EDITED TO ADD: Sharp-eyed readers have pointed out that the study cites are now linking to 404 pages, casting the existence of the study in doubt. Fifteen years does seem like a lot, doesn’t it?
Women who own horses live on average 15 years longer than women who don’t. The study generating this finding compared horsey women with non-horsey women in three US locations. So let’s all go out and get a horse (and do our granny hobbies on horse back). We’ll live forever… or maybe not.
Women who own horses are generally physically active, but they also tend to be able-bodied, white, blessed with abundant free time, and quite well off. Horses are wonderful, ridin’ buddies can be a great social outlet, and exercise is good for us, but one of the strongest links in terms of health care is: the wealthier you are, the healthier you tend to be. (See cortisol, food deserts, lousy and insufficient sleep, lack of access to preventive medicine, on and on and on…)
To keep horses properly takes a ton of money. Fast forward to the therapeutic riding conference I attended earlier this month, and to a packed session on fundraising–so packed the presenter had to give it again the next day in a larger room. If an adaptive riding barn can earn even 30% of its operating budget through lesson revenue, that’s considered outstanding.
The entire rest of the budget is a matter of charitable donations. Older horses who will tolerate riders who yell, wiggle, slouch, and move spastically can require a lot of maintenance. The riders themselves often need specialized equipment to be safe in the saddle. We were all at that session hoping for the magic words, the hot new grant-funding source, the emerging lucrative demographic.
Oh, well. The presentation, along with a lot of great practical advice, included a plea for each barn to examine not only its budget, but its wealth. The speaker asked us to think about our assets in the broadest sense. I know one program director who can look at the skinniest, mud-coated, burr-matted old pasture ornament, toss on some tack, and within five minutes, spot a platinum-mounted therapeutic riding diamond in the rough. She just has that gift. Horses are honest with her.
Another riding buddy has the ability to make every person who walks into the barn feel as if they–of all people–just made the day better for the whole barn because they bothered to show up for their lesson–again! This lady has the gift of a welcoming heart.
Another barn buddy knows exactly how to get the most out her volunteers, while they are having the time of their lives.
From a fundraising standpoint, an organization that appreciates all the intangible wonders in its treasure chest is going to inspire the kind of warmth and connection that eventually can result in monetary generosity. I know fundraising isn’t as simple as, “Make your barn a happy place!” but an adaptive riding barn full of prima donnas and perfectionists is doomed.
I have been given permission to try writing grant applications for my adaptive riding community. I love to write, I understand grants and proposals, and I believe in the benefits that horses bring to riders challenged by disabilities. I am not wealthy enough 
to just buy all the things for all the deserving therapeutic riding programs, but I am wealthy in my ability to write, so I’m off to frolic in my treasure chest!
How do you make your barn–your book club, your neighborhood, your home–a happy place?
PS: Speaking of abundance… For the month of December, I’ve added several holiday titles to the web store’s freebie page, including both ebook and audio tales. Please spread the word! (And if anybody knows of any special needs/horse riding foundations…)
I am the co chair of my dog clubs Ways and Means- I order embroidered items- sweatshirts, jackets, raincoats, towels& tote bags. The profits help with the cost of our Specialty. Each year we have a new logo so it’s fun to research items and have friends wear them.
This year I am helping to host a welcome party at the Specialty- we’ve got a good committee-everyone is working together- we want to bring all members together for a fun time.
I guess I am good at listening, organizing and figuring out what people like.
That “fun time” objective strikes me as a winner! (We raise money with logo wear at our barn too. Never have I had such an abundance of T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps…)
I cannot comment on your actual question as I am a total loner. But I wanted to thank you for the 3 free ebooks I was able to get. I’m number one on the library hold list for “A Kiss for Hope” but it’s still showing as “On order.” I will be patient.
Keep an eye on your in-box. I’ve sent a Bookfunnel linky-poo.
And as I think about your comment… my house is my retreat, and I make it a happy, peaceful place for me largely by keeping other people out of it. I get plenty of human interaction elsewhere, but one of the things the house offers that I get almost nowhere else is real solitude. Thus fortified, I can sally forth and impersonate an extrovert… a quiet extrovert, but a friendly one. Sometimes.
My sister has horses, so maybe some of her extended life will settle on me! She fosters horses and also participates in a program that introduces special needs children to mini horses. Since they own about 100 acres (her yankee husband calls it a ranchette) and have a barn they don’t have to pay to stable elsewhere.
As far as making the area a happy place, all you have to do is smile, wave, and be friendly to all you encounter.
That was my mom’s theory, and she ended up with bazillions of friends.
A side-effect of a life spent from childhood into adulthood traveling through or living in 22 countries on 4 continents is the habit of wandering up to total strangers, smiling, & testing my communication, if not linguistic skills. As a result, my dad used to tease me that there were no strangers to me, only friends I hadn’t met yet. That seems to have carried over into late adulthood so that I know all the staff at my doctors offices down to the out of state billing clerk, people on my street, etc. I get a ton of phone calls, emails & texts starting with, “Do you know someone in X?” or “How do I Y?” (Insert obscure craft, art, or technique here).
One of my prized possessions is a glorious piece of framed calligraphy in both English & Arabic gifted to me by someone who paid me the great compliment of calling me a bridge between cultures. Seems we could use a lot more of that these days.
I credit my father, who circumnavigated the globe 6 times in the days when his paper charts often had huge white blank spaces marked UNEXPLORED. He was tasked with charting routes the military would later use. In my childhood, I never knew what clothing, food, or language would walk through our door & welcome.
He taught me that everyone on the planet pretty much wanted the same thing: a solid house, decent clothes, plenty to eat, & safety for their families. Anything more, in his words, was, “Manmade stupidity who gets in the way of what we’re put here to do. If it’s naked, clothe it. If it’s hungry, feed it. If it needs a house, build one. If it’s lonely, love on it. That pretty much sums up the instructions of the world’s great religions. Dunno why idiots insist on fighting over it.”
Those of us who are part of non-profit organizations can relate to all that you said. It’s also helpful to trade ideas. While reading your blog, I thought of a local Girl Scout leader years ago who turned a horsey by-product, a lot of it, into camping funds. They advertised their once a year manure fertilizer sale and then commenced to shoveling/bagging up the pile built over the year from cleaning out the barns. Gardeners got a great product, the barn was pile-free for a short while and the girls got to experience the joy of camping with little out-of-pocket expense. Win-Win-Win! Thanks for the freebies. I’m checking my kindle shelf next.
My main social support interaction is fixing meals and delivering them. The happy factor comes from my being happy to be doing what I am doing. It affects the facial expression, tone of voice, that sort of thing, so people can see it, feel it, and receive that message along with the meal. Does that make sense? I feel it’s true a strong percentage of the time.
Dear Grace,
I wrote to you a while back about my horse, a rescued OTTB and you were kind enough to gift me a free book. I wanted to thank you for your page of freebies which have come at the best time. Just before Thanksgiving I had to let my 30 year old boy go over the rainbow bridge. I’m heartbroken but know it was best for him. So thanks for the free books that will lighten up my dark and sad days.
Wishing you the best holiday season.
Warmly,
Kim
I taught therapeutic riding for a year after retiring from my career in special education. Loved helping the kids and being around horses. There are a couple in southern NJ near where I live:
Equine Assisted Therapy of NJ in Mannington and Therapeutic Riding-South Jersey at the DREAM Park in Logan Township.
One of my deepest wishes from the are of 9 is to own a horse! The wish lives in my dreams,now. Oh how fortunate you are and have been in your life to live with owning a horse! Lucky you! Maybe in the next life?