New equine therapy program to help Nova Scotians with addictions recovery

A new program is using the healing power of horses to help Nova Scotians in their addictions recovery.

Hinchinbrook Farm, along the province’s South Shore, is offering equine therapy and its founders say the setting offers participants the perfect space for freedom and peace.

“Horses have helped me to be able to be me,” said Suzy Wells, the acting vice-president for the Society for Equine-Assisted Services Nova Scotia.

Wells knows firsthand the healing that comes from spending time with horses.

“I, too, have addiction, and I had some equine-assisted recovery programs while I was in Ontario,” she said.

She moved to the province five years ago and decided to help others by starting a similar program here.

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“For me, it was the non-judgmental interaction with the horse and being able to just be able to be myself and not be on guard and not worry about what was going to happen in a setting that’s inside of an office,” she said.

Wells has teamed up with Hinchinbrook Farm in Blockhouse, N.S., a volunteer-based organization that already offers therapeutic riding and other supports.

This September, it will begin hosting two six-week equine-assisted addiction recovery program sessions.

“The nice things about horses is that you have to be in the minute, the moment. You have to be present,” said Patricia McGill, the farm’s owner.

McGill also believes that providing these support programs is beneficial for the horses.

“They’re used as beasts of burden, pulling the cart, or being ridden,” she said.

“The groundwork with individuals, they really perk up. It’s like ‘oh yeah, we can do this, this is easy.'”

The program is being funded by the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia and will be free for participants.

A registered counselling therapist will be leading the addiction support.

“Help people build their self-awareness and awareness of what activates them and what makes them feel unsafe, but also how to then use that self-awareness to bridge the gap by creating skills that help them regulate,” said Erika Kirk, a registered counselling therapist.

Wells says she hopes the program can help many participants. And she hopes her message reaches even further.

“For anybody out there, you’re worth it,” she said.