Messages From the Herd

"So many problems can be solved by a little quality horse time"

The Healing Powers of Horses

Santa Rosa Behavioral Healthcare Hospital is a 95-bed mental health treatment center for adolescents and adults. Here are just a few of our patients equine experiences…

Our first adolescent group came into the session in lock down mode (trapped in their heads). After doing my usual intro and check in I asked the kids if they would be up for doing an exercise with the horses. Several of the kids said yes, so we proceeded with an exercise that I call Distraction Ally. 
I asked the kids to focus on areas in their life (distractions) that are keeping them from moving forward. I then had them pick the horse that they want to use as their 1000-pound support animal to do the exercise with (I usually have them give the horse a name of someone who they trust in their lives if they have one). 
Then they had to follow a path with horse in hand that required them to get past several distractions. I had them label the “distractions” to represent their specific challenges… anxiety, depression, addictive behaviors were just a few that came up. The “distractions” are actually buckets of grain designed to distract the horses if the kids aren’t really connected to their intention and grounded in their desire to move forward with their lives. 
The outcomes were revealing and profound. I saw kids move from a place of extreme disconnection, ie trapped in their heads and/or disassociating due to severe trauma; to being present, focused and engaged in exercises with the horses. In the process I see patients laughing, smiling, engaging, and most important feeling versus thinking (People think, horses feel). 
Seeing the kids talking, hugging, holding, feeding the horses and sharing that “the horses always make me feel better,” is perhaps the greatest confirmation that horses really do give humans a leg up and onto the right path to healing and recovery. Movement is change, and each and every Friday I see patients making and taking great strides in the direction of change. So rewarding!
Also, a few thoughts from the herd…
Our horses are always talking to us, not with words but with body language. When I ask our patients and kids, what is Sweetie’s message to you, or what is Sierra saying to you right now? I get responses like what Jessica said when working with Sierra, she wants me to take better care of myself. Or what Max said when working with Sweetie, she makes me believe in myself again, or what Robert said when he was working with Sierra…I deserve to be loved

Regina's Story

Regina was in our first group after the Kincaid fire. The added stress seemed to be affecting everyone including our patients at Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital. Regina came into group in lock down mode. Curled up in the fetal position, Regina was unable and unwilling to participate in the group activity with the horses.
At the end of our session I gave Regina carrots and encouraged her to feed Sierra before our session was over. Reluctantly, Regina reached out her flattened hand with carrots towards Sierra. Normally not one to ever say no to carrots, Sierra refused the offering and was pulling me backwards to get away from Regina.
In tears, Regina shared her feelings of rejection asking me why Sierra wouldn’t eat the carrots she offered? Unfortunately, the session was over, and I didn’t have the opportunity to respond.
For days I questioned what I witnessed. In EAGALA this would be categorized as a unique experience. What happened, and why?
Flash forward to the following week. Regina again came out with her group. She too, had been thinking all week about her prior equine experience. Why did Sierra reject her and refuse to eat the carrots she offered her?
I asked Regina, why do you think Sierra behaved like that? The emotions came pouring out. “She knows what I’ve done. I’m an addict. I’ve destroyed my life, my kid’s lives. I hate myself! “
As soon as she shared her truth Sierra stepped into her space. I told her, horses don’t judge, they honor honesty. She forgives you-can you forgive yourself?
Regina proceeded to participate in a partner exercise with Sierra, going on a journey together that allowed her to see that although she couldn’t forget her past, she could forgive and give herself the chance for a new and improved future.
We ended our session with Regina through tears of gratitude saying thank you so much for giving me my life back.
Does equine assisted therapy move people from trauma to healing? I see it to be true. Together we’re better. Together we get better. Tis the season to believe in the power of our horsepower to heal the human in all of us.

Santa Rosa Behavioral Healthcare Hospital

Even though the holidays are officially over, some of us continue to work through the feelings that came up last month.  For many, the holidays can be trying times that leave us emotionally full – and not in a good way. That which is hard to digest can sometimes weigh heavy on humans. Today in our out -patient group, at Aurora Santa Rosa, that is what the energy felt like…heavy. During our check in most all of our patients had something to share with the exception of one woman. We’ll call her Catherine. [We never use our patients’ real names in order to protect their identity].