How Horses Heal the Mind and Body

0:00Naples Therapeutic Riding Center has been in Naples for nearly 30 years. We were incorporated in 1997. and we serve individuals with additional needs, so mental, physical, or social health needs through the help of our horses. This place is, I don't know, a little bit of a hidden gem behind the Red Wall. There's so many stories that happen every day. There was a young person who brought their mother who rode for the first time. She was standing in our waiting area crying. What it was is to watch her mom have the freedom and to see her mom smile for the first time in goodness knows how long. came from the back of our horse.

0:36It's not just therapy for the riders, it's therapy for us. It's amazing. People who are battling maybe alcoholism or addiction or some form of that, we had abused women that came. I have heard numerous times, that's the best hour of my life, I forgot about being an addict. It teaches people to be truly present. And the horses sense that, they do. How am I doing, guys? Do you guys feel me in my present?

1:01What's up, everybody? We're here at the Naples Therapeutic Writing Center. This place is 10 acres of just absolute beauty and wholesomeness. I have with me today, Christian and Michelle. Thank you guys so much for joining me. This place is incredible. We appreciate you having, well, you having us on the show, but we are so appreciative of welcoming you to our campus. Well, it's been amazing. You know, two cups of coffee in. You guys have done a great job of fulfilling my coffee addiction early on. So I think that's special. We aim to please. Thank you. I can see that. There's just so many great things going on here.

1:32We got a chance to tour the facility before and get some nice video and seeing some of the therapy that goes along with the riders and the head trainer, Leah, that's been here for 20 years. I think she's coming in a little bit later, but I just love what I'm seeing here. Why don't you walk me through who you guys serve here locally and what the mission is? Perfect. Well, Naples Therapeutic Riding Center has been in Naples for nearly 30 years. We were incorporated in 1997 and we serve individuals with additional needs. So mental, physical, or social health needs through the help of our horses. And with that, that's a wide range.

2:09So over 50 diagnoses currently among our riders and we're serving about 115 therapeutic riders, but over 800 individuals within our community annually. That's incredible. You made me feel really old for a second because you said 30 years ago, 1997, I was like, gosh, that's when I graduated high school. I'm coming up on my, I'm 30 years out. Again, you're a little bit younger than me. Just a couple years. Just a wee bit. Just a couple years. So how long have you been here, Michelle? Talk to me about your experience. I've been here since the beginning of January, but I think what's amazing is that over the past 30 years, it's incredible what volunteers have done in order to grow this place.

2:44So we started in 1997 out of that iconic red barn that's right on Goodlett Road. And over time, the board of directors and volunteers raised funds in order for us to get to the 10 acres of space that we're at today. In 2007, the Naples Children's Festival, right? Naples Children's Foundation. Foundation. Sorry. We've got to take the W out of it. Naples Children's Foundation helped build the first arena right over there. And then we've expanded ever since. So it's just it's just been amazing when you connect the riders and the volunteers together. That's where the magic happens. Well, I just what I've seen early on.

3:27Right. So we talk about, you know, we said what, 80 diagnosis or is it 50? 50. So 50 diagnosis. I've seen, you know, you have whether it's anxiety or whether it's mental and physical impairments. I've already seen some therapy go on today. Like right over here at the sensory trail, there was Leah. She had a rider on the horse, and they were throwing balls into the net, but then spinning it and trying to get them to make sure that they didn't hit the bars so that they can have those types of sensory and motor development skills. How does the occupational therapy tie into the mental aspect? Sure, absolutely.

4:06So individuals with additional needs often face multiple types of therapies throughout the week. Uh, so, you know, while we might have, you know, our riders come for their therapeutic riding session or trot, which is therapeutic riding occupational therapy or OT, which is occupational therapy. This is giving them the sensory input of the horses. So whenever we're talking about therapeutic riding, the reason that it works is the horse manipulates our spine in the way that a human would walk. And it helps with the neurocognitive feedback that we receive. So the movement of the horse alongside the activities and skills that are all lesson planned by our therapeutic riding instructors and the professionals, such as our occupational therapist that's on staff or anyone that we partner with is instrumental in the development of their successes.

