Horse-Powered Therapy

Horse-Powered Therapy

Equine Therapy Connection of Folsom

By Mimi Greenwood Knight

Photos By: Emily Carter Photography

For Kelly Cox Vicari, goosebumps and “happy tears” are all in a day’s work. When she shares stories about her work at Equine Therapy Connection of Folsom, those reactions can be contagious. Make your way along the winding, wooded driveway that leads to her A Lil Bit of Heaven Stables and you can feel your body relax. Walk the 20-acre farm, set atop a hill with a perpetual breeze, and it’s easy to forget there’s a hectic world out there somewhere. Spend time with Vicari’s four-legged “employees” and you might just catch a glimpse of the magic that happens here on a daily basis.

Vicari’s roots run deep in the Folsom community where she grew up. But after a lifetime spent on and around horses, it wasn’t until her mother developed Alzheimer’s that she truly experienced the difference these peaceful animals can make. “She lived with us for 13 years,” Vicari said. “I was raising five children and homeschooling and, when Mom was having a rough day, I’d tell one of the kids, ‘Please, go get a horse and bring it to the patio.’ We’d take Mom out there and could instantly see her relax.”

That change wasn’t just for the moment either. On a day when Vicari’s mom had been anxious and agitated, the family could watch her enjoy something again. After a short while with the horses, they saw her fear and confusion dissolve. “She was like a whole different person with the horses,” Vicari said. “And the effects often lasted the rest of the day.”

When Vicari’s mother died, it left her feeling lost, unsure what she was meant to do with the rest of her life. But as friends confided in her the struggles they were having with their own parents after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, she began inviting them to the farm to let their parents spend time with the horses. “I’d leave the horses on the other side of the fence and just let my visitors pet their noses and feed them treats,” Vicari said. “They’d usually relax and begin telling us stories about their past. They’d be outside among the birds, enjoying the colors of the trees and sky, feeling the breeze. Often, they’d arrive irritable and depressed and leave feeling relaxed and content. It was miraculous to witness.”

Those simple encounters were the genesis of Equine Therapy Connection of Folsom. And even while Vicari has never officially advertised or promoted her services, she now has a full calendar of therapy clients ranging from a breast cancer support group to women enduring divorce and marital strife, from children on the autism spectrum to veterans with PTSD, and she’s continued her work with Alzheimer’s patients. Just last month, the business was granted 501(c)(3) status. “Most people come here with a plan in their head of the way things will go,” Vicari said. “But often after they get here, the horses touch on something they didn’t even realize needed touching.”

Case in point. One of the participants of the breast cancer support group visited the farm for the first time, but stood back rigid and unsure. “I invited her to spend some time with one of the horses,” Vicari said. “She did and suddenly started crying—and couldn’t stop. She said, ‘I’ve gone through a cancer diagnosis, treatment, no support from my family, a double mastectomy, and now I’m in recovery. But I haven’t cried once.’ When she left that day, she said, ‘I literally feel like a new person.’”

Vicari and her horses have a weekly visit with a group of girls from a residential treatment program. “These girls are struggling with substance abuse, eating disorders, and other serious issues,” she said. “The first time they came, they looked so sad that it broke my heart. But I had prayed beforehand and had friends praying for them with me. When they left that first day, they looked like different girls. Now, they jump out of the car each week with big smiles and tell me, ‘This is our favorite thing we do all week. ’”

Yet, none of Vicari’s clients ever mount a horse. That’s because Equine Therapy Connection isn’t equestrian therapy (riding horses). This is non-mounted touch and sensory therapy which comes about through simply spending time connecting with these gentle giants, grooming them, petting them, feeding them, and accepting their unconditional love and acceptance.

One young therapy client arrived on the farm in a wheelchair. Born with cerebral palsy, she’s completely nonverbal. On her first visit, Vicari’s daughter paraded the horses in front of her wheelchair, one by one while the young girl clapped. When a thoroughbred named Tea had his turn, he spotted her, his ears went up, and he made a beeline for the little girl. Once there, he put his great big head in her lap and just nuzzled her. “The little girl’s sister lifted her arms to put them around Tea and they stayed like that for the longest time just enjoying being together,” Vicari said. “Now, whenever she visits, everyone knows Tea is hers.”

Before a visit like that, Vicari will spend time in the paddock making her way around the horses in a wheelchair or using a walker or crutches, so the horses get used to the apparatuses. She designs each session for each individual client building on the specific reason they’re there. “Often I’ll tell them, ‘Let’s just try this and we can shift gears if we need to’. I need to be flexible, to perceive what’s going on, and respond to the way they’re responding to the horses. No two sessions are ever the same.”

Vicari is quick to point out that she’s not a therapist. The horses are! “I’m the handler and I take seriously the responsibility of training them to behave so my clients are safe,” she said. “But these horses seem to know what people need and they give it to them.”

As for the therapy horses, they’re simply paying forward the love and care they received from Vicari who gave them a second chance after a life on the racetrack. “All but one of my six horses were injured thoroughbred race horses,” she said. “We took them off the track and spent two to three years rehabbing them and training them to be therapy horses. Now, they spend their time with people who’ve been through physical, emotional, and family trauma and they help bring healing in so many surprising ways. The positive changes that occur during a client’s time with the horses leave with them and positively impacts the rest of their lives.”

Vicari and the horses also take their show on the road to expos and events sponsored by the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s office and others. One of her horses was raised by an elderly gentleman and is gentle enough that Vicari can take him into retirement communities to spend time with the elderly.

“We do quite a bit of work with veterans, too,” she said. “These men and women often feel overwhelmed. They’re hurting and feel like no one understands what they’re going through.”

They spend time walking the horses, bathing them, brushing them, and talking to them. “It’s empowering,” Vicari said. “They begin to feel like, ‘If I can work with this 2,000-pound animal, I can speak up for myself.’ It’s amazing to watch their self-worth begin to return. They leave with the peace that comes from being around these peaceful animals.”

As for Vicari, she’s often amazed by the turn her life has taken. “God is the reason for this business that touches people in so many unique ways,” she said. “I’m not a therapist, but I have lived. God is using the challenges and difficulties in my life to help me give to others with the help of these amazing animals.”