Healing with Horses a haven for all

IT was originally intended to be a rehabilitative space for injured horses.

But over the years, the Healing with Horses Foundation, located in Galla Street, Buccoo, Tobago, has also been a haven for those with special needs, holiday makers and others who simply want to commune with nature.

The foundation, which offers free equine therapy, has also been a sought-after destination for weddings, engagements, birthday celebrations, mini conferences and other gatherings.

The Prime Minister, former president Paula Mae-Weekes, ambassadors and THA chief secretaries, including current office holder Farley Augustine, were among its guests over the years.

The foundation, established by German Veronika Danzer-La Fortune, celebrates its 14th anniversary on August 26. It began in 2007 and became a registered, non-governmental organisation in 2010.

To commemorate the occasion, Danzer-La Fortune will be hosting a simple luncheon and thanksgiving ceremony at the Healing with Horses park, located a short distance away from the foundation’s administrative headquarters.

Danzer-La Fortune, who manages the foundation with her husband, Lennon, is excited about the event.

“We are inviting volunteers, students, well-wishers, sponsors and some dignitaries, like Harriet Cross (British High Commissioner), other ambassadors and politicians who have been supporting the Healing with Horses Foundation with their goodwill over the years. We will be celebrating our achievements and the community members who helped us to build this strong foundation,” he told Newsday on August 21.

Danzer-La Fortune said at the event, which is expected to run from noon to 2 pm, people who have contributed significantly to the development of the foundation, would be presented with trophies, medals and small hampers.

She was especially grateful to Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy, whom she said, got permission from the authorities to allow the horses to graze at the nearby Golden Grove Estate.

“This is a really great initiative because each horse needs about an acre to graze and we have about 13 presently.”

Danzer-La Fortune believes it is very important to show appreciation and gratitude.

“Without that, I would not be where I am. It helps me in the morning to get up. When I start counting my blessings. When I start giving thanks for life, for health and strength, it doesn’t matter how I felt before. I instantly feel better.”

For her humanitarian efforts over the years, Danzer-La Fortune was awarded the German Order of Merit during a simple function at the park on December 4, 2023.

German Ambassador Dr Christophe Eick presented the award, noting that Danzer-La Fortune visited Tobago on vacation several years ago and made the island her home.

In response, Danzer-La Fortune thanked her country for the acknowledgment.

“I would have never expected or thought of me having one day this very special Order of Merit, which is standing for community work and charity service,” she said at the ceremony.

She also expressed gratitude to Trinidad and Tobago for welcoming her with love.

Danzer-La Fortune, who describes herself as a free spirit, grew up in Bavania, a small village in south Germany. She left home at 15 and attended a special school in north Germany.

She later became an equine coach trainer and worked for several years in horse musicals, developing an intimate knowledge of their habits and bahaviours.

Danzer-La Fortune’s book, Happiness Shines In the Distance: How I Found My Paradise Thanks To My Great Love And A Wild Horse, gives details about her life in Germany, her passion for horses and involvement with the NGO.

She said it also encourages people to “follow the voice of the heart and think positive.”

The book, which is already out in Europe, is also available at Amazon.

Danzer-La Fortune accepted an invitation from gospel/jazz singer Jean Lyons to visit Tobago in 2004. She fell in love with the island and decided to make it her home.

She recalled it was Ancil Torres, president of the Torres Foundation for the Blind, who encouraged her to establish the Healing with Horses Foundation in 2009.

“I remember he came in with 25 visually-impaired campers who came from all over the Caribbean to experience horseback riding and he asked if we would have been able to facilitate a camp.

“We opened the space and it ran successfully for two weeks and then afterwards he asked if we ever thought about registering a foundation because then we would be able to raise funds.”

Danzer-La Fortune said Torres outlined the process, saying it would involve the setting up of a board, lots of paperwork and “a team behind her vision and mission to make it work.

“I think this is also why Healing with Horses grew so amazingly within the last 14 years, because we have been working a lot with other NGOs hand in hand. It’s a network.”

