About eight years ago, Rebecca Boardman began rescuing Arabian horses on her ranch in north Texas. Abandoned horses. Starved horses. Abused and neglected horses.
She needed help to do it, so she started recruiting volunteers. Some of whom seemed, themselves, broken in some way. At times, she noted, her motive seemed to be working in reverse—the horses were healing the humans.
You see this immediately. It’s hard to be down around such a beautiful, powerful animal. And it’s hard to be depressed, or not feel hope when you are part of making that beautiful, glorious animal well again. It’s still something of a rarity, but Equine Assisted Therapy has been used to treat depression, substance abuse, child abuse and other mental health problems. It’s even been used to facilitate couples counseling.
The good news is that after rescuing 120+ Arabians in those eight years, Rebecca is ‘formalizing’ the therapeutic dimension of her ranch. A clinician will begin working with the good-intentioned volunteers themselves in May.
So, whenever you need to be reminded of the good that people can do in the world, think ARABIANS. And then, naturally, think REBECCA BOARDMAN. arabianrescuetherapy.org