Mystic Moon, a horse that has helped many trauma survivors, faces costly cancer treatment after years of providing free equine-assisted therapy to many

By Sydney Seymour, Ashland.news

A GoFundMe site set up in early December will help finance medical treatment for a horse that has provided comfort and healing to hundreds of individuals with trauma across the Rogue Valley and beyond. 

Ashland-based nonprofit organization Riding Beyond started in 2013, offering free equine-assisted therapeutic sessions to women with or in recovery from breast cancer. Located at Little Creek Ranch on Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland, Riding Beyond Founder Trish Broersma said, “There’s a welcoming attitude about the Rogue Valley, but especially Ashland for pioneering new ways of being. When we started Riding Beyond, it was something new.” 

Mystic Moon, the program’s first horse, was diagnosed with sarcoid carcinoma in April, a virus-based cancer. The veterinarian estimates a $10,000 treatment plan. 

A self-proclaimed “horse-crazy girl” since birth and now in her 70s, Broersma has been involved with therapeutic equine programs for over 35 years and is a former director of HOPE Equestrian Center, a therapeutic riding program based in Southern Oregon.

“Mystic is really quite remarkable,” she said in a phone call to Ashland.news. “Out of all the horses I’ve ever known, I haven’t ever met one like her.”

She described Mystic as a “beacon of hope and transformation.” As a free, donor-funded service, she continued, “This is an opportunity for people, especially those who have benefited from her, to contribute and help continue the gift she has.” 

In the program’s very first session, Mystic touched her muzzle to a breast cancer survivor’s hands, then to her solar plexus, nuzzling rapidly and gently. 

“I really didn’t know what was happening,” Broersma said. “This woman was weeping. Mystic had gone directly to the location of her tumor. The reason she hadn’t stepped away was because she could feel this energy pouring into her from the horse, that it was just life-changing.” The therapeutic work is based on heart-to-heart energy with the horse and other people, Broersma explained. 

Mystic Moon continued to show her gentle presence, hugging others by wrapping her head around them and letting them lie comfortably on her flat back. Broersma noted that Mystic’s training hasn’t involved food rewards. The program extended to anyone recovering from trauma following wildfires and COVID-19. 

The equine sessions, Broersma explained, help people re-learn their own body language and connect with another being and the natural world. Several participants have referred to the work as a “miracle,” according to Broersma. 

After relying on a medical team or isolation for so long, individuals coming from trauma might struggle not only with touch but also with understanding what they need and re-establishing relationships, she explained. “This connection that they found with the horse,” Broersma continued, “it allowed them to reconnect with themselves and their own intuitive sense.” 

While Broersma is unsure how long Mystic’s treatment will last, it can take up to a year. Treatment has been focused on the winter months in hopes the tumor will be healed when weekly sessions resume in April, Broersma said. 

Riding Beyond already spent over $2,500 in medical bills for twice-daily medications and biweekly cryotherapy. Starting with a $4,000 goal, the fundraiser will be updated in the coming weeks to reflect the total cost of the treatment. In the last few weeks, Broersma said treatment seems to be providing visible benefits and slow, steady healing. 

Riding Beyond, powered by 20 to 30 volunteers, four horses and a donkey, currently offers a free meditation with horses (open to all) every Thursday, which Mystic is actively engaged in. The organization’s weekly newsletter provides the specific time each week. 

Email Ashland.news reporter Sydney Seymour at sydneyseymourr@gmail.com.