Therapist Sarah Swiger, from In Step with Horses was our guest speaker at our Weds. morning meeting. Sarah gave the club an update on the status of the $5,000 grant the organization received last year from the Geauga West Rotary Foundation and expressed her gratitude for the funding which enabled them to expand services and purchase many needed items for their equine therapy program. Last year, approx. 360 individuals received either individual or group equine assisted services which was a significant increase from the previous year. Sarah explained the many ways horses can help an individual to increase their confidence and self-esteem and actually shorten the time it takes to improve their overall well-being or trust levels. Horses are not judgmental but do give important feedback depending on how the person around them is feeling. Horses can provide clues to the therapists to focus on specific areas of treatment and how to help process certain emotions. The psychological bond that is created between the horse and individual becomes stronger and serves as a mutual benefit for each other. Simply put, horses are natural healers!
