We Need Your Help!
Please consider making a financial contribution to Medicine Horse Program. Your donations support our programs and help some great kids and families.
Your help is greatly appreciated. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Contributing money is easy!
1. Mail your donation to Medicine Horse Program at: 8778 Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO 80303
2. Call us at 720.406.7630 to provide us with your VISA or MC number
3. Make a secure donation online right now by clicking the Paypal "Donate" button below
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In accordance with the provisions of the Equal Opportunity Act and the City of Boulder Human Rights Ordinance, there will be no discrimination against
an applicant for services or benefits based on the basis of age, source of income, sex, race marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, religion or handicap. Medicine Horse Program complies with all state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination. the City of Boulder's Human Rights Ordinance protects against discrimination. If you believe your rights have been violated, call the Colorado Fair Housing Hotline at (303)672-5437 or 1-800-877-7353.
Copyright 2008, Medicine Horse Program
HopeFoal Project™ is a registered trademark
In The News & Press Room
HopeFoal Project™ Receives $20,000 Grant From the Sky Ranch Foundation - January 12, 2012
Medicine Horse Program is pleased to announce receipt of a $20,000 grant supporting our HopeFoal Project™ from the Sky Ranch Foundation of Fredericksburg, VA. Sky Ranch Foundation, has been coordinating alcohol beverage industry support for at-risk kids since 1961.
HopeFoal Project™: This award-winning program partners rescued foals with depressed and anxious teens. The teens work with trained therapists and horse handlers to help gentle the foals. In the process, both foal and teen are healed.
For more than 11 years, Medicine Horse Program has been dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of adolescents, families, and adults through unique equine-assisted experiences. We provide group and individual therapy sessions that focus on healing. Individual and group psychotherapy sessions are offered. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Our services meet the particular needs of low-income individuals referred to us by local city and county agencies. Vulnerable youth populations are an emphasis at Medicine Horse Program.
"We are thrilled to have the financial support from the Sky Ranch Foundation," says Kathy Johnson, Executive Director of Medicine Horse Program. "We have more children in need than ever before. The cost of hay is soaring, expenses are up and donations are down due to the economy. We need these generous donations to provide the quality of services for which we are nationally renowned."
MHP Executive Director, Kathy Johnson, Featured on Restoring the Soul's Lunchtime Forum
You may listen to the forums on KGNU 88.5 FM, archived on the website: www.restoringthesoul.org
MHP Featured in Denver Post - June 14, 2011
Disabled adults, likely to outlive parents, face unclear future
By Karen Auge, The Denver Post
Slick stood patiently in a Medicine Horse stall, letting the brush glide over his haunches, the motion at once calming the animal and producing a smile of pure boyish bliss on the 50-year-old face of the man wordlessly stroking him.
More than 40 years ago, that man, Richard Chestor, was one of the first children diagnosed in Colorado with autism.
As an infant, he stiffened when held. He was so repulsed by human contact that even being fed drove him to fits, said his mother, Geri.
He never spoke more than a few dozen words, each painstakingly taught by his mother. It took years, thousands of dollars and dozens of doctors before someone put a name to what was wrong with Geri Chestor's little boy.
That diagnosis — autism — was seldom heard back then.
MHP Veterans Group Featured in Daily Camera - June 12, 2011
Fearless Victory Pairs Traumatized Mustangs with Veterans with PTSD
By Stephanie Gates For the Camera, photos and video by Mark Leffingwell
Wild mustangs are not what most doctors prescribe for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. But Mamma, Fearless, Ember and Ponyo offer some pretty good therapy.
All four horses were rescued from Canyon City, which serves as a "holding pen" for wild mustangs rounded up across the West (these four came from Wyoming). They were adopted by Medicine Horse Program, a non-profit mental health organization specializing in equine-assisted therapy in Boulder. The program serves more than 500 clients a year. The Fearless Victory Project, part of the Medicine Horse Program, focuses specifically on veterans suffering from PTSD.
MHP Featured on the Heart of Longmont Radio Show - Mar. 9, 2011
Kathy Johnson, Executive Director of MHP is interviewed by Denice Chenault on the Heart of Longmont Radio Show. The program can be listened to here.
The Heart of Longmont- Hosted by Denice Chenault on Wednesday nights at 7:00 on Radio Colorado Network, AM 1060 in Longmont. Learn more about all the GOOD that happens in the Longmont area. Denice interviews nonprofit businesses and charities that are changing people's lives and making the community a better place.
