Callie Rae King is a taking a major turn in her career with horses and using that moment to benefit disabled children and rescued horses in Zimbabwe.
King’s family farm in Honey Brook, PA has been sold and will be transitioned from a horse farm to food production. King will be continuing her Horse Class online education program, but equine operations at the farm will cease.
On Oct. 28 King hosted a full day of fun and educational demonstrations and lectures including a session by June Meadows representing Healing with Horses. A barbeque party, silent auction and other activities made for a great day for everyone who could visit in person, plus you could experience all the presentations by joining online.
King became aware of the non-profit program Healing with Horses Zimbabwe through a friend who is from Zimbabwe and lives there for a part of each year. The stable where her son was riding was about to close, with no funds to feed the horses beyond that week. Generous donations came through and the program survived, but their work depends on the support of volunteers and contributors.
“What’s so different for them and why it was so motivating for me is that they are operating something like this while they must rely on donations to feed horses,” King said. “The economics of running a business. especially a non-profit, is so much more challenging there.”
Healing with Horses, based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, serves children with disabilities in a part of the world where any physically, mentally or emotionally challenged child has additional economic and societal challenges.
“They do this work in a country that has one of the most challenging economies in the world, and on a shoestring budget,” King said. Children with disabilities frequently end up in orphanages due to the stigma that exists for the disabled in their culture. They may be viewed as cursed and marginalized by society.
Staff and volunteers at Healing with Horses Therapeutic Centre work with children and adults experiencing autism, down syndrome, vision impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical and emotional abuse and depression. All can benefit from sustained interaction with horses. Building relationships with the horses helps create a feeling of safety, achievement, confidence and joy.
Horses naturally motivate children to move, explore and touch. This natural desire and the reciprocal interaction from a non-judgmental accepting being creates a feeling of safety, achievement, confidence and above all joy in our riders.
Many of the children have cerebral palsy – a weakness or lack of muscle control that results in stiffness, slowness, shakiness and difficulty with balance. For these children the movement of the horse helps them relax and teaches their muscles the rhythmic patterns of walking. Their muscles are strengthened by increased use and the exercises stimulate coordination, concentration and memory.
Healing with Horses serves up to 150 disabled children every week, helping them feel loved, accepted, and find healing on horseback. There are 30 horses and ponies in the stable, most of them rescue horses. They include ex-racehorses, Arabians, and crossbreds that have found a second career in therapeutic riding. The stable also has facilities for able bodied riders, which help cover costs for the therapeutic program.
Healing With Horses Zimbabwe has been in operation nearly 10 years. They are in need of funds for daily operations plus they have hopes of expanding their facility to better serve their clients. They would like to be able to build a new ramp and platform to assist wheelchair bound children and purchase a van with a wheelchair lift to transport children to the program. A long-term capital project will provide for construction of an indoor arena.
For more information on the fundraiser or the demonstration day videos, visit the website at https://www.horseclass.com/farm-celebration/ or contact King at callie.rae.king@gmail.com Information is also available at www.HealingWithHorsesZimbabwe.com.