Hello,
My name is Liberty, and I have decided to participate in the fundraiser because I truly believe that horses have a superpower that holds the power to heal our souls. There is so much good they have done for me that I could share, from leading me to my lifelong best friend to teaching me the life lesson of hard work.
Horses have been involved in every single monumental moment of my life. They have been at the center. When I was around 8 years old my mom and dad decided to divorce. During this time my mom agreed that it was time to buy my first horse. I raised doggie lambs, sold them, and put the down payment on my soon-to-be best friend, Ringo. He was my safe place when things with my parents were scary, hard, and confusing, at such a young age I didn’t know what “mental health” was, but I knew with him I was safe. A few years later, my mom decided to move us to the middle of nowhere, no, seriously the middle of nowhere. And I was stoked, because we were moving closer to my grandpa, whom I was head over heels for because he bred and raised horses alongside his wife, and I was all about anything horses. It meant I would be surrounded by my passion and my safe place. I spent countless days cleaning stalls, loving on the horses, and learning about how hard work was worth it. I felt that I was thriving and finally felt like the world was healing the little girl with a broken family. Then, Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer, 6 weeks later, he was gone, and so were all the horses on the farm. It was so hard to understand why the horses had to go, I was only 12, I was faced with so many grown-up things all at once in such a short period of time that it was overwhelming. Walking into that empty barn was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life, surely it was one I will never forget. But, a few weeks later I stopped by with mom, and my grandpa’s wife sent me to the barn, where I found a little red mare whom I had fallen in love with during my time there. That moment with Rio healed that piece of my little heart that missed her grandpa. Now he is with me anytime I spend time with horses.
After grandpa passed, we moved into the small local town and took Ringo and Stretch (our second horse) with us, and this is where I would learn about depression and mental health at only 14, I explained to the doctor that I just wasn’t right, I was angry, I didn’t want to do anything, I just hated everything but this was more than teenage agnst. He prescribed my first antidepressant, and learning about managing mental health began. But still, Ringo was my safe place, on hard days we would go for rides, on good days we would relax together, he was the first place I went the day I found out my close friend had accidentally killed himself. Ringo, horses, were and are my safe place. No antidepressant, way of eating, working out, or vitamin regimen could ever create the feeling horses give me.
In 2022, I met a man. After having a child and getting a divorce, I thought I was ready for a new relationship, and we fell in love fast and hard. Our relationship was full of love, but it also wasn’t the safest for either of us. We both had things we needed to work through and no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t make it work. It was with the help of the horses I was working with at my job that I found the strength to say “I love you, but we deserve better” and ended things with him. A year after we said our final goodbye after trying over and over….he passed away suddenly, and it wrecked my entire world. I had felt heartbreak, but never like this. His death, the trauma it caused, combined with my lifelong mental health issues, led me to Hope Reins Healing Equine Therapy. I had worked with Aubree in the past on a professional level and knew she was capable of helping me. She was hosting a women’s trauma group, and it had a grant and would be at no cost to me (as a single mom, this was amazing). I had a job that was flexible and willing to let me take the time off that I needed. I knew it was time to get help for the biggest heartbreak I’ve ever faced and everything else I’ve faced in my life.
With Aubree and her group of horses, I was able to release the hurt, I was able to work through the feelings I was having, and I was able to use the horses to relate every single good and bad thing that ever happened to me to my safe place. Between my parents’ divorce, losing my grandpa, a close friend, and SO much more, horses have always been my safe place. Dakota, a little grey mustang, specifically spoke to me; it was clear that she wanted attention and love, but it had to be on her terms, and when other horses came near her, she would run away. I had never related to a horse more, and that has stuck with me.
Through the dirt, the hair, the flies, and the hard work related to horses, they heal. I truly believe that everyone should have access to that healing power.
