I got into Equine Assisted Therapy after I was badly injured in the 2005 7/7 London Bombings.
My neuro consultant said I would never ride again and should never try as I couldn’t sustain a really bad fall. Too many steel pins and broken bits if you understand what I mean… so I had to find a way to keep riding! It was a necessity. I didn’t want the terrorists to win and if my life involved no riding they would have won!
So, stubborn old fool that I am (now 49) I bought my mare Tommy from Canada. She is a black Overo paint horse and she was used by a young girl who had fallen down the stairs in their home and lay in a coma for some time, Tommy helped her, so she was perfect for me – Tommy was also three times World Congress Champion in Western Pleasure and Hunter under Saddle.
I’ve been doing a course via the USA where as a student I’ve to put at least 3-4 case histories together with videos and pictures to show the improvement of the subject over a period of years.
David is one of the case studies. He was just in his 50s and waited all his life to be with a horse, lead her and have a relationship. When they first met it was magical. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for what seemed like an age. Tommy went to the wheelchair platform and put her nose to his, with that we all cried (and still do just thinking about it
I have other case subjects, like a lady who has bulemia and severe confidence issues; a young girl aged 10 who has confidence issues and depression; a young woman who has anger, weight, depression and confidence issues; a man with anger issues and a few others.
I do the sessions for free as I’m in the process of getting qualified myself. If a donation is given for petrol and towards stable fees then that’s great as I use my compensation money from 7/7 to pay stabling and for business cards and other materials.
