http://www.helpinghorseshoe.org/

The Helping Horseshoe Therapeutic Riding Club, 134 Airport Road, Andover, NJ (2024)

06/10/2024

We are always grateful for support in any way !! Volunteers, donated items, grants and donations !!
A great time to thank Dr. Paul Zimprich and his amazing team at East Coast Equine for all their support !!
Team work makes the dream work !!!!
Kara Stark McGrew

Helping horses and people in need can be a rewarding experience, but consider what it will take before you commit to volunteering at a horse organization.

05/07/2024

I never doubted this!
Kara Stark McGrew

A recent study completed at the University of Sussex shows that horses are able to understand human emotions.

05/02/2024

Love hearing this statement today
‘You don’t learn by speaking with people who share your beliefs ‘

02/01/2024

12/08/2023

To all our friends !!! 💙

10/26/2023

😢

08/22/2023

Hi. Julie Matte.
Happy Birthday in Heaven. Ozzie wanted me to post a few current pictures of himself with his friends.
He had a bath yesterday and a nice ride with one of his riders. Hope you like his fly mask 💙💙💙💙💙
Judy Matte Thompson

08/20/2023

I always say how much I hate labels !!
Kara Stark McGrew

Many, many years ago, I bought a horse from an auction, I knew nothing about him.

I brought him home and found that he was a bit grouchy when approached in his stall and when asked to canter off he would lunge through the air.

I found that I quite quickly started to put "labels" on him. Labels like he was "tough sided" and "heavy on the bit", among many others.

One Day it hit me (thanks to all the transformational work that i was doing at the time)that if I kept approaching him as "tough sided" and "heavy on the bit", then he was never going to have the opportunity to show up any other way ...because of who I was BEING to him in my approach!! So in that moment I started to redefine the labels I put on him. I approached him as sensitive instead of insensitive......and I got to experience an entirely new horse who was living in the same body!

I share this story because it is human nature to want to define and label things. The mind feels safe when it can identify something and then categorize it as something familiar.
However the way we define and label things aren't always done in TRUTH or in a way that works for us but instead against us.

I coach so many people who put labels on themselves in ways that keep them from experiencing their own greatness! Labels that make them perceive themselves a certain way that aligns them to act a certain way and therfore produces results in their lives that they don't desire. Labels that keep them small, unfulfilled, and not living life full out!

Today, pause for a moment and READ INTO THE LABELS! The ones you put on yourself, your horses, others, situations......and ask yourself if you can rewrite any of these labels in a way that is going to support you in showing up differently so that you can access a whole new experience in life.

Labels are about our perceptions and they dictate how YOU will show up to yourself and others, and until YOU show up differently, the change you are seeking in yourself, others, or your horse, will not be accessible.

Have a mind expanding and life enhancing weekend everyone! ☮️🤍🐴✨️

[On a side-note, the horse that was grouchy in his stall and lunged through the air, became a horse shown by many kids, and found his person who HE made a first time horse owner.]

THANK YOU for the life-changing lesson, Carter, my gratitude for you will remain for eternity 🙏 💜 💫

08/18/2023

This was a great event to host !!
Thank you Laura Quirke for making it happen !!!
Thanks to everyone who made it such a success. 🥰

07/22/2023

Kara Stark McGrew

Volunteers wanted !!! No experience needed we will train you
Assist our riders in their lessons by either leading a horse or side walking, work on facility or help care with the horses !! Or all of the above ! Especially need volunteers for our classes from 4 to 7 pm. Call or text for more info !

Colleen (862) 268-3988. Or
Kara (862) 268-4810

We are located in Andover/green Twp
Open 7 days a week. Year round
Discounted lessons for our volunteers
Lessons available for everyone !!!

07/22/2023

Volunteers wanted !!! No experience needed we will train you
Assist our riders in their lessons by either leading a horse or side walking, work on facility or help care with the horses !! Or all of the above ! Especially need volunteers for our classes from 4 to 7 pm. Call or text for more info !

Colleen (862) 268-3988. Or
Kara (862) 268-4810

We are located in Andover/green Twp
Open 7 days a week. Year round
Discounted lessons for our volunteers
Lessons available for everyone !!!

06/02/2023

This was a great evening !!!!

03/28/2023

This !!!!
This is why we do what we do !
This is why horses are so special

This is why you should reach out to us to learn about all the programs besides riding we have to offer !

