HEARTS THERAPEUTIC EQUESTRIAN CENTER
Where Horses Help People
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Many people with disabilities fail to thrive in traditional therapeutic settings. For those with physical disabilities, physical therapy is often slow, tedious, and only works in certain areas of need. Those with emotional disabilities are sometimes overwhelmed by human interaction, and talk therapy can take years to impact someone's life. For individuals with intellectual disabilities, gains are often slow and challenging. We use equine-assisted programs to exercise the entire body and create an emotional bond with an equine that is safe and not overwhelming. Equine-assisted services are also fun, empowering, and exciting, encouraging individuals to participate actively and improve dramatically in a relatively short time.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Summer Camp at Hearts
Summer Camp at Hearts offers a safe equine experience for children, ages 6-10. This unique learning experience includes grooming and tacking, horsemanship and riding, art, science and lots of fun! Riders are grouped according to age and ability to ensure that everyone has an unforgettable week. Both non-disabled children and children with special needs attend these camps.
Therapeutic Riding Program
Weekly lessons are individually designed to capitalize upon a rider’s capabilities while improving areas of impairment. For physically challenged riders, therapeutic results include an increased ability to sit, stand or walk unassisted as well as improved coordination, flexibility, circulation, and general health. Riders with cognitive challenges improve in attention span, ability to follow directions, communication skills, and a greater ability to process auditory and visual information. Those with behavioral or emotional challenges demonstrate better control of their emotions and behavior, improved relationships, and greater self esteem. Horseback riding is an exhilarating and motivating experience that enhances our riders’ overall happiness, health and quality of life.
Veterans Program
Equine Services for Heroes provides Veteran participants with an opportunity to build camaraderie, be of service to fellow Veterans and the community, and to experience a challenging physical activity. This program also helps to address the challenges of PTSD and re-assimilation into civilian life. Equine Services for Heroes is a weekly program for U.S. Veterans. All participants are U.S. Veterans from all military branches, including the Coast Guard, with an age range of 25 to 85 years. Hearts is currently collaborating with Veterans Treatment Court and New Beginnings Counseling Center to reach more Veterans. There are now 12 active participants in the program. Veterans participate at no cost to them, so Hearts must fundraise for the entire cost.
Therapeutic Horsemanship
Hearts uses Equine-Facilitated Learning (EFL) and Equine-Facilitated Psychotherapy (EFP) in its therapeutic horsemanship program to provide at-risk or special needs youth with positive, therapeutic learning experiences through unmounted work with horses under the guidance of a trained mental health professional. These programs promote the development of essential life skills such as communication, trust, compassion, and honesty, by working alongside an equine partner to ultimately achieve increased self-awareness.
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults, Seniors, People with disabilities, At-risk youth
Related Program
Therapeutic Riding Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
*Our volunteer numbers in 2020 reflect a lower amount of individual than usual because of limitations caused by the pandemic.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Veterans, People with disabilities, Adults, Seniors
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of veterans with PTSD served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Veterans
Related Program
Veterans Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We empower Santa Barbara County residents with physical, cognitive, behavioral, or emotional challenges due to injury, age, illness, or disability. Working with horses significantly improves these individuals' physical and mental capacities, relationships, self-esteem, and overall health while enhancing their enjoyment of life.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Hearts uses the power of the horse to enhance the capabilities and quality of life for children and adults with special needs. The complex act of riding a horse produces significant improvements in core/trunk strength, alignment, balance, stamina, and mobility that other therapeutic means cannot achieve. Connecting with and riding horses also improves the ability to focus, verbal and non-verbal communication, socialization, mood, and confidence.
Hearts individually designs its weekly lessons to capitalize upon a rider's capabilities while improving areas of impairment. For physically challenged riders, therapeutic results include an increased ability to sit, stand or walk unassisted as well as improved coordination, flexibility, circulation, and general health. Riders with mental challenges improve attention span, ability to follow directions, communication skills, and an increased ability to process auditory and visual information. Those with emotional challenges demonstrate better control of their emotions and behavior, improved relationships, and greater self-esteem. Working alongside horses is an exhilarating and motivating experience that enhances our riders' overall happiness, health, and quality of life. In addition to our weekly lesson program, Hearts offers summer horse camps that integrate non-disabled children and those with disabilities.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Founded in 1985, Hearts has been providing therapeutic horseback riding and horsemanship activities to disabled individuals aged 4-90 for over 33 years. We have an extensive volunteer program and are committed to humane treatment and excellent care of equines who may be older, but are healthy and able to maintain productive lives as therapeutic horses. Hearts staff and volunteers are committed to providing exceptional services to increase the overall wellness of individuals with disabilities, U.S. military veterans, and at-risk youth.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2017, Santa Barbara County notified Hearts of its intention to create a permanent debris disposal site on the land that Hearts occupied, which the County owned. A new County-owned 3.5-acre site was identified adjacent to and up the hill from Hearts’ location. In 2018, Hearts launched a capital campaign to move its home of 23 years. The new facility was completed in October 2021, with programs operational shortly after that.
In 2022, Hearts will:
* Provide therapeutic riding to 20 weekly participants.
* Provide Equine Services for Heroes to 11 U.S. Veterans free of charge.
* Provide six week-long summer camps serving 67 unduplicated children.
* Provide tuition reductions to qualified low-income individuals.
* Provide group equine-facilitated learning programs.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
HEARTS THERAPEUTIC EQUESTRIAN CENTER
Board of directorsas of 08/04/2022
Mr. Thom Bateman
Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center
Term: 2017 -
Sandy Lovett
Thom Bateman
Barrett Reed
Andrew Wilson
Trey Evans
Linda Khacheck
Bob Manning
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data