At Shafer Services Plus, taking care of people like family goes beyond the homes we serve. It also means supporting the organizations that are making a difference throughout our community.
For our latest Shafer Cool Kids adventure, we visited Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch, a nonprofit equestrian facility that creates therapeutic experiences for children and adults with a wide range of needs. We spent the day learning about their programs, meeting the people and animals who make the ranch special, and seeing firsthand the impact this organization has on its participants.
Creating Opportunities Through Horses
Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch serves participants ranging from young children to older adults, with no age at which someone has to graduate from the program. The ranch works alongside other therapies to provide experiences designed around each participant’s individual needs.
Some participants spend time riding, while others take part in the ranch’s Equine Assisted Learning program through ground-based activities with the horses. These experiences can help participants work on physical skills, emotional needs, confidence, and connection.
As we learned during our visit, the relationship between participants and the horses is an important part of what makes the ranch unique.
Many of the horses are rescues with their own histories and personalities. Ranch representatives shared stories of participants becoming more comfortable speaking, moving, trying new things, and taking risks with the encouragement of the horses beside them.
A Summer of Learning, Growing and Having Fun
Our visit also gave us a chance to see Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch’s summer camp in action.
Throughout camp, participants get hands-on experience with the horses, including learning how to groom and bathe them, care for their stalls, and, when they feel comfortable, ride.
Shafer Services Plus was proud to award Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch a grant to help offset some of the costs associated with the summer camp. Supporting programs like this is what Shafer Cool Kids is all about: helping create opportunities for local kids to learn, grow, connect, and simply have fun.
It Takes a Community
Keeping a program like Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch going requires a tremendous amount of work and community support.
Beyond programming, there are horses to feed, veterinary and farrier expenses, and the everyday maintenance required to care for the ranch and its animals. The organization relies on grants, sponsorships, and financial support from the community to continue its work.
The ranch is also working toward completing its covered arena, which would provide additional space for future activities, events, and fundraising opportunities.
Taking Care of Our Community Like Family
One of our core values at Shafer Services Plus is taking care of people like family. Sometimes that means restoring comfort when a family’s AC stops working. Other times, it means showing up for organizations that are creating meaningful experiences for people throughout our community.
We’re grateful to the Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch team for welcoming Shafer Cool Kids and giving us a closer look at the work they do every day.
Most of all, we’re grateful for the opportunity to help support a summer where participants could spend time with the horses, build new skills, make memories, and experience everything that makes the ranch such a special place.
Learn more about Open T.R.A.I.L. Ranch and how you can support their mission.
You’re Safer With Shafer.