F E AT U R E
Horse-Powered Therapy EQUINE THERAPY CONNECTION OF FOLSOM By Mimi Greenwood Knight
PHOTOS BY: EMILY CARTER PHOTOGRAPHY
F
or Kelly Cox Vicari, goosebumps
up. But after a lifetime spent on and
confusion dissolve. “She was like a
and “happy tears” are all in a
around horses, it wasn’t until her
whole different person with the horses,”
day’s work. When she shares
mother developed Alzheimer’s that she
Vicari said. “And the effects often lasted
stories about her work at Equine Therapy
truly experienced the difference these
the rest of the day.”
Connection of Folsom, those reactions
peaceful animals can make. “She lived
can be contagious. Make your way
with us for 13 years,” Vicari said. “I was
her feeling lost, unsure what she was
along the winding, wooded driveway
raising five children and homeschooling
meant to do with the rest of her life. But
that leads to her A Lil Bit of Heaven
and, when Mom was having a rough
as friends confided in her the struggles
Stables and you can feel your body relax.
day, I’d tell one of the kids, ‘Please, go
they were having with their own parents
Walk the 20-acre farm, set atop a hill
get a horse and bring it to the patio.’
after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, she began
with a perpetual breeze, and it’s easy to
We’d take Mom out there and could
inviting them to the farm to let their
forget there’s a hectic world out there
instantly see her relax.”
parents spend time with the horses. “I’d
When Vicari’s mother died, it left
somewhere. Spend time with Vicari’s
That change wasn’t just for the
leave the horses on the other side of the
four-legged “employees” and you might
moment either. On a day when Vicari’s
fence and just let my visitors pet their
just catch a glimpse of the magic that
mom had been anxious and agitated,
noses and feed them treats,” Vicari said.
happens here on a daily basis.
the family could watch her enjoy
“They’d usually relax and begin telling
Vicari’s roots run deep in the
something again. After a short while
us stories about their past. They’d be
Folsom community where she grew
with the horses, they saw her fear and
outside among the birds, enjoying the
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