Our HORSES are the true stars of Horses of Hope/Caballos de Esperanza Inc. They are specifically chosen and trained to be safe, capable, therapy partners. Our horses connect to our riders through unspoken trust and understanding. They are more than just training and therapy horses; they are family.
Chocolate
Cass
KTJ
Jibaron
Yunque
Boo
Rio
Our team also includes amazing volunteers and staff. All have expertise, training, and total dedication to making the experience for each client a journey of hope, healing and empowerment. We have many volunteer opportunities available. If you are interested in helping miracles happen, please contact us.
STAFF
Our Executive Director, Elaine Cosby, is uniquely qualified to bring the highest quality therapeutic equine services to our community. She is a Therapeutic Riding Instructor (CTRI), an Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL), and a qualified provider of Equine Services 4 Heroes, working with veterans and their families with equine-assisted activities. These certifications were earned through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International (PATH, Int’l), which has the highest safety and practice standards in the world.
Elaine is also a nationally certified speech language pathologist and has been practicing for the past 22 years. Before moving to Puerto Rico, she was on faculty at Western Michigan University where she taught both graduate and undergraduate courses, specializing in cognitive and social learning, animal-assisted therapy and trauma therapy.
She has been involved in equine-assisted learning, as well as training both horses and riders here in Puerto Rico for the past decade. In 2013-2014, she spent seven months in St. Lucia where she helped develop and fund an equine-assisted therapy program for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disorders. Since returning to Puerto Rico she has had many successes using horses to help adults and children with autism, as well as people with dementia, PTSD, cognitive-linguistic disorders, speech problems, visual and hearing deficits, and attention and mood disorders.
Facilities Maintenance and Website Developer, John Cosby, has many years of photography and website development, along with more than a decade of experience building and maintaining fences, corrals, tack rooms, water and electrical systems, and horse-safe gates and pastures. He and his wife, Elaine have lived in Isabela for 16 years and are former owners of Ola Lola's Garden Bar and Restaurant.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our board members bring experience and knowledge in a wide range of disabilities and therapies, facilities management, accounting, customer relations, online marketing and site maintenance, horse ownership and equine health education, trauma therapy, veterans' concerns, and connection to the community. All are 100% committed to creating a facility and organization that brings hope and healing through horses to northwest Puerto Rico.
We currently have openings on our Board of Directors. If you are interested in helping make miracles happen, please contact us.