Blog
Healing Hearts Breakfast 2019
Thanks to all those who joined us for the Healing Hearts Breakfast on October 2nd! This event raises critical funds that help us provide scholarships for youth & veterans, and we so grateful for the $20,000 raised this year. This support will immediately and directly benefit ANT’s participants this Fall quarter, which include children as young as 5 years old. Those present were lucky enough to hear a powerful testimony from a young man whose experience with our horse Abby has changed the course of his life. When he finished speaking, there was not a dry eye in the house. Former Board Member & current school counselor Christa Shaw shared the impact of [...]
Finding Balance with New Horizons
Today with Visions (teen girls in substance abuse recovery), we rode horses for the first time with the current group of girls. One young woman, working with Rusty, vocalized that she was very nervous about getting on a horse. While she loves Rusty and enjoys spending time with him, she felt daunted by the experience. We talked about how important it is to share our feelings with our horse, and to be honest about our fear, because they can sense it. We don’t want to hide our anxiety from our partner, because then they can’t support us in the ways we need (a good lesson for life). Before we got the young woman mounted, she stood next [...]
Bunny Breakthrough at Silverado
Tails from the field! We arrived at Silverado with 3 rabbits, a chicken, and Gabby the Golden Retriever in tow, a rather eclectic parade to see walking the halls of a memory care facility. We made our way to the Sensory Room and fanned out, scattering the critters around to visit each resident. I brought Carolyn, one of our teen volunteers, and Skeeter the Rabbit over to see *Eileen, a long-time resident at Silverado. Eileen* is always in a happy mood, but never touches or even looks at the animals. She is mostly non-verbal, but very expressive with her face and body language, and we enjoy seeing her when we visit. Today, Eileen had her [...]
Mobile ANT Summer Update
Tails from the field! Mobile ANT stays busy during the summer, visiting our elder friends around Whatcom County. A perk of summertime visits is that more young people get involved, enjoying their vacation from school. Right now we have a great team of families who join us to share the animals with seniors, and we love getting to know the young people who are excited about giving back to their community. Mobile ANT is a wonderful experience for all ages, so if you’re interested in getting involved, make sure to scroll down to the bottom for a link! “Oh this is so nice. Thank you for bringing these beautiful animals to see me.” ~ Silverado [...]
Horse Wisdom – Adult Equine Therapy
Animals as Natural Therapy’s horse herd invites you on an inward journey. With the horses’ highly intuitive equine wisdom they offer new insights into your authentic self and next steps. What You'll Get With the horses’ highly intuitive equine wisdom, they offer new insights into your authentic self and next steps. This workshop integrates the horse’s body language into our awareness, and our expert facilitators will assist each participant in grounding, releasing, playing with your inner child, and practicing gratitude, alongside the horse. Facilitators Include Sonja Wingard, BSN: ANT Co-founder & Instructor; Lorna Shepardson, M.A.: Mental Health Counselor; Kirsten Koel: Founder of Earthpowerment; & Rachel Billingsley: Intuition Coach at Evolve [...]
Barnyard Bash 2019
This year’s summer Barnyard Bash was held Saturday, July 13th at Windy Acres Farm, and welcomed nearly 180 guests! Highlights included Mallard Ice Cream, talented face painters, interactive horse demonstrations, rabbit play pen, and a rousing game of tug-o-war in the round pen! For this year’s Barnyard Bash, we decided to offer guests an opportunity to experience what an equine session is like at ANT! We featured two of our senior therapy horses, Sir & Patriot, who are excellent teachers, and offered mini therapy sessions for a donation. Guests signed up for time slots and experienced brief private sessions with a horse and ANT instructor or counselor, getting to see what it’s like for a [...]
