Meet Our Therapy Partners: Doodles, Rose, Hank, and Phyllis

We would like to introduce you to more of our equine therapy partners. Doodles, Rose, Hank, and Phyllis all live together in the same pasture. Each is very different from each other but whether they are working individually with a client or together as a herd, they have all had incredible impact on the lives of the clients they work with.

Many clients notice Rose almost immediately. With her golden coat, thick tail, and sassy attitude she is quite eye-catching. Rose is the boss of her herd, meaning that she is in charge of keeping herself and all of the other horses safe from danger. She tends to be cautious around people and situations she is unfamiliar with and it can take a lot to win her trust. Because she is the boss, many clients have seen her move the other horses around the pasture. That sometimes appears to be mean and aggressive to clients. This can open up conversations about everything from healthy boundaries to bullying to feeling misunderstood. Rose is particularly popular with teen girls that are drawn to her looks and distinctive personality.

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Phyllis is a quiet, calm presence in the pasture. She may be less interactive than some of her herdmates, so clients sometimes find it a challenge to understand what Phyllis is thinking and feeling. However, many people find that spending time with her helps them to feel less anxious. Tara* had an extensive trauma history and struggled with feeling constantly rejected in her relationships. Phyllis, however, would often choose to stay close to Tara during her sessions, even when more dominant horses tried to move her away. Tara felt comforted by Phyllis's desire to be near her and started to feel more confident in her human relationships, as well. She also found that her anxiety decreased as she continued to work with Phyllis. 

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Doodles worked for many years as a show horse and as a therapeutic riding horse for our partner organization, Wings of Hope. He now works exclusively in counseling. He has seen and done a lot of different things in his life and has learned to be laid-back and relaxed in almost any situation. Doodles particularly excels when working with anxious children because he can be patient no matter how nervous or frustrated they get. Jason* was an teenage boy who worked with Doodles to work on managing his anxiety. Jason would work with Doodles every week in the round pen, communicating to Doodles to move in different ways. Doodles was very sensitive to Jason's feelings and would often demonstrate how Jason was feeling through the way Doodles would move. Through working with Doodles, Jason learned that by relaxing his muscles and breathing deeply, not only could he change how Doodles responded to him, but he could also control his anxiety rather than feeling controlled by it.

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Hank quickly becomes a favorite of anyone who meets him, whether that's a client or staff member. Although he is one of the biggest horses in his pasture, he is very gentle and seems to love just hanging with people. He is also quickly noticeable because of his light and splashy coloring. Despite Hank's larger size, his clients tend to choose him because he seems safe to them. During his first session, Marcus*, a military veteran, felt immediately drawn to Hank. Having felt disconnected and disinterested in other people, seeing Hank interact with the horses began to motivate Marcus to want to seek his own "human" herd in which he felt accepted. Through interacting with Hank, Marcus began to notice how Hank responded to his moods and became aware of how he may be perceived by others in his human relationships. As Marcus' awareness of himself with Hank began to grow, Marcus reported feeling more connected in his relationship with his wife. Marcus also struggled to go out to crowded stores and other public places. Knowing that he would always be watchful, Marcus observed the horses' responses to potential threats in their environment and began to emulate their way of being both alert while relaxed simultaneously and began to feel safe to spend more time in public places.

There is still time to help Rose, Doodles, Phyllis, and Hank continue their work with clients by becoming an angel and supporting our Be An Angel fundraiser! Just $10 ensures that the horses can participate in the session. Go to http://beanangelecc.causevox.com before midnight on New Year's Eve to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Angel Fund, held by our non-profit partner Wings of Hope.
 
*Client names and some details have been changed to protect client identity

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