Stable Friends Foundation
Stable Friends
Stable Friends seeks to provide a safe, stable, and supportive environment for children in the foster care system by enabling them to build a lasting relationship with a horse. Studies have shown that the lack of consistency and loss of relationships increases the trauma caused by a childhood in the foster care system, while time spent with animals in known to be good for physical, mental, and emotional health. Equine therapy has been used for many years for physical and cognitive behavioral therapy. Caring for horses requires concentration, selflessness, and teamwork, and can help people improve self-esteem, self-awareness, confidence, and empathy. Additionally, equine therapy has been shown to help treat behavioral problems, relationship issues, grief, anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD, and addiction.
Stable Friends will vet horses for the correct temperament, obtain them through purchase or donation, and fund their care through barns local to children who are currently placed in foster care. Children will be paired with a single horse to become their constant friend, allowing the child to build a stable relationship regardless of their living situation. The children will be taught horsemanship and how to care for “their” horse, and will be provided with transportation to and from the barn. If a child is relocated, Stable Friends will transfer the horse to a location more convenient to the child’s new placement. In addition to allowing children to build a lasting relationship in the midst of a turbulent time, it also allows children to have a new story, something positive to talk about when introducing themselves in a new environment. The children will also develop job skills, teaching them responsibility, accountability, and perseverance.
Through funding and the work of volunteers, Stable Friends will build a community to support these children throughout their time in the system, helping them to break out of the cycle and reach toward their own successes. Once a child has aged out of the program, they will be invited to pay it forward by helping to select the next child who will be paired with their horse, creating a new cycle of acceptance and care.
Capturing Our Mission: A Photo Story of Stable Friends
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Welcome to Stable Friends
We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing outstanding horse companions to foster kids. Join us in making a difference today.