October 1st – 31st
Connect. Create. #PassTheBraid.
HORSETOBER™ is the annual celebration of the horse-human connection, bringing the horse community together to share the many ways horses enrich our lives.
This October, share your connection with horses.
Create a braid. Tell your story. Pass it on.
Spend meaningful time with a horse. Ride. Walk. Groom. Observe. Sit together.
Connect in a way that feels meaningful for you and your horse.
The braid can be on your horse, on you, or something you create. Make it meaningful. Make it yours. Capture the moment in a photo or video.
Share on social media what your horse-human connection means to you.
Use #HORSETOBER + #PassTheBraid and nominate others along the way to help keep the braid moving.
Keep the celebration going all month long with new ways to connect, create, share, and win. Come back each week. Take the challenge. Keep the braid moving.
Week 3 Specialized Prize Giveaways
With thanks to these companies. Click a logo for prize details.
1-Year ARCH Individual Membership
A 2 hr. Brand Collaboration Session with Abriana Johnson for an HMH Program Partner.
Custom Horse Portrait
Dalia MacPhee Equestrian Weekender Bag
Numbered and signed watercolor by fine artist Laura Mehmert.
Saddle Pad and Print
$50 store coupon
Swag Bag
Equi-Tail Tresses
Natural Lifemanship Fundamentals Training
$250 in Purina coupons
Rescued Hearts Merch
Women’s orthopedic sandals
One eligible program that supports Thoroughbreds will receive a $500 prize to support its program.
Tall Equestrian Boot Socks
Eligible for nonprofit programs supporting veterans’ well-being through horses.
Four winners will each receive a one-year individual membership to ARCH, connecting them with resources, education and a community dedicated to supporting the human-horse connection.
Elevate your equine-assisted and nature-based services with ARCH’s structured, simple approach enhances facilitation skills, supports organizational certification, and fosters lasting professional growth.
Company Description:
In today’s fast-paced world, mental health, coaching, and education professionals working in equine-assisted services, nature-based interventions, office settings, and virtual spaces face increasing demands and challenges. Navigating these complexities requires an approach that is both effective and adaptable.
The ARCH Facilitation Framework provides an innovative, story-based method to elevate your practice—helping clients achieve deeper, faster, and safer transformations, no matter where you work.
Abriana Johnson is a brand strategist, author, and coach with a passion for horses and an eye for design. She uses her love of technology and strategy to help horse industry professionals build impactful brands and digital experiences that build community, connect content to culture, and establish their digital hoofprint.
Company Description:
Black in the Saddle amplifys the impact and influence of Black people on the horse industry. From veterinarians to athletes to non-profit organizations, BITS is committed to supporting Black horse folks through community building, content curation, and monetary support.
Celebrate the special bond between horses and the people who love them with a custom portrait from Chewy’s Equine team. Each winner will submit a photo of their horse, which will be transformed into an original, hand-painted acrylic portrait on a 6” x 6” canvas—a keepsake created to honor the personality, partnership and joy horses bring to our lives.
Proudly gifted by Chewy’s Equine team in celebration of our shared love for horses.
About Chewy:
Chewy is an online retailer that provides a range of products for horses, including a veterinary pharmacy for prescription medications, supplements, feed, and supplies like dewormers, hoof care items, and grooming products. They offer convenient delivery and an auto-ship feature for repeat orders, helping horse owners manage their needs and maintain their horses’ health and well-being.
Dimensions: 20.9″ × 12″ × 9.8″
Weight: 36.47 oz
Made from high-grade water-resistant fabric with microfiber leather detailing
Vintage-inspired equestrian horse print
Signature Dalia MacPhee autograph detail on the exterior
Spacious main compartment
Interior pocket for smaller essentials
Sturdy faux-leather carry handles
Adjustable shoulder strap
VEGAN
Laura Mehmert is a master watercolorist. “War Horse” is an exquisite painting of a wild stallion. Laura Mehmert beautifully captures the expression in his eyes and tangled mane that appears to be braided.
See more of her exceptional paintings and sculptures featured in EquuStyle Art & Travel magazine’s free, digital First Anniversary issue.
Laura offers her work as prints, wall art, keepsakes, greeting cards, journals, and more at LauraMehmertDesigns.com.
EquuStyle Magazine Article about Laura Memert’s watercolor painting.
