peacock around and jumping into turtle enclosures. Again, it's a nonprofit, this is easier said than done - it's just sad that some guests don't have respect for posted rules nor common sense (like, don't chase a living animal around, don't enter their habitats, etc..)

HorsePower is fun for all ages - heck, most of the adults/parents we saw seemed to be having an even better time...

I would give more than 5 stars if I could! This place is seriously a hidden gem! We love going there! We have been there a couple of times but plan on going back and sharing the experience with our family and friends! If anyone is looking for a great place to go spend the day with super cool animals or someplace super fun to take your kiddos and love animals please go and check this place out! My boys LOVE it and honestly so do I! 10 out of 10 recommend for sure! You can literally pet SLOTHS!!!! And many other animals as well! Honestly worth it! Its not expensive at all really the price is totally worth the experience! There are so many cool animals that you don’t usually get to see or touch for that matter! There are play areas for the kids as well so not even just animals! Met the owner and he is super nice and cares so much about the animals there and the people who visit! They even do events there and host birthday parties! Pony rides!!!!! Train rides! Playgrounds! Honestly it is a great place! So please check this place out you will not be disappointed I promise!!!!!!

A moment that made my heart smile. While we were there today walking back towards the entrance the gentleman that was running the little train that takes you around the whole pond stopped us and asked if we wanted to go on the last train ride of the day, we didn’t think we were going to be able to do that because they were closing in about ten minutes so of course we said YES! It was of course the last one of the day but as we came to a stop to disembark there were a small group of kiddos that really wanted to go on the train ride. The gentleman that was running it said sorry it was the last one of the day but seeing the kiddos sad they didn’t get to go he said ok we can go one this one last rode!!!! It honestly made my heart smile that he would do one last trip around the pond just because the kids really wanted to go and he didn’t want to disappoint them by saying no they couldn’t go on it! That just shows you how much the staff is willing to do to make sure your trip there is the best experience...

Not accommodating to people with disabilities or service animals. Online they don’t state anything about service animals. Not only that, I’ve been plenty of times and never had a problem. I even pet a lot of the animals, rode the train with my toddler, as well as he rode the ponies. We took pictures in front of many animals with my service animal and no one ever said anything. But today when I went to come in I was abruptly stopped before even reaching the entrance where I could talk to the office by a tall lanky woman with dark hair who was on the phone. As we walked toward the office she put a finger up as to signal us to wait. When she got off the phone she told me that we were not allowed to go in with my service animal. Wouldn’t have been so bad if she had any empathy when speaking or if she were kinder but her customer service was trash. I asked her why when we’ve gone in multiple times and she cracked a sarcastic smile and told me and my family that clearly we weren’t let in by her. My partner was very upset because of her tone being so condescending. Obviously I never saw this women before so I told her no we were let in by someone younger and a male. She was not apologetic, she just stated abruptly and rudely that her hands were tied and she can’t do anything about it. We didn’t want to waste more time so we turned around and walked away as my child cried. She then said “we also have a wolf dog that’s scared of other animals” that’s when I called her out and told her that wasn’t true because we had come several times and the wolf dog came right up to us everytime. the animals were interested and my dog never reacted to them as he was trained for years by a professional service animal company. So if you want to come here and you have a service animal. Choose somewhere else because not only will you be denied but you will be talked down to like...