Horses for Mental Health

About Horses for Mental Health

Horses for Mental Health centers its grantmaking on equine-assisted mental health services, with support flowing to organizations that use horses as partners in healing and personal growth. The foundation’s recent grants show that approach in practice: a $134,548 donation to Hooves in Swanton, Ohio, and an $88,534 grant to Abijahs on the Backside in St. Paul, Minnesota for mental health services. It also backs groups delivering veteran-focused programming, alongside partners that provide therapeutic services through horse-based activities. The pattern is not limited to one-off gifts. The recent grant list includes multiple awards to Abijahs on the Backside across different years, indicating continued support rather than a single visit. Other recipients include In the Herd Cape Cod in East Sandwich, Massachusetts; Forever Amber Acres in Medina, Ohio; and Reboot Hope in Marion, Texas. The organization’s stated focus areas also extend to peer-to-peer fundraising and awareness campaigns, research and outcomes measurement, training and certification, and program partner capacity building. As a public charity, Horses for Mental Health appears to channel most of its giving through direct support to program partners rather than individuals, consistent with its service-delivery orientation.

What Horses for Mental Health Funds

A central theme in Horses for Mental Health’s grantmaking is direct support for equine-assisted mental health programming. For example, it gave $45,000 to Abijahs on the Backside in St. Paul, Minnesota to provide mental health services, showing a focus on service delivery rather than general awareness alone. Veterans and military-support programming is another clear thread. The foundation awarded $25,657 to Healing Strides of VA in Boones Mill, Virginia, and $22,510 to Horses & Heroes in Shawnee, Kansas, both of which fit its veteran-oriented focus area. The foundation also supports organizations that combine horses with therapeutic or recovery-oriented work in local communities. Grants to Warhorse Ranch in Steamboat Spring, Colorado, and Smiling Goat Ranch in Carbondale, Colorado show that this support reaches multiple states and different partner organizations. Its stated priorities also include training, certification, professional standards, and research and evaluation, linking funding to program quality as well as service access.

How Horses for Mental Health Gives