Our Equine Elders Program provides engaging and empowering activities for older adults and those with Dementia diagnoses. We offer physical activity, memory & speech stimulation, and a community, all developed will accessing our beautiful, safe, outdoor environment. Most importantly, we offer an opportunity for emotional healing and joy.
A Devastating Disease
Chances are you know someone—a close family member or friend—who’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or a form of Dementia. I did. My dad had Dementia and he’s the inspiration behind the creation of this program.
Over seven million people in the United States are living with the disease. Nearly half of all nursing home residents are living with Alzheimer’s Disease or a form of Dementia. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million– almost double current rates if nothing changes to combat it.
In 2022 it was shown that Alzheimer’s Disease is listed to be the sixth leading cause of death among Americans, killing more people than Breast and Prostate Cancer combined. It is also the only leading cause of death that has no known source of effective treatment.
Although we can’t offer a cure, we can offer a source of healing. Spending time with animals and in nature helps reduce social isolation and loneliness in the elderly and improves quality of life, helping to nourish the soul.
Our Equine Elders Program consists of Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) activities for older adults. This means no horseback riding is involved, as we choose to work on ground skills that can more easily translate back into everyday actions. Overall, our program is designed to provide a place of respite during the challenging journey people with Dementia and their care partners experience after diagnosis. Read on to learn more!
Book an Equine Elders Session
Book for Groups
If you are an Activities or Program Director at a retirement community or assisted living facility and are interested in booking a visit to our farm for your residents, please click below.
Book for Individuals
If you are a caregiver of someone who you think would enjoy and could benefit from some time with our horses and in nature here at the farm, or you are a senior interested in participating in our Equine Elders Program, please click below.
Equine Activities for Seniors Include:
- Discussing, reading, and writing equine literature, poetry, and haiku.
- Feeding goats, chickens, and fetching eggs.
- Haltering and leading horses (catching and walking with your horse).
- Holding and loving on baby goats.
- Horse painting – practicing the expressive arts, alongside music, breathing and calming techniques.
- Grooming – learning how to use grooming tools and identifying their purpose, while simultaneously practicing dexterity, hand use and arm muscle movements
- Making horse treats and popsicles.
- Observing horses and discussing their unique personalities and behaviors.
- Using the senses – noticing horses’ colors, smells, warmth, and sounds or noticing the environment while on nature walks.
Garden Program
In addition, for those interested, we also provide time in our gardens where participants can plant, tend to the gardens, and harvest. If you are interested in our gardening program, please indicate so when you register.
Benefits of working with horses:
- Gain self-worth & self-esteem.
- Increases overall mobility and balance.
- Improves flexibility and strength.
- Provides dexterity, fine & gross motor skills, and arm muscle movements.
- Relieves anxiety and stress.
- Stimulates memories, while alleviating loneliness & depression.
- The simple act of grooming or lifting a horse’s hooves to clean, can restore a person’s feeling of self-confidence.
Notice to Users
The Fox Moon Farm Project is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, medical treatment, medication, or therapy. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified mental health provider with any questions you may have regarding any mental health symptom or medical condition. The Fox Moon Farm Project Inc. is not authorized to make recommendations about medication or serve as a substitute for professional advice. Never disregard professional psychological or medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice or treatment because of something you have read on The Fox Moon Farm Project, Inc.
We work with PATH International, a federally registered 501(c)3, which leads the advancement of professional equine-assisted services, by supporting its members and stakeholders through rigorously developed standards, credentialing and education.
PATH Intl. was founded in 1969 to promote safe and effective therapeutic — also known as adaptive horseback riding throughout the United States and Canada. Today, PATH Intl. has 813 member centers and nearly 7,000 individual members in countries all over the world who help and support more than 53,300 men, women and children — including nearly 6,000 veterans — with special needs each year through a variety of equine-assisted services.