Over the past year, costs have risen, prompting many to be creative, and this includes people at Heart of the Horse, a local nonprofit that provides equine therapy to young people with disabilities and veterans.

Heart of the Horse Therapy Ranch is a quiet place with a stable of 18 horses that help children and adults.

The nonprofit has been around for 11 years, but today faces one of the biggest challenges.

“Right now we have alfalfa to feed our horses,” said Heart of the Horse CEO Guy Adams.

Adams says last year at this time they paid $ 11 per bale, but in 2022 those prices more than doubled

“When it went up by $ 20-28 per bale, it got in the way. We run 1,500 bales a year.”

Rising prices are due to several things

“The cost of diesel is one thing, but finding water to grow hay is not easy for these guys,” Adams said.

Even at soaring prices, just finding hay has become a big problem, Adams says

“If there are alfalfa growers, give us a call,” he said. “Make a deal with us. We do not ask for free, we want to pay. We just need to bring it here. “

The ranch requires another 1,000 bales to keep the horses healthy and happy by the end of the year as long as it continues to provide a therapeutic ride for a number of families

“We conduct more than 200 sessions a month with weak children, not even counting veterans for free,” Adams said. “We never took a penny from anyone.”

What has exacerbated the situation for the therapeutic ranch budget is that since the beginning of the pandemic it has failed to hold an annual fundraiser.

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