Send a Disabled Child to Horse Therapy for a Year

Thank you all! We have just made the first big step towards our common goal, namely to help children with disabilities in Bulgaria receive regular horse therapy.

After a lot of consideration and negotiation Mina and Veronika became members of PATH Intr. PATH Intr stands for Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. This is an international organization found in 1969 in the US which ‘’is a global authority, resource and advocate for equine-assisted activities and therapies and the equines in this work that inspire and enrich the human spirit’’. The organization offers not only certification but continuing education for its members and professional enrichment. It also shares the same vision as The Paint and Quarter Horse Foundation Bulgaria that equine-assisted activities and therapies help individuals with special needs.

Mina and Veronika applied for the certification program to become Therapeutic Riding Instructors.  The program is divided into two parts and can last up to two year. Thanks to the funds from our campaign we were able to cover the costs of the memberships and the first part which includes a series of exams, First Aid/CPR certification and gathering of other documents. Unfortunately, we are still not able to afford entirely the second part of the program which involves spending a week at a PATH certified center, recording of our skills, and the certification itself. There is just a little bit more funding needed.

In the spirit of the upcoming Holidays we are hopeful that with the help of kind people like all of our contributors we will be able to gather the remaining 1078 $.

We wish everyone warm and happy Holidays filled with laughter, joy, and wonderful miracles!

Links:

• More about PATH International

The Paint and Quarter Horse Foundation Bulgaria is on the way of gathering many and valuable partners to its cause. The aim remains the same – to help children with disabilities benefit from a regular horse therapy.  

To be able to offer the best quality of horse therapy we have applied for professional certification in several places. We selected a number of organizations, mostly from Europe, which are qualified certifying bodies which our limited budget allows for. The application process is an important and time-consuming procedure that is undertaken as the quality of the knowledge acquired is our priority. In the process we have discovered that additional funding for completing an entire course will be mandatory. In any event, we are confident we will be trained to serve our community as much as we can.

For the time being we continue to work with as many children and adults in need as possible. That means working with the programs we are familiar with and focusing on mastering the knowledge we already have. Having practical experience is priceless and necessary condition for our project to succeed. Together with our friends and partners this campaign we will accomplish the goals we have set up.