Article submitted by Karen Stollmeyer
What is HHH?
HHH stands for Horses Helping Humans.
We are a locally registered NGO that provides hippotherapy for children with autism and other special needs, equine facilitated therapy for stress, anxiety and depression in children and adults, horse and pony experiences and horseback riding services for the general public.
Our motto is Saving Horses, Serving Children, and we aim to not only serve the most vulnerable of our nation’s children, but to be a sanctuary for horses that may have nowhere else to go, and would otherwise have to be euthanised.
We currently have five ex racehorses, and four ponies, all specifically trained to be therapy horses and ponies.
We also have two older therapy dogs that are both rescues. They also play a vital role in our therapy services.
HHH aims to provide free or subsidised therapy for those children whose parents cannot afford therapy, and depends primarily on donations and sponsorships for its survival and to offer this service. We also need to provide the daily care and maintenance of our very special herd, hence the need for constant fundraising.
How was HHH founded?
HHH was founded here in Trinidad and Tobago by my husband Ernest Matthews and I in January 2012, and it became a registered NGO in March of 2013. It was born out of the deep love that I always had for horses. While living in Miami and working as a Speech and Language Pathologist, I came across hippotherapy and thought that this was the perfect way to merge my passion with my profession, and co-founded HHH in Miami in 1999. Due to the difficult logistics involved, it only lasted about three months and I never dreamed that I would be able to do that again. After moving back to Trinidad and teaching yoga for many years, horses once again came back into my life as we adopted our first horse that was in need of a home. Fast forward seven years, and we now have nine horses and ponies who work with over 20 children per week.
What are the future plans for HHH?
Future plans for HHH involve expansion of our sponsored programmes so that we can offer (more) free and subsidised therapy to those children who need it the most. We also hope to be able to purchase the parcel of land that we are now occupying so that HHH will have a permanent home well into the future. This will only be possible, however, with the help of donations and sponsors.
TRICARE is very pleased to be associated with Horses Helping Humans which has been a leader in Hippotheraphy – where Horses are used in assisting with primarily the children in our society. The Management and staff of Tricare along with its respective Doctors were encouraged by the efforts of HHH and the results that have arisen. So many children have been given the ability to realize their limitless potential and yet so many are denied merely because they did not have the ability to access this unique service. As such Tricare is pleased to offer discounted services to members of the HHH family and has pledged its unwavering support as a sponsor of their horses and related activities. We saluate those persons, famalies and corporate bodies who already support HHH and encourage other to join us in supporting us at HHH.