The gravel road winds past whispering pines and sunlit fields, giving way to a wooden sign: Fox Moon Farm. Beyond it lies 60 acres of wild serenity deep within King and Queen County, with meadows stitched with clover, a glassy lake, and the low murmur of horses shifting in the pasture.
It is a place where time seems to stretch and soften, where nature and compassion braid together like strands of a bridle, and where a truly unique and enriching project was formed. For the people who come here, including children with autism, adults living with dementia, and parents weary from worry, this is more than a farm. It is a sanctuary.
The Fox Moon Farm Project began as a dream to “be of service.” Co-founded by Cindy Freishtat and Maria Flint, the nonprofit was born from a search for something real and rooted. It was a calling that would bring immeasurable meaning to their lives and to the lives of others.
Maria always dreamed of a farm for healing where people could gather to build community and connection. Cindy knew firsthand the healing powers of horses, having grown up with them, and was later inspired by her father, who had dementia, to create a nonprofit to help others in need.
The farm’s motto is simple: We Grow People.
“Growing people” means many things, but one of the most important traits the Fox Moon Farm Project cultivates is hope. For some, hope means their child developing the skills to live independently one day. For another, it is overcoming depression. For someone else, it is the hope of friendship and a chance to go to prom. The magic created here is not limited by age, gender, or background. It is palpable, and every visitor can feel and benefit from it.
In addition to the children who come to the farm daily for sessions, whether through Social Services programs or self-pay, the farm welcomes everyone. Twice a month, a gathering of amazing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Transitions Day Support Services comes to spend time with horses and other animals.
Participants pet and groom the horses, hold baby goats, garden, and help with other barn chores. Each activity is designed to engage the mind and calm the nervous system.
“They connect on a spiritual level, on an emotional level, on a physical level,” explained Fox Moon Farm equine specialist Kiele Marston. “You can just see the smiles come out. You can see them getting out of their van with anxiety and transforming into just happiness. It is amazing to experience.”
Healing at Fox Moon Farm takes many forms. Sometimes it is the quiet pace of a horse’s huff, and sometimes it is the spark that happens when connection replaces fear.
When 17-year-old Matt first arrived, he was nonverbal. His eyes darted between the sky and the ground, never meeting anyone else. Freishtat, who runs the farm’s Healing with Horses program, said that while initially nervous, he soon became a beloved visitor.
“He is just very special to me,” she said. “Maybe it is because he is one of my first, I do not know, but I have been working with him for quite some time.” The connection came not through words but through rhythm.
“You have to find what attracts and engages them, and I quickly learned that for Matt it was music,” she said. “I started singing, and I started clapping and we started drumming.”
Music became their bridge, and in the months that followed, something miraculous happened. Matt began to practice verbal skills. He started following directions, driving the tractor and laughing out loud.
“One of the most powerful things that has happened with Matt is that he is starting to learn language,” Freishtat said. “He is finding his way into the world.”
At Fox Moon Farm, children with special needs learn through movement and touch. From brushing the coats of horses to gathering eggs or tending to the Community Garden that helps feed local families, every task builds confidence and helps create a calm space.
“A lot of these kids need to be outside. They need to be in a farm environment, and they need to be with animals,” Freishtat explained. “We were out in a big field, and I put Matt’s hands on the wheel, and I was like, ‘Let’s go.’”
The tractor rolled forward, the wind caught their laughter, and for a moment, everything was perfect. Driving the tractor has been a massive self-confidence boost for Matt, and it means there is real hope that he can one day drive a car all by himself.
“To be a parent of a child with special needs is so hard on so many levels,” Freishtat said. “And to see your child doing things that you never thought they might be able to do, whether saying words, driving a tractor, or opening gates and following directions… you know what we do? We give them hope.”
Hope, it turns out, is Fox Moon Farm’s truest crop.
The Healing with Horses program is part of a larger picture, one that continues to evolve. In addition, the farm hosts private family and friends Gathering Spaces. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion, having a family reunion or simply wanting to catch your breath, the farm offers the perfect backdrop for meaningful connections and inspiration. Dive into their beautiful lake for a swim or take a boat ride while soaking in the stunning views. All of the spaces are rentable by the day. Even the farm’s newest addition, Soul Moon Cove, builds that vision. Nestled by a six-acre lake beneath cathedral-high oaks, it serves as a retreat space for yoga, art, and empowerment workshops.
“It is a place to rest and rediscover yourself,” Flint said. “People come here to heal, to learn, to breathe.”
Hope also comes in the form of their Community Garden, a program designed to support families experiencing food insecurity in King and Queen County, as well as surrounding counties. Tended to by loving hands, the farm harvests and delivers thousands of pounds of organic produce to families in need each year, and there is more on the horizon.
Behind the scenes, another dream is taking shape: the Forest Trail Project. The team has been carefully crafting a network of winding paths through the surrounding woods, serving as a living classroom where participants can walk, ride, and explore. The trail will serve as a haven for horseback rides and quiet reflection while also becoming a new setting for hands-on learning. Along these shaded paths, children and adults alike will practice decision-making, confidence building, problem-solving, and creativity, guided by the gentle harmony of nature.
Leading the charge is the farm’s newest team member, Jared Rigney, whose background in outdoor education and easy humor have already made him a favorite among the kids.
“He has got them laughing and working hard,” Freishtat said, smiling, adding that the crew members are not just building a trail; they are building pride.
At Fox Moon, the belief that nature is the greatest teacher runs deep. On any given day, the farm hums with quiet purpose. Horses nicker softly as volunteers muck. Children’s laughter carries on the breeze. Down by the lake, dragonflies skim the surface while attendees practice meditation on the dock. It is not unusual to see a parent sitting nearby with tears in their eyes, not from sadness, but from the simple joy of watching their child open up and bloom in the natural world.
Fox Moon Farm is not a grand facility with sprawling stables or high-priced treatments. It is something much rarer: a place where the boundaries between people and nature blur and where healing is found not in medicine but in moments of connection.
“Every person who comes here leaves a little piece of themselves behind and takes something of Fox Moon with them,” Freishtat said, reflecting on what the farm has become. In the evenings at Fox Moon Farm, as the wind stirs the tall grass and the farm settles in this quiet corner of Virginia, far from the noise of the world, hearts found their home.
For more information on Fox Moon Farm, visit them on Facebook at facebook.com/foxmoonfarmproject or online at foxmoonfarm.org.
If you work with children or adolescents experiencing trauma, depression, behavioral challenges, special needs, or situations where traditional talk therapy has not reached them, consider the power of Equine Assisted Learning. At Fox Moon Farm, horses help students learn emotional awareness, self-regulation, anger management, boundary setting, and so much more – one steady heartbeat at a time.