EQUIP for Life Horse Therapy Program
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Quick READ - the WHY?
The EQUIP for Life horse therapy program lease will go up substantially in January 2024. The lease will be increased from $150/month for 5 acres to $1000/month for 1 acre with 2 new stipulations 1. we have to move infrastructure – round pen and 5 raised bed gardens with its fence and 2. We have to build a lengthy new fence to fence in the horses on the 1 acre. We need your help to raise $16000!
RECENT MEDIA
Prince George horse therapy program in need - Prince George Citizen
Hoofing toward health | Daybreak North with Carolina de Ryk | Live Radio | CBC Listen
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THE STORY with client testimonials, the horses, the team!
Field of Dreams
It was eight years ago this past summer that a location was found to offer horse therapy in downtown Prince George. YES, that is correct – downtown Prince George!!! Horse therapy was offered rurally until it was quickly noted as too far to travel for clients in need. The program had to move closer to the clients. The new downtown 5 acre farm location was ideal. The location at 1099 Porter Avenue, in the VLA (Veterans Land Act) was a neighbourhood that housed many Veterans and over time became the lowest income neighbourhood in Northern BC. Within a 5 acre field, a dream became reality, the new home for EQUIP for Life, a unique horse therapy program for vulnerable children, youth and families grew. Client referrals came from mental wellness agencies, doctors, psychiatrists, Ministry of Children and Family Development (adopted/ foster children and group home youth), homeschool families, Indigenous serving agencies and by word of mouth. The program grew to serve more and more children, youth, and families in need. We also started serving adults in need, parents of high-risk children as well as those suffering from addictions and homelessness. We added gardens to our program and started growing healthy food within the raised beds we built to share with clients at no cost. We started a collective healing process that we could not have imagined for so many in need of a new way to experience life, a relaxed way, a calm way, a balanced way, a free way without chaos, stress or imposed limitations. With each session, with the horses we offered only fresh breaths of expansion as we inhaled and bringing forward limitless potential as we exhaled.
Starting us off, a Co Op community grant of $20,000 helped us build the infrastructure required, a 28 foot in diameter yurt (a round dwelling). A yurt is a Mongolian nomadic home design that would be moved by tribes that traveled with their herds of cattle and horses on the Steppe. They are still used there today. Our yurt is a North Americanized version but is still beautiful, nonetheless.
The yurt was erected onsite by an amazing team of community volunteers. To facilitate moving the structure, it was first deconstructed by a team of generous men from the Prince George Activator Society. Activators offers a community volunteer program with the men they serve out of the provincial and federal correctional (prison) system. These men were proud to assist with deconstructing and moving this structure knowing it would be used to house and facilitate a program to help vulnerable children, youth and families in the VLA. The men each shared their stories about how they wished they had such a program as a child/youth or in their younger adult years which may have kept them away from criminal activity. These stories helped us realize the great value of the vision of planting seeds of hope with the horses.
The EQUIP for Life therapy horses belong to Catharine, the facilitator. Each horse has been chosen for his or her ability to instill confidence within the child, youth or adult that sits upon their back or stands with them to be groomed.
Catharine started her horse journey many decades ago. As a child, she had a pony named Misty and horse named Lady to ride along the eastern shores of Shepody Bay in New Brunswick. She experienced bliss while riding her equine partners alone, spending hours watching shore birds ebb and flow with tidal waters with no car traffic along a dusty old road. She brings these feelings forward today in hopes that every child/youth/adult in need can experience moments of such bliss – the quiet, peace and tranquility that horses offer as their peace filled presence is calming, relaxing and positively life giving.
Catharine’s credentials for horse therapy:
- Humber College, Ontario– Equine Facility Management/English and Western Coaching
- Seneca College, Ontario – Registered Animal Health Technician (Vet Technician/Nurse)
- Equine facility management in Canada and Australia in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry working alongside veterinarians.
- Vet Tech - SPCA hospital in Vancouver for 6 years working with 11 vets with small, large, exotic animals and wildlife.
- University of Northern BC - Wildlife Biology/First Nations Studies.
Complimentary Therapeutic Certifications - Animal Assisted Psychotherapy, Reiki, Neuro Linguistic Programing, Hypnotherapy, Thought Field Therapy, Matrix Energetics.
