The Hoofbeat Newsletter

Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center honors U.S. military veterans by offering Equine Services for Heroes. Equine Services for Heroes provides an opportunity to build camaraderie, be of service to fellow Veterans and the community, and experience a challenging physical activity. Equine Services for Heroes is a weekly program. 

For the remainder of the year, we are bringing the ranch to you through videos showcasing our therapeutic programs, introducing you to our rockstar horses, and sharing inspiring stories from participants.

Since our horses are taking a well-deserved break, we thought this was also a great time to celebrate each of them! We couldn't do our work without them, so here's a shoutout to the individual equines that make Hearts what it is today - and to the fantastic folks who sponsor them.

Hearts began its first phase of reopening at the beginning of this month. We plan to continue taking this transition very slowly and carefully so we can keep our staff, volunteers, and participants safe and healthy. We are following guidelines for social distancing, cleaning, and sanitizing set forth by Santa Barbara County.

Our programs are now modified to allow for lower-risk operations, including lessons provided to independent riders in the therapeutic riding program, Equine Services for Heroes, and most recently our summer camp, which is run in conjunction with SB Parks & Recreation. Our staff is evaluating our policies and procedures daily and making any necessary adjustments to keep our participants safe and healthy.

The staff at Hearts has worked hard to put together a plan for resuming some of our programs. While we are anxious and excited to begin inviting participants back to the ranch, we must keep everyone's health and safety at the forefront of our planning. We will be following guidelines for social distancing, cleaning, and sanitizing set forth by Santa Barbara County.

$2.5 million grant from the National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development, will fund a randomized 5-year-study to look into the physiology of why therapeutic horseback riding produces such positive results in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

With Thanksgiving only a few days away, the staff at Hearts is reflecting upon our many blessings. We are grateful for our herd of 18 specially trained horses, for our enthusiastic participants and our kindhearted donors. It seems an impossible endeavor, but we must also try to express the extent of our gratitude for our invaluable volunteers. Without our 110 dedicated volunteers, Hearts lessons would not be possible. Our volunteers come from diverse backgrounds but they share a common thread, their devotion to the participants and horses at Hearts.

This year instead of the Pegasus Luncheon at the Coral Casino, we've partnered with NIGHTOUT to create an online Pegasus Drive.

Hearts hosted its annual Barn Dance fundraising event on Saturday, May 11th, 2019 at the Carriage and Western Art Museum in Santa Barbara. Guests enjoyed a live band, dinner, dancing, and a silent and live auction.

Hearts riders took home the gold at The Annual Student Horse Show. Participants of all ages showcased their reining and horsemanship skills before a captive audience.