Pamela Logan moved to Florida in 1991 and began looking for volunteer opportunities working with children and animals.
She found both at Horses Helping the Handicapped, a small program in need of better leadership, and within two months she was named board chair.
Three months later, this small program restructured into Harmony Farm, a non-profit, volunteer-based organization whose goal is to “provide alternative therapy to people with disabilities” through horseback riding.
“We want people to feel like they’re with family. It’s one big family. … There’s a lot of negativity in the lives of people with disabilities. This has to be a place of positivity. There’s nothing better than harmony,” said Logan, the executive director. “The animals, the people, everything is in harmony.”
That’s why the program was named “Harmony Farm.”
Harmony Farm has been in business for 32 years and hosts at least 2,000 horseback riders a year. It relies on volunteers, all of whom clean the stalls, fill buckets of water and do all the other tasks that need doing. The organization runs on donations, gifts and sponsorships. Logan says they’ve never bought a horse; everything is donated. All of Harmony Farm’s horses are over 12 years old and have quiet demeanors, calm, quiet eyes and a penchant for “stopping before running.”
Photo by Jill Blue.
It’s important that these horses are a good fit for Harmony Farms because they are tools used in therapy. For riders with physical disabilities, the horse is their leg. A horse’s pelvic movement is the same as a human’s, so the horse’s gait is closest to the human gait. Because riders with physical disabilities can’t rely on their horses to support their upper body, they have to move in ways they’ve never done before, strengthening their core, back, brain, and more.
“I can’t get there in a wheelchair, but I can get there on a horse,” said one rider who has multiple sclerosis.
More than half of the participants are children on the autism spectrum. Riding goes against almost all of their instincts and requires close attention to the horse, the sidewalker and the leader. Riders play games and learn how to ride and control their horses, which builds self-esteem and independence. Some riders who won’t hug their parents will hug the horses or the volunteers helping them.
Logan said horses “are magical, perceptive, intuitive, and perfectly suited for this type of therapy because of their nature and personality.”
Harmony Farm gives the legsless a chance to walk, the selectively mute a voice, and helps children laugh who never laughed before.
Harmony Farms is located at 2205 Pluckebaum Road in Cocoa.