About Breaking Free

Breaking Free is a 501(C)3 non-profit service that benefits our community through working with horses and activities that encourage people to break free from circumstances that prevent them from reaching their potential in life. 

Our organization can help people resolve conflicts, negotiate difficult life transitions, and find the strength to overcome addictions, abuse, and other harmful conditions.

Working with Horses
​​We are dedicated to help trauma survivors break free from negative memories that come from personal or environmental circumstances. Horses by nature reflect the human emotion and so by working with horses you can learn a lot about yourself as you spend time with horses.

By teaming up with such a large beast, you learn how to gain power, control and patience for something much bigger than yourself. We aim to provide a safe and supportive environment for those who are looking to gain control over their lives. Within several weeks of participating in the programs we offer, many of our clients have gained confidence, self-esteem, self-worth and pride in the quality of their lives that also helped to lessen their overall anger, fear, anxiety and depression.

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Our Clients
Breaking Free works with our clients by having them interact with horses outside in the arena on foot. Later, upon the request of our clients, our organization continues services that may involve riding horses. We facilitate discussion and reflection with every session. Our goal is to assist clients to discover solutions for challenges in their lives and reach personal goals. Clients do not need to be knowledgeable about horses in order to benefit from equine assisted mental health experiences. Breaking Free does not discriminate, nor does it collaborate with any organization that discriminates against persons because of race, religion, disability, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.  

Equine Assisted Learning (EAL) 
EAL focuses on recognizing your own emotions and thinking processes through experiences with horses on the ground. We also provide group therapy through EAL. For example, a group (such as a church, school, business) may want to clarify its mission, or build better communication with its audiences and constituents. EAL can positively provide opportunities for groups to think together productively, in order to reboot, revise and re-engage. 

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)
EAP focuses on the emotional health of clients and families, and sessions typically involve the individual and/or key family members. The client goals determine the content of the sessions and the number of sessions. Every EAP session with our client(s) involves:

1. The equine specialist
2. A mental health specialist
3. The horse

If the client does not have a preferred mental health specialist, Breaking Free will provide one. We are open to working with the client's usual mental health provider, should they have one, as an ad-hoc part of the team during treatment.  
 

watch our documentary

Breaking Free Documentary
Creator: Mike Grundmann
Associate Professor
School of Media Arts & Design
James Madison University