Forever Amber Acres: Humans & Horses Healing Together
By Alice Sousa, BEAT reporter
BRUNSWICK, OH- Forever Amber Acres Animal Sanctuary provides equine-assisted healing services to individuals facing mental health challenges and anxiety. People with mental issues get to connect with horses in need and make a safe environment for people of all ages. Forever Amber Acres, located on 1133 Granger Road in Medina, creates a safe place for people to heal, grow and thrive. They are small but mighty, serving a total of 2,800 clients. Since 2018, they have provided 3,000 hours to their clients, 98% free of charge.
Michele Bolinger, the founder and executive director, began the program with a big loss in her life. She rescued the non-profit organization’s first horse in 2006, a horse with a spicy personality called “Foreveramber”. Through this experience, Bolinger learned to understand the healing power of therapeutic horses. Horses that had trauma and were headed for death had a new beginning. Bolinger had a vision that military veterans would have the chance of being transformed mentally and physically by horses.
Many people have shared their own experiences from Forever Amber Acres, which are featured on their website (www.foreveramber.org ). For example, a United States Veteran said, “It’s amazing to see what the horses did for us veterans. Tension left our bodies. I had to let go of my control and my ego.”
Forever Amber Acres offers a variety of programs including Guided Meditation, where individuals or groups can participate in Mindfulness Workshops, guiding them to unwind and connect with their roots with a group of people and making them feel relaxed and calm. They meditate to get to their senses and focus on the present moment, not the future. Another program is Reading to the Rescues (Tuesday - Friday, July 14-17 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm), a literacy activity where children can read to rescued therapy horses and animals and engage in an interaction group story time.
“The challenges we face in life are opportunities to gain strength and to grow,” stated Bolinger. “When we open ourselves up to horses, that growth becomes accelerated.”
Visit www.foreveramber.org to learn more about Forever Amber Acres, or check out their Facebook or Instagram.
Alice Sousa, Brunswick Middle School, is one of over fifty student “backpack journalists” (grades 6-12) in the award-winning BEAT Video Program. The program, celebrating its 25th year, is sponsored by Donut Land, Plum Creek Assisted Living Community, MODA Gifts, Scripps Howard Foundation and the Brunswick Rotary Club. Go to https://www.bcsoh.org/community/new-beat-site to learn more about the Program, or visit https://thebeat.viebit.com/?folder=ALL to view videos produced by the students.
PHOTOS: Michele and Foreveramber after her rescue, Fall 2006; Michelle and Freedom the horse, Spring 2023; Michele and Sage the horse in a group herd mediation, June; Michele and Sequoia the horse drumming session, Spring 2025.