Sometimes healing happens in a therapist’s office. At Spirit Horse Ranch, it can also happen in a barn, beside a horse, where connection, trust and understanding create a powerful path toward healing.

Spirit Horse Ranch is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing equine-assisted psychotherapy to individuals, families and groups. Its mission is to help people heal emotional wounds, process trauma, build resilience and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their relationships through the transformative power of horses.

Since 2024, Executive Director Kris Tevis and Program Director Lindsay Stayton have been working together to renew Spirit Horse Ranch’s mission and expand its services. Both are licensed independent mental health providers with extensive experience treating trauma, and both have witnessed firsthand how traditional office-based therapy doesn’t work for everyone.

Kris brings a lifelong connection with horses, along with a doctoral degree and years of experience as a mental health provider. She was approached about taking over Spirit Horse Ranch when its founder retired and saw an opportunity to share the healing power of horses with even more people.

Lindsay’s path to the organization began years earlier while working with adolescents in a residential treatment facility in Colorado, where she witnessed the positive impact of equine-assisted therapy. When Kris approached her about helping reestablish Spirit Horse Ranch, Lindsay’s clinical experience and background in developing programs for nonprofits made the partnership a natural fit.

Spirit Horse Ranch offers individual and group therapy through a trauma-informed equine-assisted psychotherapy model. The organization is unique in the region as the only nonprofit utilizing a two-clinician approach, with both clinicians trained in the Icarus Model of equine therapy. In addition to mental health services, the ranch offers corporate and team-building experiences.

The impact can be significant. Clients have experienced increased engagement and improvements in symptoms while developing confidence, coping skills and stronger relationships. The ranch provides a supportive environment for people working through challenges including stress, anxiety, grief and trauma.

One of the organization’s biggest challenges is meeting the growing demand for services while securing the funding necessary to expand access. Spirit Horse Ranch hopes to provide more scholarships, serve more underserved populations and build the organizational capacity needed to allow clinicians to focus on providing care.

The ultimate goal is simple but powerful: to provide mental health services to people in the community regardless of their ability to pay.

There are several ways the community can help. Spirit Horse Ranch’s annual giving and sponsorship campaign is underway, and donations can be made through its website. The organization will also be a charity partner for vinNebraska’s Bring on the Bubbles on October 24, with $100 from every $150 ticket sold benefiting Spirit Horse Ranch.Individuals interested in attending the event can reach out to Spirit Horse Ranch for ticket purchases. 

Community members can also volunteer, share the organization’s mission on social media, purchase merchandise through its online store or help with fundraising and events. The ranch is especially seeking a Volunteer Coordinator and an Events/Fundraising Coordinator.

To learn more, donate or get involved, visit www.spirit-horse-ranch.org. Follow Spirit Horse Ranch on Instagram at @spirithorseranchne or find them on Facebook.

At Spirit Horse Ranch, healing begins with connection—and sometimes, the most powerful connection is the one formed between a person and a horse.