Seeking to help refugees of the Ukrainian conflict, the board of San Diego Therapeutic Horsemanship, which is based at Driftwood Ranch in the Tijuana River Valley, reached out to Catholic Charities, a nonprofit working with refugees at the Mexico-U.S. border. Another nonprofit, Tijuana River Valley Equestrian Association (TRVEA), which also operates from Driftwood Ranch, will also be participating.
“The therapeutic opportunity that we offer with the horses promotes mindfulness,” says Francesa Buitenkant, San Diego Therapeutic Horsemanship Program Supervisor. “The focus on the horse gives people a break from trauma. We work with veterans, but also have a program that serves youth who are victims of crime or abuse, living in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or grieving the loss of a family member. This is why we wanted to extend this program to the refugee families. It’s what we do. We hope our equine activities can help these families also.”
During the event on June 18 the participating families will meet some of the horses who live at Driftwood, have their pictures taken with them, and make a souvenir frame (one per family) and a horse necklace (for anyone who would like to make one). A farrier will also give a shoeing demonstration, and a roper will let kids try their hand at roping a calf replica. The day will end with a barbecue and a presentation by the girls’ riding team Escaramuza Realeza Charra at 4 pm.
San Diego Therapeutic Horsemanship is a Southern California non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides therapeutic equine assisted services to military veterans, and children and adults with disabilities and special needs. Its therapeutic horsemanship-based programs help improve the physical, cognitive, and social wellbeing of its clients. The organization’s services are tailored to each participant and incorporate the use of specially trained horses and expertly planned sessions.
Founded in San Diego’s East County in 2001, San Diego Therapeutic Horsemanship moved to the Tijuana River Valley near Imperial Beach in 2015. It is the only Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) organization with certified riding instructors within a 30-mile radius of southern San Diego County.
San Diego Therapeutic Horsemanship has provided specially tailored horse-based programs at no cost to more than 150 veterans in the last five years.
About Equine Therapy:
Horses are hyper-alert to their surroundings and hyper-reactive to potential threats. They like to be in a herd where all are watching for threat dangers. Not only do they watch their surroundings, but they are extremely good at “reading” anxiety in the humans around them as another indicator of threats in the area. They can detect fear, anxiety and anger in humans that no other human or animal can.
This ability to detect anxiety in humans is what allows the horse to “teach” victims of trauma how they can self-manage their internal anxiety levels. Feedback from the horse provides the person an immediate indication of their own anxiety levels. Being able to manage this anxiety provides recipients of equine therapy a huge boost in self-confidence.
