Nonprofits throughout our region work to improve the quality of life for people who have been diagnosed with a disease—whether cancer, Parkinson’s, Fanconi anemia, Alzheimer’s or any number of other diseases. 

Veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, children with physical disabilities like cerebral palsy or development disabilities like Down syndrome, adults with Multiple Sclerosis, teens with behavioral issues. Day-to-day life for each of these groups of individuals can present a unique set of challenges ranging from how they are able to build relationships and communicate with others to how they are able to physically navigate the world. However, there is also a common bond that can connect these communities. Each of these groups has been proven to benefit from equine therapy.

Simply by virtue of living in remote areas, Rural Americans are often grossly underserved in the area of health care. Rural Americans make up about 20 percent of the U.S. population, and they face many barriers to the availability of and access to quality health care, which can be rooted in a variety of areas, including economic, social, ethnic, racial and geographic factors.