Ongoing: Glen Stewart Horsemanship
In 2009 Catharine was hired as a provincial government contractor by the Solicitor General on a project titled Prince George Community Assessment and Action Network (PGCAAN). PGCAAN was a youth gang prevention project. It was a community study to assess the supports available to youth, to sort out how best to assist youth entrenched in gang behaviour and how to prevent youth from participating in gangs in the first place. The data pointed towards not enough positive support programs for youth in Prince George to help youth make prosocial behaviour choices. Catharine started creating programs, the first was floor hockey – gang entrenched youth vs the RCMP, it was a successful and positive experience for all involved. Be it by fate, Catharine was invited by Connaught Youth Centre representatives to help create a nonprofit society to manage the Connaught Youth Centre. The non profit Connaught Youth Centre Society was born in 2010. From here Catharine started creating more prosocial programs for youth – after school club, youth drop in gymnastics, community kitchen and EQUIP for Life. EQUIP for Life is a unique horse therapy program located downtown Prince George, BC Canada.
HORSES IN THE HOOD - VIDEO - 37 sec - THERAPY HORSES ARRIVE
We are here - visit our website:
Our Program:
CYCS EQUIP for Life pamphlet
Our EQUIP for Life horse therapy team is small but mighty!
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS - WATCH THEM HERE! - WE ARE SO PROUD!
An 8min 13sec video compilation with some of our amazing clients! : )))
TO RIDE ON A HORSE IS TO FLY WITHOUT WINGS!
THE BAD!
PROPERTY CHANGES
In September 2023, the EQUIP for Life program team was informed of many changes to come – future property sale/unclear future and a massive lease increase. The EQUIP for Life program lease starting in January 2024 would go up substantially. The lease will be increased from $150/month for 5 acres to $1000/month for 1 acre with 2 new stipulations 1. we have to move infrastructure – round pen and 5 raised bed gardens with its fence and 2. We have to build a lengthy new fence to fence in the horses on the 1 acre.
Stop, Breathe, Rest and await your next steps!
“THERAPY HORSE SUNNY RELAXING” – VIDEO - 34 seconds
WATCH HERE!
THE HOPE!
We are very hopeful that the community of Prince George and beyond will get us through this tough time. We need immediate help to secure another year so we can fundraise further, access more successful grants and partner with a variety of Prince George agencies to contract fee for services so we can continue to offer no fee for services to the clients in need that are not connected to an agency.
We will require $16,000.
- $1000/month x 12 months
- $4000 for moving infrastructure, purchase of materials and building new fences
CYCS funding to date:
- To date CYCS has secured yearly BC Gaming funds for the EQUIP for Life program. On a yearly basis ,these funds have paid for one support staff, program liability insurances, horse transport fuel. partial lease costs and some equipment (ie. riding helmets etc.).
In kind support to date:
- On a yearly basis, to ensure success, Catharine dedicates her time, her therapy horses, their feed, training, farrier, health care, husbandry needs and horse transport vehicle including its yearly upkeep.
CYCS and the EQUIP for Life horse therapy program are seeking a community network of stakeholders to help us to continue to grow. There are plenty of ways to contribute:
- We envision LOCAL BUSINESSES that understand our vision of a safe and healthy community be willing to partner with us, to donate and in exchange we will advertise your business on our CYCS website.
- We envision LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS and BUSINESSES alike that are willing to provide their support in kind, as volunteers to build and support the infrastructure we require.
- We envision LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS and BUSINESSES alike invest by renting our CYCS gym and classroom facilities during available weekdays to help CYCS raise the revenue required to sustain our community programs that serve our city’s most vulnerable children, youth and families.
The EQUIP for Life program is sowing seeds of optimism!
Help us succeed! Help us help those in need!
Please donate!
THERAPY HORSE “GUS IS FREE” – VIDEO - 27 seconds
WATCH HERE!
THANK YOU!
TO A NEW START NOT AN END!
And who is Gordon "Bill" Neilson you might ask? Bill is a very active Director of Connaught Youth Centre Society. Bill was past CYCS President, retired CYCS Facility Manager. Bill continues to volunteer for CYCS like a super hero! A huge THANK YOU to Bill for assisting us to manage this gofundme!!! : )
Fundraising team: EQUIP for Life Team (3)
Connaught Youth Centre Society
Organizer
Prince George, BC
Gordon Neilson
Beneficiary
Kourtney Trudeau
Team member
Denise Rahn
Team member