PrintThe Board of Directors of The EQUUS Foundation, Inc. is pleased to announce the award of its 2010 grants to 60 charitable organizations that use the horse to benefit the public; promote the horse's health and welfare; and advance the equestrian sport.
The EQUUS Foundation is dedicated to securing homes and useful lives for horses, enhancing the lives of people who benefit from horses, and educating the public on the significant impact horses have in our every day lives.
Today, millions of people are involved with horses - recreationally, competitively, and therapeutically. Age is not a limitation - horses are helping children, adolescents, adults, and seniors. Therapeutically, our equine partners have long been helping individuals bear the burdens of disabilities and debilitating diseases as well as those coping with economic disadvantages and at-risk situations.
Most recently, horses are coming to the aid of children with autism. Autism represents perhaps the fastest growing population who can benefit from equine therapies. Based on Center for Disease Control (CDC) data, an average of 1 in 110 children have been diagnosed with autism, a 57% increase in the rate of diagnosis based on a 4-year CDC study conducted from 2002 to 2006. A U.S. Department of Education study determined that autism diagnosis is growing at a rate of 10-17% year.
Additionally, as our soldiers return home from war overseas, horses are part of a national program, Horses for Heroes, which uses therapeutic riding to help rehabilitate our veterans both physically and emotionally from the traumas of war.
Yet with all the value that horses are able to provide to the public, the number of neglected and abandoned horses in the United States has reached an epidemic level. The tragic gap between supply and demand is truly needless when these horses could become critically important aides to the public, especially children.
The EQUUS Foundation provides direct financial support to horse and equestrian charities across the United States. Public Welfare Grants are awarded for therapeutic riding programs and other equine-assisted activities for individuals with physical, emotional, behavioral, and learning disabilities; life-threatening or other serious illnesses; and underserved, economically-disadvantaged and "at-risk" youth. Horse Welfare Grants are awarded for horse rescue, rehabilitation, adoption and retirement; veterinary education and research; and equine ambulance services. Sport Welfare Grants are awarded to advance the equestrian sport, through scholarships, awards, youth involvement, relief for equestrians in need, and programs to promote public education and awareness.
"With our 2010 awards, we have achieved a significant benchmark, now topping $1.5 million in grant awards since our first awards in 2003," said Jenny Belknap Kees, Board Chairman. "We have accomplished this almost entirely from special events and our Horse Whisperers program where donors may make a multi-year pledge and have a grant named by the donor in honor of a family member, friend, associate, or in the memory of a loved one or a loved equine companion.
