2021-2022 Financial Year
This was another year of challenges with COVID-19, floods, unexpected vet bills and growing demand for program places all combining to make the year more stressful and and less productive than we had planned.
COVID-19
Lock-downs, vaccination mandates and new variants all played their part in:
- interrupting program schedules which led to repeated session deferrals and lower overall attendance rates. This had a major impact on the number of program participants that could be supported during the year
- fundraising event cancellations, leading to lower income
- a greater number of sick days and anxiety amongst our volunteer team leading to higher absenteeism rates for volunteer shifts – again impacting program schedules
Floods
The sanctuary was flooded twice in the early part of 2022 causing:
- more interruption to program schedules
- increased repairs and maintenance costs
- huge increases in the cost of hay (almost double from the year prior)
Vet Bills
An unexpected facial injury leading to sinus, dental and eye problems for our Brumby, Indiana, led to a significant increase in our vet bills for the year.
The arrival of little Phoenix, an orphan foal, in December 2021 also helped to increase vet costs considerably as he battled for almost five months to overcome a very traumatic start to life.
Volunteers
Despite covid, a record number of 73 volunteers generously gave their precious time in support of the sanctuary. Activities included: program support, horse care, gardening, fundraising, repairs and maintenance, house-keeping, social media, graphic design and volunteer co-ordination. 9088 volunteer hours were given.
Programs
The programs offered this year were:
- Recovery & Discovery Equine Therapy Program for Women
- Go Remarkable Equine Therapy Program for Girls
- Finding Bravery Equine Assisted Learning Program for Girls
- Meditate & Create Art Therapy Program
- Trauma-informed Yoga Program
For more details, please read our 2021-2022 annual report.