5:00It's amazing to me because you said, I think you said something along the lines of picking up the sensory of the horses. I'm like, wait a second, how does that work? So for the audience that may have missed that before, can you explain again on how the horse move manipulates how a human would walk? Yeah. So it mimics our walk. OK. So if you think about riding a horse and we're on a nice bouncy chair right now, so I can kind of give you the rocking back and forth. So it is similar to the movement of a human's natural gait. And we get a cognitive feedback from our neuro stimulation of our walk. So the horses provide that for individuals who maybe are a little more rigid or unable to perform it in a natural way for themselves.

5:44In addition to it also helps with the cognitive function by providing that stimulation. So even for an individual who may be able to walk normally, it still helps improve brain function. So there has been, you know, numerous studies that are faced upon that aspect of it. And then also, too, it is the fact that horses are prey animals. So horses sync with our heart rates. And if we talk about and leaning into maybe more of the anxiety side of things, we can look at how a horse's emotional regulation will help a person's emotional regulation. So if we're nervous or we're carrying a lot of negative energy that comes with us that day, or maybe it is anxiety on the back of a horse and we're leaning into asking how the all around experience helps.

6:32it will require the rider to then have a understanding of their own emotion to be able to support their horse in that situation as well. I did not know that. Like the fact that a horse can mimic your heart rate and help you slow it down and recalibrate that. Right. This is what I'm hearing, you know, because you hear animals, right? There's, you know, you hear a lot about service dogs and how that helps other people's, how it helps people's lives on a daily basis. I know some individuals that were bodybuilders and then you've probably seen the guy at the gym and he'll bring his dog to Publix with him.

7:12And I always kind of sit there and I'm like, does that really work? Right? Because I'm not one that needed that. Right. But to see larger animals play a part in that, I think it's special because they're so big and they have so much force. But when I'm walking through the barn back there and I'm petting Fury, Sadie, and Indy, and then, of course, we got, let's introduce back here. We have Raisin. There's a brown and white. Then we have Itty Bitty right here. And the eyes on this, this mini horse is absolutely gorgeous. But it just, it helps me put the pieces together. It's not that I don't believe it.

7:47It's just I haven't experienced it. But being here for the last hour or so, I can see how this could be a huge benefit to people. It is. And the things that I've experienced here, because I come from a private background with horses, riding barrel horses for my own personal pleasure. And I found NTRC just by happenstance of what's behind the big red wall here on Goodlay. And I got more involved and then I got certified through PATH International, which is the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, to perform ground-based programs. And thankfully, my previous and still co-workers, but my primary role to start at NTRC was the mini horse program, allowed me to see a different side of things.

8:32And when I would take them to assisted living communities or a memory care community, I would have individuals who wouldn't interact with the typical activities that were provided throughout the week. So we would have a gentleman who the very first time was reluctant to come out of his room. You know, he heard that there was an activity for the day and did not want to come and visit us. And finally, we got him to come into the common space to visit our horses in their living room. They wear shoes, diapers, very sanitary. But he came around the corner and he started to cry. And he came over and had an intimate conversation with me to let me know that people don't understand him, but animals do.

9:16And our horses provided so much for him in those visits that we performed while he had his residence at that specific community. That's amazing. That's the thing. You guys have so many programs here. So I didn't know that was one of the things that you guys do. Michelle, what's your favorite program here, if you're allowed to pick one? I think just the therapeutic riding program. I love Monday through Friday. And actually on Saturdays, we have kids and adults come over and we have the same group of people come every single week. So you get to actually see the progress and actually see the families witness the progress of their children on the horses.

9:58So it's just amazing also for the volunteers. The volunteers usually are paired with the riders and they actually help the riders use some of the skills, like a specific skill that one might be focusing on is focusing or working on attention. And so the volunteers will help them with that skill saying, okay, we're going to be going up here and we're going to be taking a right. Go ahead, touch your reins and help pull to the right. There you go. And then encouraging them and giving them positive feedback and order them for them to move forward with those skills. So it's just great. There's the leader and two sidewalkers that are with each rider when we have a lesson.

10:47So every lesson has at least three volunteers with the rider. And it's amazing to see when you have six individuals in the ring, that means there's 18 volunteers from our community helping kids move forward with whatever skill they're trying to get towards. So each when a rider comes, they are put through like an intake process and figuring out where they need to be possibly after 30 weeks in the program. And so every week it's a step by step to to to figure out where they are. And then we measure those results along the way. And it's just great having those same volunteers and riders help them to meet those goals.

