• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Carmel Magazine

The Lifestyle Magazine of the Central Coast

  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food & Wine
  • Music
  • Golf
  • Cars
  • Subscribe to Carmel Magazine!

Healing With Horses in Carmel Valley

A Path to Recovery Through Equine Therapy

September 2, 2022 by Michael Chatfield

Scholars have long disputed at what point in history humans domesticated the horse. One theory holds that these majestic animals were first bred and trained for use as transportation in Eurasia around 2200 B.C. Although technology has largely sidelined the use of several species of Equus ferus caballus as beasts of burden, in recent years, psychologists have learned that horses have a remarkable ability to connect with humans on an emotional level. One Carmel Valley therapist, Jennifer Fenton, LMFT, recognized that facility and founded the Equine Healing Collaborative (EHC), a nonprofit organization that connects clients with therapists and equines, forming symbiotic relationships that benefit both human and horse.

Fenton gained an innate understanding of horse culture early in life, owning horses as a child in her hometown of Bishop, California. “While practicing as a marriage and family counselor, I became certified in Equine Massage Therapy,” she says. That’s when she hit upon the idea of using horses in therapy, recognizing the healing power of merely being in close proximity to these highly intelligent beings. She found those relationships helped to alleviate the tension of what can be a stressful occupation. That realization led her to the idea of a collaborative that put patients together with therapists and horses. “It started with just me and one horse. Today we have 40 part-time therapists and a total of 35 horses in three facilities.”

The horses—and miniature horses, ponies and donkeys—each have their own stories to tell and are all rescues, donations or surrenders. Many have troubled and traumatic pasts. “Some were abused, some are elderly and unable to do the work they were used for,” Fenton says. For instance, Frank, a stunningly handsome former racing thoroughbred, suffers from anxiety. “He is typically paired with a client with a similar clinical presentation.” Chili was loaded onto a truck on the way to slaughter. A compassionate woman saw that she was so ill she wouldn’t survive the trip, rescued her, brought her back to health and subsequently donated her to EHC, where she now happily grazes and receives excellent care, both physical and emotional. Mother and son donkeys, Rita and Beaux, are the perfect duo to work with family therapy clients.

None of the horses at EHC are now ridden. “In nature, horses are prey animals,” Fenton explains, “and we are hunters, so the natural instinct is for them to view us as a threat.” It turns out that mountain lions—another species with a history of preying on horses—approach horses in the same manner as humans do, jumping on their backs to attack. “When someone is sitting on a horse, the animal’s prey instincts kick in and they feel threatened. We want our horses to have choices. We want them to come to us of their own volition. This creates trust and more desire for connection.” And it works. These animals are profoundly empathetic. “Their instinct is to look at us warily and they can sense and feel everything about us. No other animal possesses that ability to desire to connect with us on a deep level.”

EHC’s operating funds are generated by billing insurance companies and through patients paying a sliding scale of fees. At any given time, EHC serves around 350 people, both individually and in groups. “We reached more than 900 patients in 2021,” Fenton says, “and 75 percent were at or below the poverty line.” EHC is partnered with several other area organizations, including Gathering for Women, Door to Hope, Monterey County Child Protective Services and the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District.

“We are a mental health service,” Fenton explains. “All clinicians are licensed or license eligible marriage and family therapists and clinical social workers.” She says that EHC is a safe place where those in need of help can find it in a peaceful and supportive atmosphere. “I have been practicing marriage and family therapy since 2006 and was licensed in 2012. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen results like the ones we achieve here.”

For more information about Equine Healing Collaborative, please visit www.equinehealing.org or call 831/582-1017.

Filed Under: Fall 2022 Tagged With: Lifestyle

Primary Sidebar

CURRENT & PAST EDITIONS HERE

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

GUIDETOCARMEL

READ THE GUIDE HERE

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music Travel

ForAdvertisers

  • ► Publisher’s Note
  • ► Mission Statement
  • ► Ad Rates
  • ► Ad Specs
  • ► Editorial Calendar
  • ► Advertise in Carmel Magazine
  • ► Media Contact
  • ► Full Media Kit

Secondary Sidebar

Archives

  • December 2022
  • September 2022
  • June 2022
  • March 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • June 2021
  • March 2021
  • December 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • February 2020
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • May 2019
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • August 2018
  • May 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • August 2017
  • May 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2016
  • February 2016
  • November 2015
  • August 2015
  • May 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • August 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • November 2013
  • August 2013
  • May 2013
  • February 2013
  • November 2012
  • August 2012
  • May 2012
  • February 2012
  • November 2011
  • August 2011
  • May 2011
  • February 2011
  • November 2010
  • August 2010
  • May 2010
  • February 2010
  • November 2009
  • August 2009
  • May 2009
  • February 2009
  • November 2008
  • August 2008
  • February 2008
  • November 2007
  • August 2007
  • May 2007
  • February 2007
  • November 2006

Footer

Carmel Magazine is the quarterly lifestyle magazine for Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula, featuring the notable people and places, arts, food and wine, destinations, styles and events of Carmel and the Peninsula.

Address:
126 Clocktower Place, Suite 103
Carmel, CA 93923

Phone: (831) 625-9922
Fax: (831) 626-3613

Recent Posts

  • Cocktails for the Centuries
  • Inside Esalen
  • Journey to the Big Screen
  • Golfing in Paradise
  • A Cliffside Home Built for Generations

Search

Tags

Cars Food & Wine Golf Lifestyle Music Travel

Copyright © 2023 Carmel Magazine · Carmel, California · Designed by BEAR★PRESS