Kara Stark McGrew

If you’ve been around horses for long, you know the lasting impact they can have on your life. Clients who participate in mental health sessions incorporating horses commonly report that they remember their therapy sessions with the horses, even years later.

Interacting with horses provides an experiential process where you can feel, see, hear, smell, and physically move in the change process with another living being who has no agenda. With their size and presence, horses are powerful, while at the same time as prey animals, they are acutely aware of their environment to protect themselves. Building trust with the horses, and in turn with ourselves, can be deeply meaningful.

These embodied experiences building relationships with horses are engaging and memorable, creating long-lasting impact.
-

03/28/2023

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-difference-equine-assisted-learning-vs-kim-klimek?fbclid=IwAR1xuITCeROToxiFq4o-NGmwsBF0nP7QyCdCAhhDryJbUtwSWrFC72wLnJc&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

10/16/2022

Kara Stark McGrew

Why crossing the midline activities helped this child listen to his teacher, follow directions, and complete his homework. Crossing the midline for all kids

08/22/2022

Happy Birthday Julie 💙.
You are so very missed

Kara Stark McGrew
Judy Matte Thompson

08/22/2022

07/05/2022

#𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗯𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Stay Grateful!!⁣
⁣⁣
⁣ 📷

05/29/2022

Ozzie doing his thing !!
Judy Matte Thompson

01/17/2022

Support the animals of all types !
We are grateful to those who support our programs !!
Kara Stark McGrew

01/17/2022

Support all animals and Celebrate such a wonderful person and life !
We are grateful to all of those who support our program !!
Kara Stark McGrew

11/23/2021

But the ability to roll the pelvis, not balance, is the key, researchers found.

11/07/2021

🥰🥰

08/12/2021

06/19/2021

Mill Spring, N.C. – June 18 Para-dressage was front and center in Tryon Stadium Friday night as part of the Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI3* competition and the final U.S. Olympic observation event before Tokyo. Individual tests were perf...

06/19/2021

Recent studies conducted by the Institute of HeartMath provide a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens when we are near horses. According to researchers, the heart has a larger electromagnetic field and higher level of intelligence than the brain: A magnetometer can measure the heart's energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is certainly significant it is perhaps more impressive that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse's heart is five times larger than the human one (imagine a sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds you). The horse's electromagnetic field is also stronger than ours and can actually directly influence our own heart rhythm!
Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent" heart rhythm (heart rate pattern) which explains why we may "feel better" when we are around them. . . .studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a robust measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy--that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions.
A coherent heart pattern is indicative of a system that can recover and adjust to stressful situations very efficiently. Often times, we only need to be in a horses presence to feel a sense of wellness and peace. In fact, research shows that people experience many physiological benefits while interacting with horses, including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased levels of beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters that serve as pain surppressors), decreased stress levels, reduced feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, improved social functioning; and increased feelings of empowerment, trust, patience and self-efficacy."

Photo is of our wonderful friend & colleague, Annette Garcia, Founder of Coachella Valley Horse Rescue, with Sunny, a rescued mustang.

04/24/2021

We can’t say thank you enough to all our amazing and wonderful volunteers !!! ❤️❤️❤️

Kara Stark McGrew

04/08/2021

🥰
Kara Stark McGrew

Welcome Wednesday - Octavia has join the HHRF Board!
Octavia J. Brown, Ed.M., D.H.L.
Emeritus Professor of Equine Studies, Centenary University

Born in England, Octavia emigrated to the USA in 1964. She earned her Master of Education degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1971 and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2008 by Centenary University. A founder of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (now PATH International) in 1969, she served four terms on the board of directors. She is a PATH Master Instructor and has chaired numerous committees for PATH, including Standards & Education and Certification. Now retired from Centenary University, she directed Therapeutic Riding At Centenary for 23 years as both a PATH Accredited program and training site for future TR instructors.

Dr. Brown is past president of the Federation Riding for the Disabled International, having served six years on the board of trustees. She was honored in 1982 as NJ Horse Person of the Year by the NJ Horse Council. In 1990, she received the PATH Directors’ Award and the President’s Award. In 1998, she was awarded PATH’s highest honor, the James Brady Award for Lifetime Achievement in Therapeutic Riding. In 2008, with Karen T. Bocksel, she was honored with the PATH President’s Award for their work on producing a training video for instructors seeking PATH certification, as well as a volunteer training video currently in use nation-wide.