In this post, I'd like to share with you a part of my life that is very dear to me. For those of you who don't know me personally, so therefore are unaware, this blog is not my job. I do not write to earn a living (although it would be crazy awesome to get paid for writing!) I write because there are these words inside of me that demand to be expressed. I write for the pure delight of it, though there are moments in the process that aren't all that delightful.
I love to write, but again, writing isn't my job. My job is far different (although I don't get paid to do this either...) I am Co-Founder and Executive Director at Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch. Have you ever heard of it? If not, no worries. The point of this blog post is to share the heart of the ranch with you.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch is a non profit organization that strives to provide a safe environment that facilitates the emotional healing of youth using the therapeutic nature of horses. We are a fairly new organization, so we're still very much in the learning stages. It was in the spring of 2011 that Rescued Hearts became an official non profit.
We started with my two personal horses and our herd quickly grew to six. We haven't done any major advertising, people find out about us mostly through word of mouth. A friend of a friend of a friend told so and so… you know how that works. In the past three and a half years we've been amazed at the number of people we've been privileged to meet. We have kids come from ages six to eighteen and we love all the new friends we've made. It is both humbling and inspiring to see how many lives have been impacted already.
Today's kids and youth have so many opinions thrown at them from every side about who they should be, what they should pursue, how they should dress, etc. They're bombarded through the media with images of what "perfection" looks like and then they're made to feel inferior and as if they don't matter when they don't measure up to these standards. They're left feeling unappreciated, unwanted, and unloved.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
At Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch we believe differently and we desire to express this to these youth. We believe that every person matters and that it's their own personal brand of unique that makes them so beautiful. Our main goal in serving these youth is to reach those places deep inside where those hurts linger and cover them with love and acceptance. We want every person who leaves the ranch to walk away with the knowledge that they are both wanted and valued, that this world needs them simply because they're them.
At this time we have two programs we use to reach our goals. The first is our FreeRein Program, which is designed as individual appointments with no pre-set agenda. In this program we use what we call our one-on-one-on-one training. One youth. One horse. One mentor. These sessions are based on the uniqueness of each individual.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
The second program is our HoofBeats Program, which is more of group sessions although it can be done individually. When we go into other organizations, such as the Boys&Girls Club, this is the program we use. If you're interested in the generalized outline for this program, please feel free to contact me for it.
These are our main programs at this time and we're continually tweaking them to improve the effectiveness of what we do. Instead of focusing on producing accomplished riders, our focus is on cultivating strong youth.
I'd like to give you a brief history on our four-legged staff. Without these guys, we wouldn't be able to do what we do.
First we have Otis, who happens to be our only gelding. He's a 15year old Thoroughbred whom I've had for the past 12 years. Otis is very easy going and makes friends with everyone who comes out to the ranch. He has raced at least once in his life which we know because he has a tattoo on his upper lip. Otis can be very energetic, loving to run and jump. One of his greatest qualities is his sensitivity to each new friend he makes.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Next we have Myra, who hasn't been separated from her pal, Otis, for the past 12 years. Myra was very wary of humans when she came into my life as a 3 year old. She is an Arabian/Appaloosa mix with attitudes to match both breeds. When I first met her she showed signs of abuse by not wanting anyone to go near her ears, which made haltering and bridling a struggle. It also led to her having a more cautious nature when coming into contact with strangers. She's the type of horse whose trust isn't just given, but must be earned.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Next we have Cinnamon, whom we call Nami. She's a Quarter Horse, whose age is unknown to us. Nami participated in several 4-H activities with her teenage rider. When it was time for college, the young lady contacted us in hopes that we could give Nami a new purpose in life. She seems quite content in her new role at the ranch. She's often called upon for participants who are more timid with horses. Her willingness to stand still while being groomed and go at a slow pace while working have given her the title of our gentle giant.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Now we have Kali. Kali is our one and only rescue horse, whose breed and age are both unknown. We were contacted by her previous owner who was going to be moving and didn't want to take Kali with her. If we were unable to keep her, Kali's next stop would've been the horse auction. Because of an injury on her right hind leg, the likelihood of her being purchased was slim to none so she most likely would have been put down. She has been a positive addition to our staff because of the love she so freely shares with her two legged friends. We hope to be able to rescue more horses in the future.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Now we have our ponies. First there's Millie, who's a 3 year old beauty. When we first started working with Millie, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with us. She was constantly bolting from us in the pasture, refusing to be caught. After much patience and persistence on our end, she came to trust us enough to allow us near her. Now, she's the first one at the gate whenever anyone's around her pasture. She's not yet trained to be ridden, but she absolutely loves being groomed and the center of attention.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
For our last equine friend, we have our smallest staff member, Gypsy. She is also 3 years old and is probably our most ornery equine. She's been found wandering around outside while all the others are tucked into their stalls. She loves to go exploring, though thankfully she's never tried to leave us. She's never had the aversion to humans that Millie did, she's always loved having attention lavished on her. Gypsy is also not trained to be ridden, but like her sister, she loves to be groomed and have you give her rubs and hugs.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Horses aren't the only members of our four legged staff at the ranch, though. We also have our faithful pooch, Samson. He's a bundle of energy packed into the body of a 2 year old chocolate labrador. He's the first one to greet any and all visitors to the ranch. He's known for lavishing his love and kisses on all who pay attention to him. If you're not paying attention to him, he will try his hardest to change that. He loves to run and play with all the youth who come. His favorite games are fetch and tug-of-war. He's also quite fond of wrestling. And if you happen to sit down somewhere, beware! This guy doesn't understand that he, in fact, is not a lap dog….
