Saturday, December 8, 2012

Holiday Horse Giving - Part 1: The Charities

I have been so pickled and excited about this blog post! And now it's here. Yay.

I have definitely broke the bank this December on horse products because of all the totally awesome deals going on between Black Friday up till 12/25. So far, I have bought one dressage saddle pad, one all purpose saddle pad, a new hunter bridle and a new dressage bridle. All for >60% off!

Regardless of my shallow shopping, I also like to throw money at charities this time of year. Specifically, I appreciate getting donations to my favorite charities as gifts. And I like to give donations to charities as gift. I present to you this giving and receiving season, three charities that I think are super cool. I have donated to each of these organizations over the past year and can vouch for them all.



I am so thrilled to present a new horse charity that I just discovered, of all places, in my profession's magazine "PA Professional". I am a physician assistant. My main job is in heart and lung surgery, assisting in surgeries. However, I financially support my horse habit by filling in at the Veterans Administration, providing medical care in the Emergency Department. Therefore, I feel quite an affinity with Horse Rhythm Foundation. Horse Rhythm Foundation was founded by Sahika Riley - a physician assistant with an impressive bio - to provide equine therapy to veterans as well as other first responders. I can't even look at their website without crying. Their mission statement is:

Horse Rhythm Foundation (HRF) is committed to excellence by offering highly specialized Equine Assisted Services (EAS), Outdoor Therapies (OT), and Wellness for Veterans, First Responders and their families suffering from war time afflictions, mental health disorders, and physical disabilities. The foundation provides EAS and OT in an effort to bridge the gap between traditional healing methodologies and true whole-being wellness of the mind, body, and spirit. HRF will provide a transitional and wellness center as a broad-based collaborative community initiative for Veterans and First Responders while undergoing these therapies.

Horse Rhythm Foundations is who I will be donating to this year in honor of my family. You can donate too by going to their giving page here. They offer a lot of different donation options from monthly packages to needed services and goods. I am thinking of sponsoring a Veteran/First Responder for a six week therapy session. Their option of donating to the wheel chair accessible carriage is another excellent and creative donating route. This would be a great donation gift for me - hint, hint Mom!

Cottonwood Cash
  
This absolutely beautiful gelding with an amazing coat and perfect ears is Mr. Cottonwood Cash, or just Cash. He is a three year old bay gelding who is being rehabilitated from his original racing schooling by my friend Jessica of Spotty Horse blog. Jessica co-founded Northern California Racehorse Re-education Alliance. Cash is currently accepting cash to help fund his re-education, room and board, carrots, and cookies. He is chilling out in west Sonoma County, which can be an expensive place for a horse to call home! You too can help provide Cash with extra large carrots, butterscotch snaps, and peppermints here.

KISS Horse Center's DRAFT HORSE DRILL TEAM
Now I just love a drill team. But I really, really, really love a draft horse drill team. Like really. KISS' moto is "Make your butt look smaller...ride a draft horse." This drill team rides together in order to promote awareness for horse rescue. And they do it all on draft horses! And all the draft horses are rescued! This is them doing their thing. Not to be a show off or anything, but I was totally at this performance.


 You can donate to these amazing draft performers here.


In Holiday Horse Giving - Part 2: The Giveaway! you can win some super snazzy and useful items for you and the ole' bag o' bones....just kidding. You can win some super shweet product and tools for your equine buddy! 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment