Meet Heather Parker | Director of a Nonprofit Horse Therapy Program, Natural Horsemanship Trainer, and Science Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Parker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
I had worked at three different horse therapy programs, and each were a bit different: one was vaulting, one was trail riding, and one was in an arena. The one common issue I noticed at all three was that sometimes horses misbehaved mildly or not so mildly. Nobody really seemed to know how to fix it. It was just one of those things you dealt with and tried to mitigate the risks as much as possible. I decided that before I was going to start my own program, I wanted to go to “horse college”. I signed up as an apprentice for a well-know “horse whisperer” named Charles Wilhelm. I signed up for one year of his work-to-learn program where I had to live in the bunkhouse and work basically seven days a week at his training facility. In exchange, I learned to train problem horses. I think the foundation that I learned of how to fix behavior problems in horses in a way that works with the horse, not using pain and punishment, made all the difference. I have horses that are very safe and when I do take on a new horse I can fix any issues that come up.

What should our readers know about your business?
I think the thing I am most of proud of, and what sets my program apart from the rest, is that it is one hundred percent free. For almost 20 years I have provided this therapy to children with special needs at no charge. In the last few years I have a set a suggested donation amount, but have always emphasized that people only need to donate if they are able. I have never turned anyone away for not being able to afford it. When I was just starting out and working at other programs, I often heard people say that it was really helping their child, but with physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc, they just couldn’t afford it. I knew that I wanted to make it my mission to provide it for free, but everyone told me I was crazy. You can’t take care of horses in the Bay Area or anywhere for that matter, not charge for riding, and make ends meet! There have been many times, especially in the early years when I thought it was doomed and that I could never make it work financially. Just when things seemed the most hopeless, the phone would ring and someone would tell me they were making a large donation and it was going to just cover what I needed. In the last couple years I have teamed up with Novato Spirit and now have a lot of riders that live below the poverty level and I also work with a local homeless shelter for moms and their children.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to Morning Star Farm to hang out with my horses and take them for a trail ride through O’Hair park, where I take my riders. It is a shady, quiet trail with a little creek that runs through it. There is a spot where you come out of the woods and it opens up into a lush green meadow and you can see all the beautiful hills around you. Beyond horses, I would take them to Pierce Point Ranch to hike up to see the Tule Elk, I would go to Doran Beach (with or without horses), and I would take them kayaking at Sea Trek in Sausalito where you can see tons of Harbor Seals, pelicans, and wild life all around you.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The first person that jumps out is my mom. She convinced me to follow my passion, become a horse trainer, and to open a horse therapy program instead of going to medical school like I had planned. She knew that I would be much happier being outdoors, being with horses, and working with kids. Second would be Charles Wilhelm, the trainer I did my horse training apprenticeship with. He taught me that everything I had learned about horses was wrong, and that there was a better way to communicate with them. He also let me start my program at his facility, helped me find horses for my program, and encouraged me every step of the way. Third is Morning Star Farm in Novato. The Byars invited me to relocate my program to their facility when we moved back to the Bay Area, and have been such wonderful hosts. Last is the awesome women I have met in Novato that also run nonprofits! Carolyn Conner runs Morning Star Vaulters and works day and night to coach vaulting to kids, keeping it affordable for families, sewing matching outfits for competitions, running the Novato Junior Horsemen’s Club and making sure there is a next generation of horse people to keep the sport alive! Marian Huntington ran NovatoSpirit for 18 years and worked tirelessly to raise money for children living in poverty to be able to participate in after school programs. The three of us have teamed up and making sure all kids in our area have access to these amazing horse programs!

Website: www.hoovesforharmony.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hoovesforharmony/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-parker-8484531b/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoovesForHarmony