Healing through Horses

SCF founder Kate first met the extraordinary couple Siri and Bek as she administered a chemotherapy infusion against Siri's new diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Immediately struck by the couple's positivity in life and sheer determination to beat the disease, Kate was not at all surprised to later learn that they had started their own non profit called Believe Ranch and Rescue, where they "rescue horses from abuse and neglect giving them love, training and a second chance they so deserve."

Siri, a World Champion Triathlete , Athletic Coach and Motivational Speaker, and her wife and caregiver Bek, also a Champion Triathlete , had begun offering the opportunity for people to sign up to come meet their horses and experience the unique healing that comes from connecting with these beautiful animals through Equine Therapy.

So Kate reached out to discuss the possibility of having Small Choices fund a series of sessions that were targeted at Cancer Survivors and was met with a resounding "YES PLEASE! THAT WOULD BE SO AMAZING!"

Together we have provided multiple life changing encounters between horses who overcame abuse and neglect and humans who overcame a cancer diagnosis. Highlights of the sessions include Siri's inspirational words beginning each meet up that include starting each day with a practice in gratitude and her own heartwarming story of her usually wild horse instinctively knowing to be gentle and calm when Siri was first home from the hospital, weakened from her life saving bone marrow transplant and months of chemotherapy.

Other poignant moments occur as the participants calmly stand in the enclosures and let the horses pick THEM! The moment that horse walks pointedly up to someone and leans in for some grooming and love is one of the most sincere and heartfelt moments out there.

From participant Aleesha Roth (Hodgkin's Lymphoma/BMT survivor) "..what a powerful and healing experience it has been to connect with other cancer thrivers and the horses at the ranch. I walked away a new person, feeling so much more grounded, loved and optimistic about the future."