MHP Featured on Green Patriot Radio - Jan. 3, 2011
Kathy Johnson, Executive Director of MHP and Myra Eby, founder of myceuticals, LLC, a long-time MHP contributor are interviewed by Green Patriot Radio. The resulting program can be listened to online or as a podcast.
The interview focuses on MHP's foal rescue efferts and the value of using these foals in equine assisted therapy.
Green Patriot Radio's David Steinman interviews politicians, green business leaders and experts on the environment and natural health.
Be sure to check it out at Green Patriot Radio by clicking here.
Boulder County Business Report - May 14, 2010
Frankie the talking horse speaks out for nonprofit
BOULDER - Frankie traveled a long way to get to his current home at Medicine Horse Program in Boulder. But now the 9-year-old gypsy horse has something to say. Literally.
Medicine Horse Program, a nonprofit organization that serves children and teens with a wide range of needs, was recently accepted into the nationwide Pepsi Refresh Project.
Frankie the horse appears as the narrator in a short video clip about Medicine Horse Program at www.refreshingeverything.com/medicinehorseprogram.
"I have the best job in the world," Frankie says. "My friends and I get to work with all kinds of kids."
2009 Foal Festival Featured in Longmont Times-Call, November 22, 2009
Boulder community leaders come together to support Medicine Horse Program. Thanks to everyone for a great event! Click here to read the article.
HopeFoal Project™ Featured on ABC World News
Reporter Erin Hayes and ABC camera crews filmed for two days at Medicine Horse, focusing on the HopeFoal Project™. The program was featured on the national news. To see the clip, click on the ABC logo. The HopeFoals have been proudly sponsored by Mychelle Dermeceuticals for over three years.
NewsTeam Boulder Brooke Cummings - Interviews Cara Sams, MHP Program Director at the 2009 Foal Festival.
Medicine Horse featured in The Daily Camera View the story here.
Did you see us featured on Fox 31's Good Day Colorado? If not, view the story now about MHP's award-winning HopeFoal Program.
Chris Parente visits MHP.
Highlander, May 2007, Horses Help Heal Grieving Children, by Karolyn A. Gazella, Executive Director of Medicine Horse Program
Excerpt: "Gunshot. Car accident. Cancer. Suicide. The death of a loved one is a devastating and life-changing event. It can be even more complex and traumatic for a young child. According to Jennifer Trinkle, Healing Circles Program Coordinator with HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties, although children go through loss and grief just as adults do, they experience grief differently." Read this article in its entirety (PDF 36.3k).
Highlander, April 2007, Revealing new information about hormone therapy, cancer, and rescuing foals by Karolyn A. Gazella, Executive Director of Medicine Horse Program
Excerpt: "Premarin is a widely prescribed hormone replacement (HRT) drug. Premarin actually stands for pregnant mare urine. The process is methodical and brutal to the mares. After the mare is impregnated, she is confined to a small pen, a catheter is inserted, and the urine is harvested during the entire pregnancy. After giving birth to the foal, the foal is taken away prematurely, the mare is re-impregnated, and the process begins again. The quality of life for the mare is horrific. But what happens to the foal?" Read this article in its entirety (PDF 36.3k).
Elephant, Winter 2006-07, Horse as Teacher, by Karolyn A. Gazella, Executive Director of Medicine Horse Program
Excerpt: "We say a horse is like a mirror, reflecting our thoughts and feelings. If we're happy, or we're scared, they sense it. While this reflection is certainly true, a horse can be much more than a mirror. A horse often shows me what I do not see. Working with horses, they can offer us a picture of our true nature, revealing characteristics and qualities in us that we didn't even realize existed." Read this article in its entirety (PDF 784k).
Healthy Living, MyChelle to the Rescue by Karolyn A. Gazella, Executive Director of Medicine Horse Program
Excerpt: "At Medicine Horse Program, we have seen firsthand how horses can help people. Our award-winning HopeFoal Project provides direct evidence as to the power of the horse-human connection. With HopeFoal, we rescue foals from the Premarin drug industry and match them with depressed, anxious, and troubled teens. The foals are born to mares whose only purpose is to provide urine during their pregnancy for the estrogen replacement drug Premarin, also known as Premelle, Prempac, Prempro, and Premphase. The foals born to these mares are merely byproducts, often sent off to slaughter. They are an after thought, an irritant that serves no purpose in the eyes of the drug company." Read this article in its entirety (PDF 977k).
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