UNION, Ky. -- A farm in Northern Kentucky is helping people of all ages overcome obstacles in their life with the help of some furry friends.
The program -- New Day Ranch -- is using horses for therapy to help people deal with anything from traumatic events to family reunifications.
With summer around the corner, Meadowview Farms will have more spots open to help people throughout the Tri-State.
Beth Long, founder of the program, says horses can sometimes heal what human to human interaction cannot.
“We rely on our horses to be honest as they are, but they pick up on feelings a lot better than humans do, so if somebody is putting on a facade, the horse will actually reflect what their true feelings are” Long said. “It will allow us to get closer into what that person is really feeling so that we can get to the core of the situation and help them overcome it.”
Clinical psychologist Jean Deters said she’s seen people benefit from this therapeutic technique.
“With children, we’re finding that equine-facilitated psychotherapy can reduce depression,” Deters said. “(It) reduces anxiety and also reduces external acting out behaviors while at the same time it increases their general global functioning, their social skills and oftentimes, it increases their relationship capacities between themselves and their families."
New Day is a nonprofit organization. To learn how to take part, visit the website here.
