About US

Providing educational support, wilderness and equine experiences and camps and classes for adults, families and children for over 20 years.

WHO WE ARE:

M.A.E.R.A is a 501 c3 non profit dedicating to helping children and families in Montana. We specialize in running new and engaging programs, educational experiences year round.  We have an array of classes and camps from equine and wilderness programs, horsemanship, wilderness/primitive skills and collaborative educational experiences in Livingston, Montana.

Our organization committed to providing new and exciting opportunities and education to the community. Our goals are to help communities, people through increasing and developing relationships and new learning experiences. We continue to make positive and significant changes in the State of Montana by providing new experiences to children, families, individuals and the community both during the summer and school year.

All of our youth programs have full scholarships and sliding scale fees.

Through our work we help people gain new experiences to not only increase a sense of self, family and community connections, but also to develop working as a team.  To do this we offer a mixture of camps, clinics, lessons and classes year round in the form of overnight excursions, in school programming, after school activities and day camps/classes.  Our goal is to offer as many youth classes in Montana for a discounted rate through scholarships, grants and donations.

BASIC PROGRAM INFORMATION

Horse Program: Our horse program is dedicated to working with new horses and integrating them into our other programs where they fit.  Regardless of their needs, each horse that comes into our program goes through a mandatory testing/training and evaluation period including nutritional evals, vets and farrier work.  Once the horses have passed this component, each horse gets utilized to  build on their strengths while they continue to get training to fill any holes.  From relationship building classes, education classes and camps, pack trips and trail rides, to equine therapy groups, each horse gets used.  Eventually, every horse in our program will go up for sale so we can bring in new horses creating a circular program.  We specialize in finding these horses homes that fit the horse and human alike.  We currently have space for 25 horses in our program.

Horse Related Classes: MAERA prides itself in developing communication, relationships and connections with horses.  This takes time and utilizing the horses that come into our rehabilitation program is an innovative and unique approach to increase life skills, awareness and a sense of self with the children and adults we work with.  With the horses in our program we teach natural horse communication, provide riding lessons based on assertive responses, assist with training and create a lasting relationship between people and horses using techniques developed by one of our owners Sasha Squires.

Wilderness and Primitive Skills Classes: We specializes in our vast list of classes for both adults and children, that focus on bringing people into the beauty of Montana, exploring themselves, and developing a senses of community through teaching Primitive and Survival Skills. Working and learning with and through the wilderness and horses creates a long term balanced relationship for both people, the community and the environment. Horses are also utilized in some of our education and awareness programs such as: backcountry trips, trail rides, pack trips and animal education classes.

MAERA  specializes in increasing these connections and experiences by teaching Primitive Skills, while using Outdoor Education and Nature Exploration to promote self-healing and increasing awareness. Working and learning with the earth creates a long term balanced relationship for both people and the Earth.  Our focus not only is the process itself, it is the history, the science and the lost art of these unique skills that also creates a memorable learning experience.

Therapeutic and Mental Health Services: MAERA is proud to say they are the only horse program in Montana that utilizes rehab horses and the wilderness in a therapeutic way to help heal individuals, create new learning, and a balanced sense of self.  We are in the process of re-developing our equine/wilderness therapy component at our Paradise Valley Property and are pending grants and funding to make these dreams come to fruition.  All of our horses have been used for Mental Health Services in both the Bozeman and Helena areas for youth in need.  Once our program in the valley is underway, Sky Horse will offer therapy sessions that integrate both the horses and the wilderness to promote healing.

Using the horses alongside families, individuals and children creates an immense healing environment.  We hope to offer these therapeutic groups to all populations from Medicaid, private pay, private insurance and through scholarships and grants.  We want this element along with all other aspects of our Association to be fully inclusive.

CLASSES RUN ALL YEAR: please see our class schedule page for a detailed list of upcoming classes.