11:29It's amazing. I keep thinking about this one reoccurring theme that I have in my head. And in society really does know this. I'm not it's nothing proprietary, but do the hard thing to build confidence. Right. When I think about these big animals at the beginning, it could be very stressful for a child or even adult. You put me on one of those things. I'm going to be very anxious because I've never ridden a horse before. Right. So but you have that fear. Right. Then you overcome that fear with the support from the the the trainers and the community. How have you seen some of these young children, even adults, raise their confidence level by doing something hard?

12:07And how has it benefited just their overall, I guess you would say their growth here? Yep, it's huge. And I can speak to it on certain individuals who maybe when they started our program needed extreme assistance walking. So this is more of a profound case, right? Yes, very, very profound case. But, you know, they were very nervous because, you know, having immobility themselves, you know, how are they going to be able to move upon a horse? And how is this horse going to take care of them? And to have it become one of their favorite activities throughout the week, you know, to want to show up.

12:46And then we watch the progress from not only the confidence of on the horse, but then the confidence to be able to walk supported with a walker and then walk supported with mom's hand and nurse. You know, those are the cases that we see that are the most extreme. There's also just a sense of the growth in our riders in the state of, you know, maybe participating more in activities. You know, they might be unwilling at the beginning to speak. And by a couple weeks in, they're just wanting to chat the entire time to their sidewalkers. So there's a social aspect to it. So we talk about confidence.

13:24It comes in different forms for so many people. Well, I mean, to your point, because you're saying it's cute. But I mean, like for somebody that is more nonverbal and nervous to speak, that's a massive win. A hundred percent. I mean, because and not just for the adult or the child, but for the people involved in their life that that are with them every day, interacting with them every day and not getting anything back. But when that moment happens and they're able to hear their child speak or maybe their wife speak for the first time in a long time, I would just imagine it's a very touching experience.

13:58It's very rewarding, and it's rewarding for everyone that's here. And I even think that our horses feel that way, too, because it's interesting to watch how they interact. But for our volunteers, for our staff, I mean, it is what makes everyone show up. It's why Leah's been here for over 20 years. That's wild. Who is extremely dedicated to our mission, and she comes to ensure that her riders see the growth nonstop. And also, too, you don't realize what the families get out of it. I participated in evaluations this past Friday where we have new rider intake to see if this program will be a fit for them.

14:32And there was a young person who brought their mother who rode for the first time. And the young person is now her caretaker. And she was standing in our waiting area crying. And what it was is to watch her mom have the freedom and to see her mom smile for the first time in goodness knows how long. came from the back of our horse. That's powerful. I mean, you guys are doing amazing work here. You guys ever sit and reflect? I'm going to ask, this question's for you, Michelle. And then obviously, Christian, I want to know what you think about it. Would you ever go home and reflect on these moments?

15:07Because in a world that has so much noise in it, we always want to know, are we making that true impact that we want to make? And what is it for? Is it for me or is it for somebody else? Have you ever gone home and just reflected on that situation right there? And to sit there and say, you know what? what I'm doing is really good and I'm giving back to the world. I think every day. And I think, um, that's why I really believe that this place is, I don't know, a little bit of a hidden gem, you know, um, behind the red wall. Um, there's so many stories that happen every day. We try to, you know, work on getting them out, but, um, those stories are power powerful.

15:46And we also listen to the writers, you know, some of the, I wish I could, I, I, I want to, and we bring that feedback back and maybe the next time we do some of those things in order to help them get to the next level. So it's really, truly amazing. And I love when you're sidewalking next to someone and they just have different things that, like you said, make them kind of calm. So one of our volunteers recently said, like, this place is great because it's just so calm. And when we have a rider up, they might be a little anxious, like, oh, I don't really like the way my helmet fits. It's driving me crazy, just like you and I would.

16:25Like, oh, it's driving me crazy. As soon as the horse starts to move forward and the volunteers get to move forward, they're in a little bit of a different zone. And they're just, you know, in this wonderful, peaceful place, walking around, listening directions, and kind of just at one with the horse. And it's just a lovely, symbiotic feeling that both the rider and I think you're right, the horse also gets. And we're able to be there as sidewalkers and leaders and obviously certified therapeutic writing instructors to witness that. It's amazing. It's amazing when you listen to what people need, right?

