Healing with Horses

We have so much to learn. Animals know this and they love us anyway. - AnimalNsight

May 5, 2014 - Ohio State University

•  In the first study of its kind, researchers have determined that spending time with horses eases symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia. *Science Daily

The small pilot study, which appears in the journal Anthrozoös, suggests that equine therapy -- a treatment used today for children and teens who have emotional and developmental disorders -- could work for adults too.

A collaboration between The Ohio State University, an equine therapy center and an adult daycare center found that people with Alzheimer's were able to safely groom, feed and walk horses under supervision -- and the experience buoyed their mood and made them less likely to resist care or become upset later in the day.

Holly Dabelko-Schoeny, associate professor of social work at Ohio State, said that equine therapy could supplement more common forms of animal therapy involving dogs or cats and provide a unique way to ease the symptoms of dementia without drugs.

“We wanted to test whether people with dementia could have positive interactions with horses, and we found that they can—absolutely,” Dabelko-Schoeny said. “The experience immediately lifted their mood, and we saw a connection to fewer incidents of negative behavior.”

References -
http://news.osu.edu/news/2014/05/05/caring-for-horses-eases-symptoms-of-dementia/
http://www.fieldofdreamsequine.com/


Growing up with horses, I have always felt a strong connection and appreciated the time I have shared with my horse companions. When I started Wendy's Coffeehouse on KCMO Talk Radio, we searched for a local organization we could promote that provided equine assisted therapy.

Everyone likes apples. - New Horizon Ranch

After checking with some of the area horse people we found a program that is within driving distance of Kansas City and getting some excellent word of mouth. 

New Horizon Ranch in Rantoul, Kansas has been up and going since 2007. A friend and I had a chance to visit this week as they were setting up for their fundraising event (9/30/16).

Don't have time to post a lot here but wanted to add this as an example of programs that are seeing positive results in the communities they serve. I'll update later.  - wendy

About New Horizon Ranch.