She described Healing with Horses as a place where people can find their unique purpose in a tranquil, stress-free environment.

The park, which occupies a three-acre plot of land, was donated by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). It comprises a large riding area, a kitchen and washroom facilities, among other amenities.

Most of the park’s intricate artwork, including several hand-painted pieces, were done by artists, volunteers, students and teachers

Its main occupants are horses that have been discharged from the racing and show jumping industry. Recently, the foundation also adopted a mounted branch horse that had been in service for 18 years.

Beside horses, the park is also a sanctuary for dogs and cats.

Danzer-La Fortune said a section of the park is also designated for agriculture. It’s one of the methods through which they support their work.

“We plant trees, we harvest our own goods with the help of the horse manure. We also sustain ourselves by selling horse manure. It helped us during the covid19 pandemic. Even people from Trinidad came for our horse manure.”

She said the foundation has never received a government subvention to assist with its work.

“It is something we are still working on.”

She said over the past 17 years, the facility has been sustained largely with funds from its various tour offerings - most of which deal with horseback therapy – and a few private donors.

“We approached the Ministry of Health in Trinidad and they were open but they mentioned that the THA is the body to approach. But we have been sustainable through selling tours.”

Danzer-La Fortune said most people are drawn to the popular, two-hour special trail tour. This includes a walk up to the park where patrons actually see and experience how the horses live.

They then move into the riding area and are hoisted onto the saddled horses.

Danzer-La Fortune said, “By this time, our guests are basically calling the horses names but the horses are choosing who they want to be with. Horse pick up people’s vibes. If you are very scared, the horse will not come to you. So if the horse smells your hand then the horse likes your vibe.”

Describing horses as herd animals, Danzer-La Fortune said as part of the special trail tour, they usually move together out of the park, down to Buccoo Point, through the wetland, along the mangroves, for a long beach ride and swimming.

There is also a tour to No Man’s Land for the more experienced riders and a park session for those who just want to connect with the horse. They learn how to approach the horses and groom them.

Saying that about 60 per cent of the foundation’s clients are from Trinidad, Danzer-La Fortune said they are usually fully booked throughout the year.

“That was a challenge over the past 17 years because it was in high demand and especially for the holiday season.”

But she said this year – for the first time since its inception – the foundation took a three-month break and is expected to resume on November 3.

Danzer-La Fortune said the lengthy break gave them the opportunity to enhance various aspects of the park’s operations.

She admits that maintaining the park and the horses can be challenging.

“Every day we have to cut grass for the horses, rain or shine. So you just have to keep on it. It is livestock and it is in the open. It is not an office you can just close. That is the challenge.

“Other than that, it is about finding the balance between rest and rejuvenation and keeping the business up. The health, welfare of horses and support staff and the horses are just as important as money coming in. So that is why we put ourselves on a three months rest. We have time to do some major renovations.”

Danzer-La Fortune considers it a gift to be able to manage an equine therapy facility in Tobago.

“A lot of people have asked us to set up another branch in Trinidad. But Tobago has a very special energy. Everybody knows we come to Tobago to relax, rejuvenate, retreat and this is basically what we started with the animals and then the community members and children became interested.”

She said horses are a lot like humans.

“When you have an ex-show jumping horse that has been trained for so many years, has been living in a fancy stable but never experienced living in a herd, in a community, that horse does not know how to socialise. It is like a businessman only working in his office but never really takes himself out to do something else.”

The horses, Danzer-La Fortune said, are first allowed to find balance.

“It takes the horse sometimes a month or even a year to feel integrated in the herd. They are then able to move with the others to Buccoo beach and over to the Golden Grove Estate and then back to the park on evenings by themselves.”

She said Healing with Horses is a place where people share love and attention.

“This is why the horse, every evening come back, because they get the love and attention there. This is why students and volunteers come back, because we share love and attention. And this is why we heal, because we sharing that without pressure. “