This is part of a series highlighting MCN members across the state, featuring a vast array of nonprofit focus areas, and celebrating the myriad ways nonprofits enrich lives.
Marsha Anderson had a love of horses from an early age, growing up as she did in a family that raised quarter and paint horses. She went to school to be an animal behaviorist, and while at school, she came across the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. “That really intrigued me,” Marsha said, “and I thought, that would be a great way to work with animals and then also be able to give something back to people that maybe don’t have all the breaks in life.”
She founded her own equine therapy nonprofit, Equul Access, in 2002 in Hutchinson, Minnesota. “The reasoning behind the name is, I think that horses have value to anybody,” Marsha said, “and everybody should have equal access to them.” With accreditation through the Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International, Marsha’s nonprofit began as a way to help individuals with disabilities. That is still a core part of their mission, but they have since diversified their offerings under the belief that all people can benefit from the therapeutic effects of horses. They now have programs for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities, veterans and their families, caregivers, people with dementia, as well as partnering with local schools.
One thing Marsha has witnessed firsthand is how horses provide countless benefits beyond physical. “Working with horses does a lot for mental health. The horses are fantastic to partner with for that because they are authentic, their responses are immediate, and there’s no judgment, which is kind of delightful. Humans can at various times fail at all of those things, and the horses don’t.” One story that stuck with Marsha came from a participant with spina bifida, a condition affecting the spinal cord. She was a young teen and struggling with depression. “Getting out here and getting connected with the horses gave her purpose,” Marsha said. Working with the horses improved her mental health, and now as an adult she’s started coming back to work with the horses as a volunteer. “So it’s kind of come full circle.”
While the calmness one experiences around horses can seem like just an innate feeling, Marsha shares that there is real science behind the phenomenon. When we are next to a horse, our heart rate tends to slow because it coordinates with the horse’s heart rate. “So that’s one of the reasons people feel calmer out here with the horses. They can’t really put words to it because maybe in their mind, they’re a little bit tense or a little bit apprehensive, but their heart rate will actually slow down. And that’s a good physical benefit for helping regulate the systems.”
In addition, “Being by the horses makes you grounded because they’re big and you have to be more aware of your surroundings, and it brings people into the right now. That can help rewire the brain to get out of the panic mode or the constantly-on-edge mode and relax and be right now.”
Equul Access is an example of one of the many Minnesota nonprofits that is completely volunteer run, with no paid staff. Marsha is able to operate the nonprofit thanks to the dedicated volunteers who believe in the mission, as well as donations that go almost entirely towards the cost of the horses’ upkeep. Looking towards the future, Marsha is hoping to stay closely attuned to the community’s needs, shifting their offerings as new opportunities arise. For example, Equul Access will soon start offering field trips for local daycares.
With 24 years under their belt, Equul Access is here to stay in the Hutchinson community, bringing the healing power of horses to anyone who needs it. “Everybody has opportunities to be a better human being and to be a healthier human being,” Marsha said. “And horses help us make that happen.”
Learn more about Equul Access here: www.equulaccess.org