Company Description:
EquuStyle Magazine is a dynamic online publication that showcases the works of talented equine artists, horse photographers, along with extraordinary organizations and individuals that work tirelessly to advocate for the protection and preservation of America’s wild horses and burros. Horse rescues and organizations offering equine assisted services for Veterans or those that provide therapeutic riding for people with disabilities are regularly published in EquuStyle Magazine. Unique equine travel destinations, wild horse tours, horse photography workshops are also featured. Their mission is to inform the public about how horses can enrich our lives, culture, and well-being.
Eight winners will receive one, ALL PURPOSE Saddle pad, perfect for Hunters, Jumpers, or Dressage
Title: Hot Shot’s Blue Braids
Artist: Barb DiPalma, GGT Footing
Medium: Acrylic
Year created: 2018
Dimensions: 24×36
Inspiration/Description: Inspired by my gelding’s braided black mane that looked almost blue in the sunlight while he was grazing. The background cross fence of the beautiful farm he lived on at the time. Original Still Available
Company Description:
GGT Footing® is a proud Sponsor of HORSETOBER 2026 and the #PassTheBraid challenge. For more than 25 years, GGT Footing® has been providing arena textiles for Olympic-level equestrians, horse shows, therapeutic equestrian facilities, and private owners. No matter your discipline or skill level, our expertise and guidance will help you develop a world-class riding arena that protects you and your horse.
Four winners will each receive a $50 checkout code to use at the Horses for Mental Health online store.
One winner will receive an IEA swag bag filled with IEA favorites, including four hats, a shirt, mug, stickers, notepads, pens, pencils, cups, suitcase tags, and more!
Company Description:
IEA connects equestrians nationally through team competition and educational opportunities that build community and foster leadership. The organization utilizes a unique draw-based competition format for riders in grades 4-12 and adult amateurs in Hunt Seat, Western, and Dressage disciplines with core values that include Horsemanship, Accessibility, Integrity, Community and Leadership. IEA is where the future of equestrian sport begins. For more information, visit rideiea.org.
The tails are 37-38 inches long.
Unique Ombre Tail Product Link
The tails are 37-38 inches long.
Black Ombre Equi-Tail Product Link
Installation Instructions:
Video: How to Install an Equi-Tail
Written Instructions: Equi-Tail Installation Instructions
Company Description:
At Mane Tresses, we want you to let your hair down, literally! We want to heavily encourage creativity and freedom of expression in the horse, entertainment, and the theme park industry. Mane Tresses is not just about adding color to your horse’s hair, the brand produces an experience and a feeling that is translated in our mission and values.
The creation of beautiful and fun, cruelty, and chemical-free hairpieces showcases coordination between horse and rider with style and grace.
Win a $675 coupon toward Natural Lifemanship training. The coupon is valid for one year and may be used toward an upcoming Fundamentals of NL cohort or applied toward the higher-priced Core or Jumpstart levels, with the winner paying any difference.
The training is fully online and asynchronous, with an 8-week commitment and approximately 2–3 hours of coursework per week. Training cohorts are offered three times per year.
Company Description:
Natural Lifemanship is a leader in transformative adult education for those seeking to understand why relationships matter to child development and how adult-child relationships can be built with the brain in mind. Natural Lifemanship teaches knowledge and principles that are universal and thus generalizable to people of all ages and to relationships of all types. People from all walks seek out our trainings to learn and to experience what it takes to improve the quality of their relationships.
Eight winners will each receive $250 in Purina coupons, with each $25 coupon redeemable toward Purina horse feed. Coupons expire March 31, 2027.
Company Description:
WE’RE ANIMAL PEOPLE™ is a unifying rallying cry, Purina’s new brand-defining idea, and a public-facing mantra that inspires a sense of community and pride.
Above all, it holds a mirror up to the truth that the Purina brand has always embodied: it takes dedicated Animal People to keep our animals thriving.
It signals a major tonal shift for the brand by revealing our passion, and empowering us to communicate with more emotion.
It dissolves the barrier between the brand and the animal owner, revealing that Purina’s people are cut from the same cloth as our audience.
That cloth? It’s red-checkered, and symbolizes the shared belief that living a life in service of animals is a deeply meaningful calling.
Choose any one item from the Rescued Hearts online store. Inspired by the award-winning documentary exploring the healing power of the horse-human connection, the collection was created to celebrate horses, healing, authenticity, and connection.
Pick your favorite item and celebrate the healing connection between humans and horses.
About the film:
Rescued Hearts is a powerful documentary exploring the miracles, mystery, and science of healing with horses.
