“I Got My Son Back”: Alba’s Story

Alba describes her son as an old soul. From the time he was little, he was sweet and loving, and a “big hugger.” But as the pandemic wore on, the 16 year old became more introverted and was spending more time on his own. He expressed his anxiety to his mom, but didn’t know how […]

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Meet Our New Board Members – Adam, Cortney, and Abbey!

Welcome Adam, Cortney, and Abbey to our Board!   Adam Decker N/A Sales Manager, Briggs Distributing Co. Born and raised in Billings, Adam Decker attended Billings Senior High School and later MSU-Billings, where he graduated with a degree in accounting. Upon graduating Adam entered the family business, Briggs Distributing Company, where he has held various […]

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A Labor of Love

Stephanie Melmer is a LCSW that specializes in Mental Health Counseling at Billings Clinic and provides therapy sessions at Chinook Horses. During a therapy session, 14-year-old Stephanie was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, she immediately responded with “I want to do what you do…help people heal so they can […]

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Giving Back For A Brighter Future

Susan Edwards, a native of Montana, has been a supporter of Chinook Horses since the inception of the organization. Susan met Abigail, Founder and Director, through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) program at Rocky Mountain College in 2014. Soon after, Susan attended a fundraising event and was captivated to learn that direct contact […]

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Meet Our New Board Members!

Welcome to our Board, Cassie and Ericka!   Cassie Crookston VP, Opportunity Bank Raised in Billings/Laurel area, Cassie Crookston is the VP Regional Retail Manager for Opportunity Bank where she devotes her time doing business development, management, and connecting with the Billings community. Cassie is the President of The Laurel Exchange Club, Board Member for […]

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Our Champ Chase

Chase came to Chinook Horses at the beginning of the summer, referred to us by his social worker. He had recently gone to live with an Auntie and was really struggling to control violent outbursts towards family members. “Taking it out on the wrong person,” is how his foster mom Stacy described it. Chase began […]

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Our Research

Last year, we completed our report on the research done in collaboration with the Billings Public Schools and University of Mary, Dept. of Occupational Therapy on the outcomes of our equine-facilitated learning program Social Thinking Groups! Click HERE to read the report.

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Pony Update: The Fortin Four

Last October, we acquired our first herd of ponies. Their owner, was elderly man who had them their entire lives, but he could no longer care for them. He had seen Chinook Horses on the news and thought we could make the perfect home for them.  When Abigail learned about the ponies, she reached out […]

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Staff Spotlight: Kyanne Wear

In early 2016, a co-worker passed along information about Kyanne Wear to Abigail who was just starting out with equine-assisted therapy services. At that time, Kyanne was branching out into private practice. She had heard of equine-assisted therapy and was interested to learn more, so she jumped when Abigail contacted her. “I wanted to explore […]

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