BOULDER - Frankie traveled a long way to get to his current home at Medicine Horse Program in Boulder. But now the 9-year-old gypsy horse has something to say. Literally.

Medicine Horse Program, a nonprofit organization that serves children and teens with a wide range of needs, was recently accepted into the nationwide Pepsi Refresh Project.

Frankie the horse appears as the narrator in a short video clip about Medicine Horse Program at www.refreshingeverything.com/medicinehorseprogram.

"I have the best job in the world," Frankie says. "My friends and I get to work with all kinds of kids."

Some of the kids, though, have it rough, Frankie adds. Medicine Horse provides programs for teens battling depression and suicide, going through the grieving process or recovering from trauma.

"I know a little girl who lost her mother, and it made her very sad," Frankie says. "I know a boy who used to get in fights at school because he thought nobody liked him.

"I even know some kids who get to feeling so bad sometimes they think of hurting themselves. That's where me and my friends come in."

Medicine Horse Program uses rescued and donated horses in equine-assisted psychotherapy to meet children's needs.

Under the supervision of licensed and master's level therapists, bereaved children move through the grieving process by working with sensitive animals, who also suffer separation anxiety. Teens overcome control issues by learning to communicate with, rather than to control, a horse. Girls improve self-esteem by bonding with rescued foals.

Sponsored by Pepsi, the Pepsi Refresh Project allows people to vote online every day for one month for their favorite project idea in a range of categories. Medicine Horse Program hopes to earn the top spot in the $250,000 category for May.

Frankie the horse was imported from the United Kingdom, traveling a long road before arriving at Christmas 2009 to live at Medicine Horse Program's 10-acre ranch, located at 8778 Arapahoe Road in Boulder.