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Our Mission
Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center employs equine assisted activities and therapies to inspire, strengthen, and motivate people of all ages and capabilities.
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| Our Wishlist - Western saddles - English saddles - Small girths - Bareback pads |
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Calendar of Events
October
October 18th:
Orientation (5:30pm - 7:00pm)
October 25th:
Halloween Spooktacular
Horsemanship & Sidewalking
November 4th: Join-Up & Leading
November 8th:
Orientation (5:30-7:00pm)
November 11th:
Horsemanship & Sidewalking and Veterans Day Parade
November 19 - November 25th: Program Closed
December 1st:
Holiday Parade Downtown SB
December 2nd: Join Up & Leading
December 6th: Orientation (5:30pm-7:00pm)
December 9th: Horsemanship & Sidewalking
December 16th: Grooming & Tacking
December 17th-January 1st: Program Closed
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Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center
(Physical address)
4420 Calle Real
Santa Barbara, 93111
(Mailing Address)
PO Box 30662
Santa Barbara, 93130
(805) 954-1519
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| Watch Our New Video on YouTube |
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Reflections
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Dear Hearts Family & Friends,
Hearts celebrated our riders and our programs on Thursday, September 28
th, at a fundraising luncheon at the Coral Casino with a crowd of 270 guests. Kevin Raimer, one of our wonderful veterans, shared his story and what Hearts has done for him, and John Reardon shared his daughter, Amy's, story with some compelling video to really bring it to life. In addition, we featured a video with stories and information about Hearts. Please click
here to see it! We are so grateful to everyone who came and to those who supported the luncheon. It was hugely successful!
Coming up this month is our Halloween at Hearts Spooktacular, and there are more details about that below - please join us if you are able.
Horse sponsorship is an important part of our program - allowing us to ensure that our horses are in the best health and have their needs taken care of by caring professionals. Currently we have just a few horses that don't have sponsors: Indiana, Toby, and our minis - Ariel and Vinnie. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship, please contact me at
[email protected].
Thanks as always for making Hearts such an important part of the community, and your life!
Happy Halloween,
Pamme Mickelson
Executive Director
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Welcome, Morgan Kastenek!
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Morgan joined the Hearts team this month
as the development
and marketing coordinator.
Morgan was born and raised in Chicago, IL. She moved to Santa Barbara in 2008 to attend UC Santa Barbara, where she earned a B.A. in Sociology. After graduating from UCSB in 2012, Morgan began working at Dog Adoption & Welfare Group (DAWG), where she really fell in love with nonprofit work. She left DAWG in 2015 to pursue real estate and currently has her real estate license. After working in real estate for a short time, Morgan realized she missed working with nonprofits and began working for a nonprofit, independent school in downtown Santa Barbara. Soon afterwards, she realized she what she was truly missing was working with animals. Morgan grew up riding horses and is so happy to be joining the Hearts team as development and marketing coordinator, where she can be around horses everyday, and help support an amazing organization! She is passionate about social media marketing and fundraising and looks forward to helping Hearts grow into the future. Morgan was recently married, too! She and her husband live here in Santa Barbara and have two dogs. They enjoy spending most of their time outdoors or doing yoga.
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Pegasus Luncheon
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Hearts hosted its annual fundraiser,
The Pegasus Luncheon, on Thursday, September 28th, 2017, at the Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club. This inspiring event helps Hearts provide lessons, scholarships, and comprehensive care for our horses in the coming year.
With a special video highlighting the Hearts Community (click
here
to watch on YouTube), a delicious lunch and heart-warming stories from some of our riders and staff, guests shared in this pleasant mid-day treat.
It's because of our generous contributors that Hearts has been able to provide over 60,000 lessons to adults and children with physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities since 1985.
With great appreciation to our sponsors:
Rabobank
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American Riviera Bank
Bruce Bennett
The Habit
Pioneer Pictures
Studio 8
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Union Bank
Tim Buley
Johanne's Flowers
JC Thompson
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Barn Highlight
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Bob Ramsey
By Carol Lawrence
They've named me Bob, Bob Ramsey. I like having a name it makes me
feel special an
d not just a number.
Before I came to Hearts I was lost, alone and really scared. I was running around near a big road, the cars were going very fast and sometimes the humans stopped (maybe to help me) but I was wary of them and kept running away.
I was eventually brought to Hearts and since then my life has dramatically changed.
I just LOVE it here! There is so much going on and at last, I have a family! It's a big mix of souls so I'm not sure how I fit in. Sometimes I think I'm a horse, sometimes I think I'm a dog, and sometimes I think I'm a human. (No one ever mentioned anything about my being a sheep. And anyway how is a sheep supposed to behave?) Sometimes when I see a group of humans talking together I wander over to join in and I know they must be talking about me because I usually get a welcome scratch on the head.
I love all the horses but especially love Kodi and Hero. I hope they will become my best friends, though I'm not too sure they feel the same way about me. When I see them in their corrals I park myself outside.
All I want to do is butt heads with them but for some reason, which is beyond me, they don't seem to enjoy it.
I keep going back to be with them and know one day soon they will love me too. How could they not? I'm adorable! (At least that's what the humans keep telling me!) At night I enjoy curling up and sleeping with the minis. They're small like me and really, really cozy to snuggle with.
And now I know what bliss feels like because the humans groom me!. When they brush me my eyes roll back into my head and I go into a trance. Don't stop I think. But wait; another human is passing by with all the yummy food. See ya, kind human grooming me, I'm off to follow the food!
The 'special' food goes into the buckets and the horses seem to feel it's for them. What on earth are they thinking? They're eating my food! Don't they know it's all for me? And why am I being shooed away? I'm just doing what comes naturally...The food is here, I'm here and I like to eat. It's very simple! (Sometimes humans don't seem too bright!) I know the humans really love me and I am so grateful I was brought to Hearts.
Being one of the Hearts family is absolute heaven!
Email Morgan
to donate to Bob's Fund, and help us keep the cookies coming!
 
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| Halloween at Hearts |
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| Program Highlight |
A Look into the Science of
Caring for Therapeutic Horses
By Devon Sachey
As you may imagine, it takes a horse with special qualities to be awarded the title of "Therapy Horse". Pleasant, easy-going and quiet temperaments are some of the most important attributes of a therapy horse. Because we use the horse's movement as a therapeutic tool, it is also imperative therapy horses are sound to provide an even gate for our unique riders. But how do we strive to maintain our horse's health and happiness?
There are many differences between operating a therapeutic riding program, specifically when it comes to the care of therapeutic horse, and running a regular riding program. Some are unique to our industry; others are a slight variation of general horse care practices. Some differences include:
- Purposefully designed horsemanship procedures for the continuity of horse care and handling
- Overseeing thorough and ongoing training of 180+ volunteers annually to care for and handle the Hearts herd
- Putting the "working horse policy" into practice - similar to service animals, when therapy horses are in work, we aim to not distract them. When they are in their stalls or off "the clock", however, our staff and volunteers must generously provide them with love, affection and appreciation
- Diligent tracking and balancing of horse working hours - adhering to strict workload policies
- Desensitization to riders with disabilities
- Planned vacation time - 7 full days of turnout without work, 6 weeks per year
As in every horse focused organization, there is a science to overseeing the well being of horses, unique to each operation.
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Volunteers Needed... Join the Team!
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Volunteer Opportunities - Join the TEAM!
Upcoming orientation dates:
- October 18th, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
- November 8th, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
- December 6th, 5:30-7:00 p.m.
We're always looking to expand our volunteer team.
Click here
to learn more about volunteer opportunities at Hearts!
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