16:59When they're in there in the office talking about what their anxieties are, what their, I don't want to say issues, but they're things that are holding them back. You're able to dig in and say, okay, well, maybe this type of therapy, right? But what's your feedback real quick on that? Absolutely. So I've mentioned to you at the end of the day, you know, NTRC stands because it's not about anyone who is here. But I can tell you about my personal experience and I can tell you about someone who has touched my heart so deeply that you ask if I've gone home and reflected. I've gone home and I've cried.

17:29Oh, that's amazing. And I previously mentioned I was a barrel racer and I have a young woman who has become a very close, you know, rider. But also I would like to thank a friend. And her name is Juju. Juju has and her family have given me permission to state her name. And all that she wants is to be a barrel racer. And this previous season, we retired the horse that she rode and she came back and she has a different instructor, a different horse, a different saddle and different opportunities. And even with all the support of our instructors to do everything correctly, it was still very difficult.

18:08So knowing that my experience of being able to tell her, you know, well, barrel racers, we change, change equipment all the time. You know, we ride different horses all the time and to walk her through that and to be able to help. And if it is just for her that I've been able to provide that support, my time here has been beyond worth it because she is rooted so deep in my heart at this point in time. That's so cool. Cause I sit there and think like when I do interviews and I, this, this is what I do for a job, but I also have to be very connected to how it's also helping me grow. Right. And I always think of the journey, the hard parts, the stress, right.

18:49I mentioned to you guys last week was probably one of the most stressful weeks I've had in this business. Right. But, you know, I feel like it's just like working a muscle. You get through those hard times, you find a solution and then you move forward. Right. But, but Michelle, from your experience, how has it personally touched you in such a way? I think it's all about the people, you know, the people helping me grow. Christian's been amazing just with her knowledge about horses and barrel racing and the do's and the don'ts. She's just helped me grow in ways that I never even knew that I needed to grow.

19:34And as running the organizations, there's just so much that I feel like we need to do and needs to be done here. And again, going back, the volunteer group really is, I can't say it enough, right? The volunteers really make this place thrive and shine alongside with our wonderful group of team members. I mean, if it wasn't for the volunteers, you know, the staff probably wouldn't be here. So there's constant different things that we want to do on a daily basis or a weekly basis, whether it's refreshing our beautiful sensory trails, we can actually go around and have the students have a great experience, whether it's expanding our back paddocks or our horses aren't always in their stalls and can be free at night and enjoy their time here on campus.

20:33There's just, all of those things for me are just wonderful and just making it better and better every day, just taking baby steps. I just really, I love that. And hearing the feedback from the volunteers and the staff to try to mold and get the things accomplished that they'd like to get accomplished in a very quick time, you know, when to do it now, Exactly. Is something that I kind of get excited about and try to work towards. I have an interesting question for both of you. Same question. So this place is geared around helping individuals get over some things, whether it's mental, physical, emotional.

21:12Have you guys ever had a horse come in that was struggling, that was casted out, maybe abandoned, and not operating at the best level that that horse could? and through the therapy with the riders in the community, it healed that horse and the horse became better as a result. I believe that all of our horses get better whenever they come here. One, I can't pride us enough on the horse care that we allow our horses to have. They are pampered every single day. I just walked through there. I'm like, are you sure this is a horse style? This is super clean. And we're very proud. Our horses get everything that a major athletic horse would.

21:49So, you know, anything from injections to that type of things you see. But you have a horse that is behind you right now that is named Colt. And Colt was adopted from ERAF, which is the Equine Rescue Adoption Foundation on the east coast of Florida. And he was a previous seizure case that he was a neglect situation that was taken by their version of the domestic animal services alongside that organization. who brought him in, rehabilitated him, and then allowed him to shine through their Beginning Again program. So through that, when Colt came here, he already had a little bit of a history, but not leaning onto it, but people understanding that he's also been through something difficult allows them to relate to him as well.

