CORE VALUES

CONNECTION: Our volunteers and staff are a community of individuals who are deeply committed to connection with God, connection with self, connection with others and who strive for connected relationships the way it was intended. We hope to foster relationships that bring about healing for self, others, and the animal partners with which we work, to the glory of God.

RELATIONSHIP: We believe the most important thing in life is connected, attuned relationships with God, self and others (including relationship with animals). 

ATTUNEMENT, TRUST, and MUTUAL RESPECT:

We believe healing happens in the context of attuned relationships based on trust, mutual respect, and partnership. We believe strength is found in vulnerability and authenticity, and that conflict in relationships can be an opportunity for growth that can strengthen the relationship. Therefore, regardless of the task or activity, a connected relationship with self and others is always the goal which means we are relationship-oriented and not task-oriented.

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PARTNERSHIP: We believe that a partnership can happen when each party seeks to control themselves only, and true partnership happens when each party appropriately controls themselves for the good of the relationship. We believe that if it’s not good for both, it’s eventually not good for either, and that a one-sided relationship is damaging to both parties.

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CONTROL OF SELF: Regardless of what is going on around me, it is possible to control what is happening inside of me. Relationship with others, quite simply, flows out of relationship with self (what we sometimes call regulation or our way of being in the world). Therefore, WHO we are in mentorship sessions is more important than WHAT we do. We realize that we can’t teach someone to practice something that we don’t practice and that as mentors, we cannot teach someone to live a life that we don’t live. As a result, personal growth becomes the foundation for what we do in our mentoring program, both for the mentors and the mentees.

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INTEGRITY: The most important thing is to do what is best for each child. We understand that what is best may not be what is easiest. We believe that animals are sentient beings, who have relational and thinking capabilities, and can be capable of partnership, if given the chance to develop. The relationship between horse and human is a real relationship in which relational patterns emerge, just like in any other relationship. We are committed to honoring and respecting our horses in how we conduct ourselves and our sessions. 

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AUTHENTICITY/VULNERABILITY: We believe that our core values can only be represented with honesty and integrity if we are being authentic to ourselves and who God made each of us to be. We strive to be authentic in our mentoring relationships and in the work we do with the horses. We also believe that authenticity cannot be achieved without being vulnerable. Each of us likely carries around some fears about how others perceive us. In order to be authentic, we have to trust that once we have built trust and connection, others will be accepting and generous with us when we present our true self to them. 

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TRUTH: We believe that all truth is God's truth, and that what we can discover on the back of a horse or in developing important life skills is as important a discovery as one might find in a sermon well-preached. Good principles remain good regardless of where they are applied.