[0:21]The boys in the front field, they're all by the fence. Yeah. Then we take the mule and start feeding the rest of the line.
[0:34]Nature Heals is a 501C3 nonprofit that helps get people who would not be able to access nature-based therapies like Equine therapy back out into nature. Equine therapy is more commonly known as Equine facilitated psychotherapy, which it sounds big and scary, but basically it's just doing therapy but with horses as your therapist. This is Oreo, Oreo has the biggest personality on property, but she's our smallest pony. She's more like a large dog than a pony most days. There's actually a lot of really cool science out there that has studied the neurobiology of like what our bodies do when we're around horses. They've found reduces levels of cortisol in the brain, which is the stress hormone. It also really boosts levels of oxytocin, which is the connection hormone, so you're getting a therapeutic benefit from just being around them. They're really great teachers because they put you in a position where you have to learn how to really show up and be grounded in your own body. Anytime you're around horses, you're teaching them something and they're teaching you something, or you're learning it from them and they're learning from you. The horses here at Nature Heals are really allowed to be horses, and we give them the best life possible because they are our partners in this work. We've had horses come in that didn't maybe thrive in a lesson program at other places or didn't thrive at the track, and to watch them come out of their shells, to have a personality is incredibly beautiful.
[2:14]At Nature Hills, we offer a fairly wide variety of programming for various different populations and ages. So we've run a men's group, we've run a women's group, we've run a new mom's group, and then one of our primary groups that we run is an LGBTQ group that is called becoming a herd. Becoming a herd is a group that Brit and I designed in grad school, as a queer person, I think, showing up to a space that I know is queer identified, I know that I don't need to explain or justify bringing those parts of myself versus showing up to a place that I'm not sure if those parts of me are welcome or included. I think one of the aims of becoming a herd is highlighting that you're not alone and building community and connection because horses are herd animals. So being in equine therapy group, we wanted to model and reflect what horses do in community. I've seen an increase in confidence and just how the youth and young adults hold themselves and take up space, and I think that really can transfer outside of a group setting and into the world. I believe horses have helped me grown into who I am as a person, they've taught me how to be like a leader, how to be confident. Before, I was always a very shy person until I started like learning to grow with my horse. Coming here, this barn really helps me like relax and be my safe place away from everything. Our goal is to provide a safe space for people. It doesn't matter how you identify, if you can accept a horse how they are, then they're going to be able to accept who you are, and that's where the partnership comes in. Is you end up developing a real relationship with this outstanding creature, and they are able to accept you and it helps them allow you to be able to accept yourself. I know that they don't talk back, but talking to them is really therapeutic and just being around them is really great and like if I'm ever having a hard day, no matter how I feel, they they just let me be myself and I always feel safe around them. A lot of times the types of people that are drawn to horses are those that are really struggling in life, whether it's fitting in, making friends, anxiety, depression, the barn pulls those people in, and it transcends ages and genders and socio-economic statuses, even if you've got the right barn, because the love of horses and the connection that the horses brings really pulls people together.
