Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes

Newest member of the Wild Hearts soccer team…

For those of you who know Wild Hearts, you know we take exceptional care of our herd. We're incredibly lucky to live in a part of the country with access to world class veterinarians like Ocean State Equine Associates, Tufts Large Animal Hospital and Myhre Equine Clinic. All of whom have provided extraordinary routine and emergency care to our horses over the past year. But, exceptional care is not inexpensive and veterinarians deserve to be paid for their time, talent and expertise. We've spent over $40,000 in the past year on veterinary care for our horses and we hope you'll help us replenish our horse care fund this Giving Tuesday. With your help, we can continue to provide our life changing program free of charge to First Responders and Veterans. (We currently have a waiting list for the Spring) We know your Facebook feeds are flooded with pleas for support, but we hope you'll consider making a contribution to Wild Hearts today. Visit our website to make a secure donation https://www.wildheartstherapeutic.org/giving or donations may be made through Venmo . THANK YOU!

Thank you to each and every person who has helped us to share the healing power of horsemanship over the last 15 years. Wishing you all a peaceful Thanksgiving ❤️🐴

Wild Hearts wouldn’t be what it is without amazing volunteers like Micki! Thank you for all that you do!!!

WE ARE THE BCSO
𝒪𝓊𝓇 𝒱𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓈

As an only child growing up in Orleans, Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Micki Quinn had trouble coming out of her shell.

Studying criminal justice at Cape Cod Community College after high school did not help her shyness. So before graduating, she shocked her mother by joining the U.S. Army in 1997, specifically the military police.

“Most of the jobs open to females at that time were support jobs, like administration or medical,” said Quinn. “It was the closest I could get to a combat role at the time.”

And come close she did. She was deployed to Bosnia during the NATO bombing of Serbian military targets. She toured fairytale-like European villages mixed with burned-out, shell-pocked buildings.

She loved the structure of the Army, the travel, and the camaraderie.

“I was extremely quiet,” she said. “But in the military, you are working in close quarters, and we become like family.”

Corrections officers must command respect from inmates. That leadership comes mostly from personality. The C.O.s cannot carry weapons into the housing units.

“I could not have gained control of a housing unit without my experience in the military,” Quinn said.

The military changed her “for the better,” she said. Now, when not on her 2.5-acre farm with six horses and two dogs, she spends time helping veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She volunteers for the Wild Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Program in West Bridgewater.

“Horses are a mirror of our emotional state,” Quinn said. Veterans learn to focus on mood regulation through their relationships with horses. “If you’re calm, the horses are calm,” she explained.

Happy Veterans Day, Sgt. Quinn.

All of us at Wild Hearts would like to honor all who have served. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

All of our services for Veterans and First Responders are always free of charge… we couldn’t do it without support from organizations like Rucking For Veterans! We’re honored to be a beneficiary of their Annual Veterans Day Ruck again this year!

Are you looking for that last challenge of 2023?
Or you want to support Veterans and don’t know how? Or get an early start to your New Year resolution! 😎

There’s still time to sign up to ruck with us on Saturday November 11th.

https://runsignup.com/Race/MA/Westport/RuckingforVeterans22MileVeteransDayRuck

22mohawks

THANK YOU RIDE 22 for your generous $4000 donation to support Wild Hearts!! Skyrocketing costs combined with ongoing emergency veterinary bills have hit us hard over the last year. We couldn't keep our doors open to those who need us if it weren't for your generosity and loyal support. THANK YOU Paul and Kim and everyone who participated in their annual event to raise funds for organizations that improve the lives of Veterans.

Thank you for all that you do! We’re proud to serve First Responders with our Healing through Horsemanship program.

Thank you for your service every day

‎The Thriving Equine Professional | Career Connections, Equine Industry Resources, Career Advice.: EP 19: Deciding Between a Career in the Barn or the Office? Tailoring Your Equine Career with Jessica Normand, Director of Equine Health with... ‎Show The Thriving Equine Professional | Career Connections, Equine Industry Resources, Career Advice., Ep EP 19: Deciding Between a Career in the Barn or the Office? Tailoring Your Equine Career with Jessica Normand, Director of Equine Health with EquiFit - Sep 7, 2023

Let’s hope this is just a random abscess and not the start of something else (two debridements, a hospital plate, weeks of stall rest, many trips to Tufts) I’m pretty sure Echo doesn’t want to go back there 😔

Do you have a business that would like to show support for Veterans and First Responders? Sponsor Wild Hearts T-shirts for our Fall Healing through Horsemanship participants! For a donation of $500 you can provide T-shirts for all of our Fall participants and volunteers AND have your business name and/or logo exclusively printed on the shirt as a sponsor. Send us a message if you're interested!

Thank you to Myhre Equine Clinic for taking such great care of Jingle Bells while she recovered from maple leaf poisoning. After a 5 day stay, we’re so glad she’s home! Despite her symptoms… her appetite never decreased! She’s a curious young mare with an adventurous, insatiable appetite and we need to be extra vigilant about leaves that might make her way into her paddock this Fall… not easy when your entire paddock is surrounded by trees of all kinds!

We’re shocked and heartbroken… our beloved mini, Bootsy, crossed the rainbow bridge on Tuesday. We believe he ate too many leaves off a large tree branch that came down in the paddock during the torrential rains on Sunday night. His buddy and paddock mate, Jingle Bells, also has a level of toxicity, though she’s doing well and we’re watching her carefully with the guidance of our veterinarians. We can only speculate that the curiosity of his new 2-year old friend is what prompted them to eat so many leaves… they had plenty of hay and Bootsy has been in the same paddock for 13 years where trees, branches, and leaves have fallen… he always ignored them. We miss you Bootsy and hope you and Jimmy are together, galloping and wrestling once again.

Our Fall Healing through Horsemanship session starts tomorrow and Pacman can’t wait to meet everyone! Yup, you read that right… we recently welcomed a new member to the herd! I think Echo approves ❤️