Inspired by a life-changing moment when a 7-year-old child diagnosed with autism spoke his first words while interacting with a horse, filmmakers Dana Croschere and Krisanna Sexton set out to understand what makes the horse-human connection so powerful.
What they never expected was how deeply the journey would transform their own lives, including helping to heal the relationship between Dana and her father.
Through real stories, raw vulnerability, and scientific insight, Rescued Hearts is an invitation back to the heart, where healing, presence, and possibility begin.
Four winners will receive a pair of Snaffles women’s orthopedic sandals. Chiropractor-designed Snaffles sandals prove you don’t have to sacrifice style for foot health. Handcrafted in Portugal with enhanced arch support and premium leather that molds to your foot, they deliver orthopedic integrity wrapped in timeless elegance.
Company Description:
Finally – elegant sandals that understand your body. After years of watching patients step off her treatment table into unsupportive footwear, chiropractor Nina Showan-Wakefield was inspired to create Snaffles. Drawing from her professional expertise and lifelong connection to horses, she designed sandals that offer unprecedented harmony between support and sophistication. Snaffles donates 1% of revenue to Horses for Mental Health.
Three Mares is honored to donate six pairs of equestrian socks to this year’s HORSETOBER! Designed for comfort, performance, and a little extra personality in and out of the barn.
Three lucky winners will win two pairs of socks each!
Designed for tall riding boots, these boot socks are thin, breathable, and stretchy so they slide comfortably under your boots without bulk. The fun part? Each pair comes with a spare sock. Because washing machines eat socks and equestrians have better things to worry about.
Company Description:
Three Mares is committed to creating a safer, more supportive future for athletes. Through our brands, Dreamers & Schemers and ManeJane, we use our platform to give back, raise awareness, and help create positive change within the equestrian community and beyond.
$250 worth of feed, purchased directly from the winning nonprofit organization’s preferred feed vendor. Your organization can select the feed that best meets the needs of the horses in its program. This prize is contributed in recognition of the organizations that serve veterans through the healing connection between horses and humans.
Company Description:
Veterans K9Equine Alliance is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting the dogs and horses that help veterans heal. We provide nutritional and veterinary assistance to nonprofit veteran programs across the country, helping ensure these incredible animals receive the care they need to continue their important work. Our mission is simple: We take care of the animals who take care of our veterans.
Different horses. Different people. Different stories.
One extraordinary connection.
The role of horses in our society has evolved, but the connection between horses and humans continues to bring meaning, wellbeing, purpose, joy, learning, community, and so much more.
By sharing our stories throughout October, we can make that connection visible and show how many lives horses touch and why they continue to hold an important place in our world today.
A braid brings individual strands together while each remains distinct. It represents the countless horses, people, relationships, and stories that make up the horse-human connection.
Every braid tells a story. Every share weaves us together.
Your braid can be on your horse, on you, something you create, or a meaningful symbol of a horse you love.
Let your horse’s comfort and choice guide how you participate.
Make it meaningful. Make it yours. Then share it.
Get weekly challenges, prize announcements, inspiring horse-human stories, and HORSETOBER™ updates delivered to your inbox.
You’ll also receive occasional updates from Horses for Mental Health, the nonprofit behind HORSETOBER™.
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HORSETOBER™ is made possible through the generous support of organizations that believe in the importance of the horse-human connection.
Organizations from across the equine community are coming together to celebrate the horse-human connection and make its impact in our lives more visible.
PRODUCED BY
RESEARCH PARTNER
See how people everywhere are celebrating their horse-human connection, then add yours.
#HORSETOBER + #PassTheBraid
What is It?
What are mental health services incorporating horses?
Why Horses?
Horses intuitively reflect our emotions, supporting insight and healing.
How Does it Work?
Sessions include guided interactions with horses that safely address life experiences and support healing.
What a Typical Session Might Look Like?
Guided interactions with horses create experiential emotional regulation and insight.
Transformational Videos
Watch how horses are making a difference for mental health
HMH Ambassadors
View the celebrities and influencers sharing why horses for mental health matters
Media
Connect with stories in the News, Podcasts and the HMH Blog
Program Partners in the News
News about what our partners are doing
Find a Program
Connecting you with life-changing equine-assisted services supporting your mental health and personal wellbeing
Find Professional Certification
Find Professional Training and Certification in Equine-Assisted Services
Research and Terminology
Explore research and terminology supporting equine-based psychotherapy, counseling, and personal development
Monthly Giving
Give the gift of hope and healing every month
