Last year and into 2021 has seen thousands, if not millions of Canadians struggling to cope with the social, economic and health upheaval that is the pandemic. These related stressors range from depression, isolation, and anxiety to financial concerns.
For two Newfoundland equine organizations, help is on the way for local Covid fatigue sufferers. According to a joint Facebook post, the Spirit Horse mental health program in Portugal Cove is partnering with Countrytime Equine in Glovertown, with funding provided by the Canadian Red Cross, to create the new program.
The announcement reads that as a result of the funding they can offer 100 free hours of EAT for Covid relief. Erin Gallant is the program director for Stable Life which runs the Spirit Horse program. Her counterpart in the Covid program is Sue Sweeney-Janes who runs Countrytime Equine Emergency Services, who had contacted Erin the same week that Stable Life was starting to train staff. Sweeney-Janes is a certified Advanced Emergency Equine First Aid Instructor (EFAI) with Equi-Health Canada and Equi-First Aid USA, the first in Newfoundland. She is also the first Licensed Affiliate Instructor Trainer for Atlantic Canada.