Our Mission

At Horses Help SWI, our mission is to provide equine-assisted therapeutic services in a safe, inclusive environment for individuals with physical, cognitive, emotional, or social challenges. Through our HELP framework—Harmony, Empathy, Life Skills, and Presence—we use connection with horses to support growth, confidence, independence, and meaningful connection.
 

Our History

Horses Help SWI began with a simple observation: horses can help people connect, communicate, and feel supported.

In 2021, Council Bluffs native Linda Heithoff Borman was visiting her brother Joe, who had Down syndrome and dementia. While working with him on memory exercises, Linda noticed something that stopped her in her tracks: when she showed Joe pictures of her horses, his face lit up. He began naming the horses, and the other adults with disabilities in his home were fascinated by the photos too.

Linda had spent years building equine programs in Arizona. In 2010, she founded Kachina’s Place Equestrian Center in Cave Creek, Arizona, and served as its first President and Executive Director for the next decade.

After seeing how strongly Joe and his housemates responded to the horses, Linda began looking for equine-assisted services in the Council Bluffs area. She discovered that there weren't many programs nearby offering these kinds of experiences to people with disabilities.

Joe passed away in 2022. Linda wanted to honor his memory by bringing the kind of connection she had seen between Joe and her horses to her hometown.

She found the perfect place: a peaceful, horse-friendly 20-acre property just southeast of Council Bluffs. She then partnered with longtime nonprofit leader Kori Nelson, who became Horses Help SWI's first Executive Director.

Together, Linda and Kori began building the herd, the programs, and the community that would become Horses Help SWI.

Today, Horses Help brings people and horses together through equine-assisted services, adaptive riding, educational programs, community experiences, and more. Our herd includes both full-sized horses and miniature horses, each with their own personality and special way of connecting with people.

What started with a few photographs of horses has grown into a place where horses help people find connection, confidence, joy, and possibility.