Collection: MSIH

Mill Swamp Indian Horses is a collaboration of Gwaltney Frontier Farm(GFF) and Gwaltney Frontier Farm Educational Foundation (GFFEF), a Smithfield, Virginia non-profit organizations. Your financial support will help Mill Swamp Indian Horses preserve Colonial Spanish Mustangs through breeding, education, and awareness.

            GFFEF focuses on learning and teaching through healthy interaction with our environment. We use the tools of the outdoors and agriculture to accomplish these goals. We are located in a rural farming area, but because we strive to look for sustainable ways to interact with our natural environment we bring an atypical view of the land and agriculture to our community. This approach is hallmarked by our use of permaculture, which is an approach to agriculture that uses patterns of natural ecosystems to work with nature. We strive to create an environment that is healthy for our land and animals, both domesticated and wild. This approach is a huge shift in thought and behavior for a rural Virginia community—it creates a window into seeing that conservation and biodiversity can co-exist to create a healthy agricultural environment.

            In addition to promoting pasture maintenance and health through teaching and permaculture, we also promote education and mental health well-being through the preservation of heritage livestock though GFF. These educational programs engage local public school and homeschool children, as well as victims of violence and local veterans Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) program, which employs natural horsemanship techniques as a healing tool. Working with animals and the land that they utilize allows our children and adults to learn skills required for resilience in life: coping, competence, confidence, contribution, control, and character. An additional benefit is that these programs unite a diverse group of people with passion and vision, while working and playing in the outdoors—we learn while exercising, becoming physically and mentally healthy and empowering one another and conserving our nations agricultural livestock

            In conclusion, we believe that using nature to promote the education of our youth and adults so that they in turn can protect and value our natural world.  Please go to http://www.millswampindianhorses.com for more information.