Category Archives: Equine Therapy

Nyx arrived at Days End Farm Horse Rescue (DEFHR) in Woodbine, Maryland, in January 2021, after being rescued along with 18 other horses from deplorable conditions at a farm in...

Undoubtedly, horses are the most common animals found at a horse rescue, but donkeys and mules are also subject to hardships by way of neglect and abuse. Like horses, donkeys...

When Gideon, a Quarter Horse gelding in his twenties, and his 18 herd mates first arrived at Days End Farm Horse Rescue (DEFHR), Woodbine, Maryland, in January 2021, their situations...

I’m all in for “anything horse.” Riding, grooming, sharing a horse’s space, stroking a muzzle, emanating every fiber of love of my being for the creature, whispering sweet nothings into...

It was over six-years-ago when the rickety trailer, jostling with rusty bolts, pulled through the driveway of the New Hampshire farm I rode at. Our stable relied on an aging...

Sam Butler was born and grew up in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His mother and father got divorced when he was seven, so every week Sam traveled back and forth to live...

Some events so fundamentally alter your life that everything is forever changed—from the way you think to the way you ride. Monday, February 4th, was one of those events. The...

My Irish Catholic father was a difficult man—hard working all his life and hard drinking for much of my youth. Gay boys and their daddies often have complicated relationships, and...

Ten years ago, I loaded up my one true love and sent him six hours north for his next adventure. He was my childhood horse, and he was a beautiful...

In early 2018, Michelle Durpetti faced a tough decision. Her amateur-owner hunter Moody Blues had made an incredible recovery from cervical vertebral malformation, or “Wobbler’s Syndrome,” more than six years...

When I set out to write RIDING HOME ~ The Power of Horses to Heal, I wanted to share the profound emotional healing one can experience from today’s equine therapy. I...

When you grow up around horses, you know how simply being in their company can provide comfort. It is part of what draws us to horses to begin with…and part...

They have come seeking help in an unfamiliar place. Six young men and women who, at least on the surface, reflect a picture of courage and strength. But like so...

As a regular, horse-crazy teenage girl, nothing in my life had really shaken me until April 2nd of 2016. I was away that weekend, showing at a paint show with...

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) really should be identified as Triggered Traumatic Stress Disorder. The obvious reference to a past event or events doesn’t begin to describe the impact of...

With my hand in a cast (courtesy of my last hunter pace), my plans for fox hunting that season were nixed. Instead of sitting around and sulking, my husband and...

Leaving my overscheduled workday behind, I’m greeted by a whinny. If I linger too long outside, the pony neighs loudly. Nearing her stall, I try to let go of frustrations...

She hadn’t spoken a word for three months. Then she met Ozzy and started telling the stories of her life. “She just wanted to touch Ozzy’s face, and as we...

Most of the mustangs who become part of the Florence Prison Wild Horse Inmate Progam have never been touched by human hands before, at least not voluntarily. Their first interactions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdjnzJ44SJU Most of us probably wish our horses could be a bigger part of our daily lives. Who wouldn't love to bring their gelding along on errands, on weekend boating trips...