up to the horse to fully investigate or
represent whatever the client feels, and
react accordingly. More often than not,
the horse can target the client’s needs in
the first session.
“We had a teenage client who was hugely
unsafe in her personal life, made poor
relationship choices, had unstable family
dynamics and couldn’t identify goals. She
was always in chaos when she entered the
arena,” says Pamela Steere Maloof, owner
and Eagala equine specialist at Faith Hill
Farm. “The horse stood in a corner when
this client was so at odds with herself then
moved in the same pattern: touched or
knocked over the soccer net that represented
happiness to the client; pawed at
a riding helmet that represented safety to
the client; knocked over a box of items
identified as basic needs; and knocked
over a bag of clipboards that represented
school. These are incredible metaphors,
and the client identified them as goals for
her life and wellbeing. That would never
have happened in talk therapy because
she won’t talk to us there. I see the difference
in her now, in her life.” Maloof says
that having a mental health professional
present is key to proving this treatment is
not just about playing with horses.
Using horses for mental health is not
limited to children or teens, the homeless
or abused. Such programs have also
been effective with veterans coping with
post-traumatic stress disorder, and other
mental and physical issues related to their
service. “I love this equine therapy, it
calms me down, gives me something to
look forward to,” says Jake Taraksian,
a Cranston resident and Vietnam War
veteran. “I’ve taken medication for years
to deal with my anger management and
keep me from going to jail. But I was able
to stop taking them when I started working
with Lily. My anxiety and aggression
calmed down. I learned to not be so
aggressive with people who mistreated
me. It has really helped me.”
Lily is a seventeen-year-old chestnut
quarter horse mare that Taraksian has
been riding since 2019 at Yellow Horse
in Ashaway. When he arrives for his
weekly, hour-long session, she shoulders
up to her stall door and swings her tail,
which trainer Emily Cournoyer says is
common for horses who are comfortable
with their riders. He brushes her, inspects
her hooves, puts on her saddle and pink
rhinestone browband, even rinsing off
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