A nonprofit that provides equine therapy to military veterans and at-risk youth is looking for a new location after the Oak View ranch where it operated was destroyed by floods during Monday’s storm.
Reins of HOPE is located near the Ventura River, which crested Monday as an atmospheric river dumped torrents of rain on the area. The rising waters flooded the ranch and buried the area in mud. Executive director Kristan Adams said staff waded through waist-high waters to save the ranch’s horses, but the facility was destroyed by mudflows.
The nonprofit is asking the community for help so they can get their equine therapy programs up and running as quickly as possible. They are looking for a location of at least 1 to 2 acres with a minimum of five pens. They are also soliciting financial donations to replace supplies, equipment and feed was destroyed by the flood.
“We have lost nearly everything,” Adams said.
The executive director said she is trying to find a new location as quickly as possible because clients rely heavily on the horses for a sense of well-being.
She said time is of the essence due to funding reasons as well.
The nonprofit relies on donations and grant funding, but those grants require the organization to have a physical location and to be actively operating programs, she said.
Rescue effort
Adams said staff had been on high alert for the previous week’s storm, which was less severe than expected. When the rain picked up again Monday, she said, it fell so fast that flood waters rose from ankle-high to knee-high within a span of 20 minutes.
Adams said the effort to save the horses Monday was “one of the scariest experiences.” Staff started trying to load the horses into trailers around 1:30 p.m.. After they rescued the nonprofit’s six therapy horses, including two mini horses, they then set to work rescuing the other seven horses who lived at the ranch.
“It was pitch black and pouring rain, and we're in waist-high water trying to lasso very scared horses,” Adams said. “I never want to do that again.”
All the horses survived and are currently being housed at temporary locations throughout Ojai, according to Adams.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy
Reins of HOPE was founded in 2006 to provide equine-assisted psychotherapy to people suffering from challenges such as depression, anxiety, anger, trauma and substance abuse. They have programs to serve active-duty military members, veterans and first responders. They also work with at-risk youth, including those in foster care, those who have been rescued from sexual exploitation and who are in juvenile detention.
Therapy sessions do not involve horseback riding, Adams said. Rather, clients enter an arena with a licensed marriage and family therapist, an equine specialist and a horse and undergo a therapy session during which the horse roams free. Adams said the horses provide a sense of connection and help clients stay in the moment.
“Our horses are co-facilitators,” Adams said. “It is life-changing.”
Fern Diamse is a Navy combat veteran who has volunteered with the program for the past five years. He survived the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks in November 2018 but lost two close friends in the attack, which claimed the lives of 12 victims.
After the shooting, Diamse went from being a volunteer at Reins of HOPE to being a client. He said he benefitted from the equine therapy sessions following the shooting.
“You're talking about turning around your life, finding purpose and finding a relationship with a horse,” he said. “A horse is an 1,100-pound creature. But what we fail to realize as human beings is how intuitive these creatures are. If you're having difficulty, whatever it is, the horses help ground you. It’s healing.”
Diamse said the outdoor location offers a sense of peace and natural beauty to people who are suffering. The Oxnard resident has continued to volunteer with the Reins of HOPE, and he is currently working towards a master’s degree so he can pursue his own career in equine-assisted psychotherapy.
"It's touched me in so many ways, and I'd love to give back," he said.
Becky Niebecker, Rein of HOPE's program director, said stories like Diamse's highlight why it's so important to restart the therapy programs.
She said equine-assisted psychotherapy is a solutions-based, experiential approach that allows clients to set their own goals and receive real-time feedback from the horses, who help clients self-regulate their emotions.
"They can practice with the horse because the horse mirrors our behavior and gives us back the energy that we are putting out," Niebecker said.
This approach helps clients overcome trauma, build trust, distinguish between healthy and harmful behaviors, develop problem solving skills and learn positive ways to express and assert themselves, according to a press release from the organization.
Niebecker said clients need as few as eight sessions to see a difference. But Adams said they need reliable, consistent treatment, which has been thrown into jeopardy by the loss of a location.
Rebuilding
Adams said she doesn't have an estimate for the cost of the damage caused by Monday's storm. The organization, which had been located at the ranch in Oak View for the past four years, is ultimately looking for a permanent location but will settle for a temporary arrangement so they can restart their programs as quickly as possible.
They have enough money to operate for the next two months, Adams said, but the nonprofit will need "a lot of help" to continue their operations beyond that, and to replace items including panels for stalls, a new arena, sand, feed and an administrative area.
They also need to replace art supplies and other items used during therapy sessions.
"Any support helps," Adams said.
They are not looking for volunteers at this time, she said.
For more information or to donate, visit www.rohvc.org.
Dawn Megli is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at dawn.megli@vcstar.com or @ReporterDawn. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
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