22:37And he shows up each day ready to work with his version of what I think a smile was on his face. And he might not be the fastest in the arena. He's a crowd favorite, though. But he absolutely is. That's really awesome because you think of, you know, organizations and anything we do in the community, it's a win-win. You have to have the win-win. So it's nice to hear that it also serves the horses, right? Because you don't want them being miserable and the people being okay. It's just everybody coming together and growing. It's really awesome. I mean, this place that you mentioned, you know, going through the barns.

23:13I'm like, this is how, how is this? Like, it's so clean. It's as a fly runs through my face. They're liking me by the way, I'm new blood. They're, they're, they're all over me, but they, you know, it's just, everything has been pristine here. Just beautiful. So we have volunteers that come and muck every single day in the morning and then in season in the evening. So every single morning we'll have three to four and they're typically there's women and men, but a lot of women come and muck all the stalls and they are focused on tidy, tidy, tidy. Wow. And it's amazing, right? It's amazing. Mucking every single day.

23:50Yeah, that doesn't sound like fun. Yes. We also have amazing volunteers also that come and help us take care of the painting of the fences, taking the trees, everything. So there's just this love for this piece of property. There's a love for the riders and, of course, a love for the horses. And, again, all three of it, all of that coming together, it's just a win-win situation. It's beautiful. It's good to hear. So now we are joined by Leah, the lead trainer here at Naples Riding Center, and she has been here for 20 years. Yes. You know, like, listen, there's not too many people that can hold the same job without getting bored for 20 years.

24:29All right, so kudos to you. What is it about the place that keeps you here so long? It's the rewards, the little rewards, the big rewards, the horses. Honestly, I started here because of the horses, but the riders have taken my heart and keep me coming back. It's the little tiny steps, picking up the reins to trotting alone. You know, there's just all different improvements and goals that our riders meet. some riders may never meet the goal that their parents you know want them to or i might have but every time they come they go away with something and there's a little tiny advance to the goal i can see the passion and i can feel it coming from you and in fact i've got the opportunity to see you work with two riders this morning yeah in the sensory trail and then over there and what is that what is that called what the proper terminology because i'll butcher it the round arena.

25:25The round arena. That's pretty simple. I don't know how. Hey, who knows? I'm good at some things, but that's clearly not it. Um, no, it's just been really nice to see you in action, working with the riders. Can you walk us through some of the riders that you worked with today and what you were helping them with? Yeah, absolutely. Um, the first two that were there, they ride with us during the week also. So this is their occupational therapy session that they do. and the one is getting the rider to focus and follow directions and not interrupt and be patient and the other one has a lot of sensory issues as far as where their body is at so they don't really have any appropriate perception as to they leaning too far they very nervous about turning you know and anything so we challenge them that way we have them look at the occupational therapist behind them or can they catch a ball from behind and really challenge them you have to learn where you have to stop your challenging like last week she had a really bad week because we pushed her and pushed her and then this week she did so well we kind of ended on a good note it's kind of like when you're working with a horse you want to end on a good note so we do that with our riders also now was that the young lady in the sensory trail that you were throwing the ball into the the spinning basket yes okay yeah walk the audience through that because i thought that was pretty fascinating yes so that's our basketball hoop that um we just when we fixed up our sensory trail that they put out there so not only do the is it hand eye coordination it's waiting you know i'm like wait until i spin the basket and then spinning it and figuring out how far they have to throw it or how hard can they catch it on the horse do they use can they hold their reins and still use two hands to catch the ball so it's a lot of processing right there's a lot of hand eye coordination, as I said, and then just getting the two points going through the hoop.

27:15There's a lot of balance there too, if you think about it and stability in the core, right? Like having to turn to your point, it's hard for them sometimes to look and know how far they're leaning or how far to turn. So, you know, what I saw, I was just here, like, you know, so it helps with a lot of different things, right? And that can help with posture that can help with a multitude of things for these riders. So it was just really cool to see. Yes. And some of our riders don't have that sense you know am i turning too far so you just work on it little by little maybe start in front of them and then go to the side go to the side and eventually kind of get behind them and our horses have to get desensitized to that also because that's very scary for a horse to have something tossed to them from behind when they don't know what it is yeah so how do they adjust to that we work with them when we bring a horse in we do a trial period and we try to do everything we use out there our props and you know show them it's not going to eat them and be good for them.