3 minute read
TRYING
from OTK Issue 02
by One To Know
Finding Therapy on Horseback Taking the Reins
With a stampede of adults seeking out new therapeutic hobbies, many rode the wave of a global pandemic on the back of a horse
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By Jennifer Casseday-Blair and Jocelyn Tatum
Illustration by Amber Davis
She got back into horseback riding
when her mother died in December 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic made the already shrinking four walls around her seem smaller. She rode when she was young several times a week, but a torn ACL and then college pulled her away. Like so many people battling the tidal waves of anxiety being thrown off by political unrest, social injustice and a smoldering pandemic, Cari Freehan needed to get back outside again, finding therapy on horseback again some 35 years later.
“As a child and preteen, riding and being close to horses gave me a place of acceptance and love that I didn’t often find amongst my peers. Now as an adult, I feel I am returning home. I started riding again six months ago after losing my mother unexpectedly. I have rediscovered that love and acceptance, and something deeper,” she says.
Horses are mirrors. They show riders where they are in life in a way a therapist can’t — spiritually, physically and mentally. “They mimic you and what you feel. They mimic insecurities and fears,” she says. This gives Cari an awareness she’s never experienced anywhere else, and through that mirroring awareness, healing. The horse points to her wounds and then carries her in the most majestic and gentle way to the other side of that pain, she reflects.
Molly Thomson, owner of Benbrook Stables, says she saw a dramatic rise in the number of adults wanting to take riding lessons during the
pandemic. “We heard stories about how they once rode as a kid and always wanted to get back into it … We also hear from our younger and older adults that taking riding lessons has helped with the depression associated with staying at home from work or school due to COVID-19. Other adults are just so happy to have found a new way to get outside and enjoy learning a new skill,” Molly says. For Cari, the sensitivity of a horse creates a connection to a world that is deeply spiritual. “It has given me a way to heal and so much more,” Cari says.
Where to Saddle Up
Benbrook Stables
$65 for 45-minute group lesson, $85 private lesson STYLES OFFERED: Western, English, Bareback 10001 Benbrook Blvd., Fort Worth 817.249.1001
benbrookstables.com
Curragh Equestrian Center
$50 for 55-minute group lesson, $80 for 45-minute private lesson STYLES OFFERED: Dressage, English 5595 Ben Day Murrin Road, Fort Worth 817.443.3777
curragh.com
Fort Worth Stockyards Stables and Horseback Riding
$45 for 30-minute trail ride, $75 for one-hour trail ride STYLES OFFERED: Western 157 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth 817.239.8830
fortworthstockyardsstables.com
Freedom Equestrian Center
STYLES OFFERED: Dressage, Show Jumping, Western, Natural Horsemanship 1005 Hood Court, Granbury 817.403.6291
freedomequestriancenter.com
Little K Acres
$60 private lesson, $40 semiprivate lesson (small group of 2 – 4 riders) STYLES OFFERED: Western 414 Cagle Crow, Mansfield 817.946.2180
littlekacres.com
Robbins Arena
$55 for one-hour group lesson, $65 for one-hour private lesson Currently only accepting riders who bring their own horse STYLES OFFERED: Western 395 Roseburg, Azle 817.475.7010
robbinsarena.com
Silver Creek Ranch
$45 for 45-minute lesson STYLES OFFERED: Western, English 9400 Silver Creek Road, Fort Worth 940.366.6315
johnwiley3254.wixsite.com/ silvercreekranch
Starline Stables
STYLES OFFERED: Dressage, Hunter/Jumper 1212 Dove Hill Road, Justin 940.368.6698
starlinestables.com
Star T Ranch
$55 for one-hour lesson STYLES OFFERED: Dressage, English, Western, Cross-Country 4225 Kelly Road, Aledo 817.247.9257
startranchtx.net
Trinity River Farm & Equestrian Center
$55 for one-hour semiprivate lesson, $70 for one-hour private lesson STYLES OFFERED: Dressage, Hunter/Jumper, Eventing 8375 Randol Mill Road, Fort Worth 817.683.5610
trinityriverfarmtx.com
Triple Cross Ranch
$40 for one-hour lesson STYLES OFFERED: Western 5617 County Road 913, Godley 817.319.3915