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
While working on writing this post, I knew I wanted to be sure to include a "how you can help" portion so that you, the readers, could be more aware of some of the ranch's needs. One of the biggest is volunteers.
You do not have to be a "horse person" for us to want you. There are many areas in which to volunteer. A few would be: Greeting everyone who comes to the ranch, working in the office, joining our prayer team, photography during the sessions. If you are a horse person, we need volunteers for: grooming the horses or doing morning and evening chores. There's always the up-keep and general ranch maintenance too. If you'd be interested in working with the youth without the horse involved, we can use you in that area as well. We also need people willing to be mentors who work with both horse and youth. For anyone interested in volunteering please be sure to get in contact with us because we would love to have you join our team.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
As a non profit, Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch depends on the generous contributions of people like you to operate and maintain it's program and facilities. Everyone has something to offer. If you're wanting to help but are unable to volunteer, the ranch has other needs as well, such as material donations (hay, tack, grooming supplies, medicinal supplies, etc.) and financial donations.
From the very beginning of RHYR we knew that we didn't want finances to stand in any youth's way of participating in our programs. There are so many things that they are already unable to be a part of due to the cost and we didn't want the ranch to be another one to add to that list. We want to help remove any hindrances we can that would keep a youth from coming to RHYR. Because of this reason, all of Rescued Hearts' programs and services are free of charge. No initial costs, no hidden fees, no financial surprises. It's 100% free.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
So how do we stay open, you wonder? As previously stated, we rely on people's generosity and financial support of the ranch. We also do research into grants that we can apply for, as well as doing fundraising. If there are any people reading this who have helpful knowledge or advice on applying for grants or profitable fundraisers, please contact us. These are areas that we ourselves are not proficient in. We're slowly learning through research, but we would be glad to accept any help you may be willing to give. If you have some advice, please contact us through one of the ways listed below:
- a comment on this blog post
- a comment/message through our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rescuedheartsyouthranch)
- a message through the contact forum on our website (www.rescuedheartsyouthranch.weebly.com)
- a personal email (rescuedheartsyr@gmail.com)
To any of you who will help us in this area, THANK YOU! You have no idea how much of a blessing you may be to us. As I said, we're slowly learning, but there is so much data and information to sift through that it can be a daunting task at times. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
Another really great and easy way for you to help us is simply by spreading the word. Let people know we're here. Share our contact info. If you know of a youth whom you think could benefit from our programs, please send them our way.
Word of mouth really is effective. Because of it, this past summer we were presented with another way to reach youth. We somehow made it on the list of approved organizations for youth to do their community service at, through no effort on our part. We had three separate occasions arise where we were contacted by a teenager who needed to fulfill their hours of community service. One only did an hour with us, another did a couple hours, and the third did 18 hours with us. It was incredible! Getting our name on the approved list never even entered my mind because I honestly didn't even know they had lists like that, so it was both baffling and amazing when we were suddenly being sought out because of it. So please, spread the word.
One of the first things people want to know when they talk with me about the ranch is how it came to be. How and why did Rescued Hearts get started?
There are numerous accounts of the benefits of using a horse's therapeutic nature to reach hurting people. For instance, a child who was mute because of a traumatic life experience speaking for the first time again to a horse. Kids who have felt rejected feeling the joy of being chosen by a horse. We ourselves have seen kids who were part of a suicide pact choose life instead. We've seen the transformation that happens as angry and hardened groups of youth learn to care about one another while at the ranch.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
In my own life, it was my horses that helped me survive my teenage years. Though I grew up in a loving, two-parent home I still often felt misunderstood. I struggled with feelings of being unwanted and of having a very low self-esteem. When I got my horses though, things began to change inside of me. I began to feel a sense of worth, a new feeling of confidence that came from spending time with them and being good at it. Otis and Myra had no expectations of me beyond me loving them. They had no pressures on me to be anyone other than who I was. I didn't have to jump through hoops to be accepted by them, they were simply always happy to have me with them because I was me. They were my angels in horsehair. I fully believe God used horses to help keep me from traveling the many dangerous paths that are laid before young people today.
There's this series of commercials that comes to mind when I think back on my teen years with Otis and Myra. In these commercials you always see a teen being offered something unhealthy for them, some sort of drug or alcoholic beverage. Peer pressure is thick for these teens to give in and accept what's being handed to them. But the youths do something different, they say "no" and walk away. Then the commercial changes and you see them laughing while doing something they love. The commercial ends with a blank screen that has the words "music is my drug" or "art is my drug" or "photography is my drug" etc. I think of this because, for me, the commercial would've ended with, "Horses are my drug." With them I found acceptance, self-confidence, dreams for my future, deep bonds of friendship, and pure love.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
This is why we choose to use horses. This is why Rescued Hearts was formed. This is the vision that our board members and our staff have caught hold of. To bring hurting youth in contact with angels who have four legs and are covered in horsehair. To give them the opportunity to be impacted and loved by a horse. That through a relationship with a horse, they can come to possess some much needed attributes - respect, patience, self-confidence, kindness, teamwork - these are just a few of the many we could name. I know how greatly horses changed my own life. We want to extend that same possibility to every youth we come in contact with. Because they're worth it. This is my heart… they are my heart.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this post detailing the heart of our ranch. I'm both humbled and grateful to share this part of my life with you.
*Photo credit - Rescued Hearts Youth Ranch
