Montana Quarter Horse Association

"Healing Hearts Through Horses" is a new program for MQHA made possible through a grant from MBNA America to MQHA as an Affiliate of AQHA.

AQHA is indirectly responsible for the birth of this new program. The AIM Management Workshop Ruth McDonald-Gates attended in the spring of 2004 held a seminar of word association techniques. Her final "aim" for a project was to promote, serve, and respect the excellence of Quarter Horses by introducing the healing potential of working with horses to the victims of abuse, abandonment, neglect, family violence or parental drug/alcohol abuse. Combining that word association with the AQHA affiliation led to "Healing Hearts Through Horses". After a lengthy process of phone calls, red tape and ground work was finally completed, "Healing Hearts Through Horses" became a reality.

After speaking with the various groups throughout the state, one finds the statistics on the number of abused and neglected children startling. "Healing Hearts Through Horses" has been designed to try to make a difference in the lives of some of these abused and neglected children by introducing them to horses. The pilot program began in Great Falls with the help and cooperation of Eagle Mount Therapeutic Riding Program and the Great Falls Children's Receiving Home. Plans are to to expand this program to include scholarships and educational programs for children moving on from the home to foster care or group homes in hopes that they will make horses a part of their future. We hope to implement "Healing Hearts Through Horses" to a statewide level in the future.

An incredible amount of people who volunteered after hearing about the program attended a training session at the Eagle Mount barn to learn all of the precautionary measures that must be followed when working with the youth on the horses.

The first session at the Receiving Home brought out many volunteers --- not only adults, but also youth wanting to get involved and help. Instead of taking the children to the horses, the horses were taken to the children for starters. A pony, a burro and two horses were taken to the home. The children were taught the basics such as safety around horses, brushing, cleaning out hooves, etc. and then names were drawn for order to ride. After everyone had their turn, teenagers Garrett Barton and Austin Gates helped the children who wanted to try roping, toss their ropes at a steer dummy. They loved it! Other members of the youth association on hand to help were Baylie and Colton Barton and Megan and Dillon Wilhelms. Other volunteers took care of babies inside the home while the other children were with the horses. Each child was given a horse coloring book and a box of their "very own" color crayons. They were also tickled to receive AQHA pins, "I love Quarter Horses". Treats were served when all was completed. Basically the same thing has gone on with each visit as new children enter the home while others leave. One of the later sessions was making Christmas decorations from horseshoes and also more roping and of course cookies.

Pictures of the children with the horses are taken and printed at the home to give them as a keepsake of our visit. We are unable to use these pictures elsewhere due to confidentiality restrictions.

Santa will be making his way up to the home with his horse, not his reindeer, to deliver gifts for all of the children come Christmas Eve.

Plans are to also finish writing the manual on setting up and designing all aspects of a program such as this. We hope to have this completed in time to have copies made to take to the AQHA Affiliate Workshop in Amarillo in February as we strongly feel that we have come up with a program that other associations may want to consider starting. We feel very fortunate to have the help and guidance of Kathie Taylor, who is the compliance coordinator of the equestrian program for Eagle Mount. We are also very fortunate to have Lisa Barton providing horses for the children to ride and a burro to hug and a multitude of wonderful ideas. Also thanks go out to Pauline Schaff and her pony, Misty. Most of all, we send our gratitude to MBNA America for providing the funds for making this all possible.

Laura Bakker of Missoula is currently working on setting up a program there. If anyone else in the state is interested in starting the program in your area, please contact Ruth McDonald-Gates at 761-4163 or e-mail her at ruth@ruthjoy.com or Lisa Barton at wrnglr@earthlink.net or phone 454-8835.

Baylie - Pancho - Dillon

Misty and Pancho with some of the children

Garrett helping with roping a steer

Austin - Rock - Garrett

Austin and the steer

Baylie and Treasure

One of the children posing for their picture on "Rock".
Each of the children were given a picture of themselves on a horse.
Group pictures are being put in a scrapbook to keep at the home.

The children each decorated a horse shoe for Christmas

Joyce - Lisa - Garrett - Austin - Marilyn and some of the kids
Since the wind was so bad this day, we didn't feel it safe to bring horses, so we did other activities such as Austin & Garrett helping with roping outside while inside we were making horse ornaments at one end of the table and later frosting, decorating (and nibbling on) Christmas cookies at the other end of the table. (Ruth behind the camera, as usual)

THANK YOU

for your generosity in helping MQHA
make Christmas merrier
for the children at the
Great Falls Receiving Home!

Manuals on the Healing Hearts program are now available. It is felt that it will save any organization the hours of research and phone calls that we experienced while trying to set this program up. The cost (which is just to cover our cost), is $5.00 plus $2.00 shipping.
It is available in a hard copy or a CD with the craft pages printed to be included with the CD.

For information, call 406-761-4163 or 406-727-2921
or E-mail mqha@mqha.com

To order, please specify hard copy or CD
Make checks payable to MQHA
Mail to: MQHA - Attn: Healing Hearts
313 - 26th Street N.W.
Great Falls, MT 59404