Magdalena partners with Healing with Horses

ELIZABETH GONZALES and STEPHON NICHOLAS

AFTER witnessing first-hand the benefits derived from the Healing with Horses Foundation in Buccoo, Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort general manager Vinod Bajaj has brought the programme to the hotel.

Healing with Horses and Magdalena have partnered to provide a getaway vacation for guests to alleviate psychological issues cause by the covid19 pandemic.

The hotel is in the process of creating a space where guests can relax and "heal" by interacting with horses and participating in other activities. Some of these include beach clean-ups, planting trees, therapeutic horse riding, meditation and yoga.

Healing with Horses also has programmes for children who are mentally or physically specially-abled.

Healing with Horses founder Veronika La Fortune said their mission is to provide rehabilitation for horses as well as humans.

In an interview with Newsday last Wednesday, Bajaj explained how the partnership started.

He said, "I had the opportunity to visit the Healing with Horses park in Buccoo with Veronika and her husband last week, to see first-hand the amazing work they have been doing.

"We have decided to embark on a partnership to deliver quality experiences at the resort for the physically-challenged children in Tobago. This will range from yoga, art therapy, beach clean-ups, tree planting and horseback riding. We are in the process of finalising the agreement with them but we look forward to a fruitful partnership with this esteemed organisation."

La Fortune added, "It’s all about wellness and self-care in this time...We are already wrapping up packages where people staying at the hotel are going to be driven to our facilities at the (Buccoo) park for a one-day retreat where they will have the option to choose from yoga, meditation, vision board workshops, drumming with the kids. And then just being with the horses is a great experience. This will be the only hotel that would have horses on its compound."

According to La Fortune, this package is “a harmonious way of healing for all.”

She said this will also be a good opportunity for children who are frustrated and unable to comprehend the restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus.

She said ten children, two horses and 10 caretakers will be involved in the project.

The children will also be involved in painting and labelling trees at the hotel. She said, "Guests comes to Healing with Horses to relax, learn about trees and communicate with special-able ones."

She said part of the money from the hotel package will go towards the foundation.

La Fortune said Healing with Horses, then Being with Horses, started in 2007 but got three acres of land when it became available from when the Tobago House of Assemblyto develop the therapeutic park. Since then, she said 14 horses have been rehabilitated.

"They were given to us because they had no purpose, whether it was in the show jumping or race horse industry."

She said more space is needed for the horses.

"We are asking THA for another five acres of grazing land to be able to rehabilitate more.

"The THA gave us three acres of land which we developed as a therapeutic park. We have 12 (11 horses, one pony) equines living (here), there is a riding arena 66 feet in width, there are pastures. The space here in Buccoo, we are working on limited space, we are surrounded by water. There are no big meadows, and horses need a lot of exercise."

La Fortune expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for allowing them to operate in the water despite beaches being previously closed.

"They need regular exercise in the water. Keith Rowley gave us on 21st September a letter of exemption to take horses into the ocean. We were able to do water therapy with horses even through the beaches were closed. We want to honour him for that. Some horses have limp and (other) problems and if they don't get that circulation through the saltwater – basically the same thing for humans, We have a couple specially-abled people on board and they need that therapy. It ties back to nature healing."

La Fortune said she understood the anxiety by many people who were clamouring for beaches to be reopened.

"The whole lockdown people wanted to go back into the ocean. It's wonderful that beaches are now opened."

La Fortune said the park was enjoyed tremendously by schoolchildren but the physical closure of schools in March has put an end to outings there.

"Since March we don't work anymore together with schools which brought the children on a regular basis. Currently, we open our gates Monday to Saturday to give one-on-one sessions with the specially-abled children and adults."

La Fortune said it was important that the specially-abled are included in society.

She said among her five employees is a former student of the Happy Haven School.