Healing With Animals
Animals help people practice calm, confidence, empathy, and trust.
About Open Heart Farms
Building resilience through the healing power of animals.
Open Heart Farms creates hope for children with special needs, first responders, teens, and Equine Special Olympics athletes.
Our Purpose
We believe animals can help people heal, grow, and belong.
At Open Heart Farms, our mission is to build resilience and create hope through the healing power of animals. Through compassionate relationships between people and animals, we create a safe and nurturing space where healing happens, strengths are discovered, and lives are transformed.
We serve children with special needs through Hippotherapy, support first responders through meaningful animal connection, coach an Equine Special Olympics team that empowers athletes of all abilities to shine, and mentor teens as they grow in confidence, purpose, and character.
What Guides Us
Care that is practical, steady, and deeply personal.
Special Needs Support
Children are supported through Hippotherapy, patience, safety, and experiences that honor their pace.
First Responder Care
The farm offers restorative space for people who carry heavy work.
Teen Mentorship
Teens grow in confidence, purpose, character, and a safe place to be known.
First Responder Support
Led with lived service, training, and compassion.
Open Heart Farms owner Renee Beasley is a Lieutenant/Paramedic with 21 years of service and a member of the Florida Firefighters Safety and Health Collaborative Crisis Response K9 Team. Visit FFSHC on Facebook.
Renee and her K9 partner Ash have supported first responders through crisis response and peer support environments, bringing calm, comfort, and emotional grounding to difficult moments. As Ash retires from operational service, Renee continues supporting the team and hosting FFSHC Crisis Response K9 certification training at the farm.
Certified Support
FFSHC Crisis Response K9 and Alliance of Therapy Dogs National Therapy Dog Certification.
Peer Support Training
UCF RESTORES R.E.A.C.T Training, IAFF Peer Support, and Behavioral Health Awareness.
Operational Experience
Deployments include Hurricane Idalia, Hurricane Helene, and IAFF Peer Support activations.
Life at the Farm
A safe place to heal, belong, and be known.
Farm life gives people and animals steady routines, patient relationships, and moments of connection that can change a day, a season, or a life.
- Programs for children with special needs
- Supportive experiences for first responders
- Equine Special Olympics coaching and teen mentorship
Be Part of the Story
Help us keep the farm steady for every person and animal we serve.
The next chapter is built through volunteers, donors, families, first responders, athletes, teens, and neighbors who believe hope can grow here.