When combat veterans enter the arena at TEC, it can transform into a place of startling self-discovery. Downes recalls one instance in which several veterans were invited to use props in the arena to re-create a scene from their deployment. "We asked them to build a safe place [with the props], and then to lead one of the horses to that place." One of the veterans, a woman, seemed to know just what to do: While the other participants struggled to lead a horse to their safe place, she simply squatted down at the entrance to the space she built, and one of the horses came over and put its head on hers. Yet just as she started to connect a rope to the horse to lead it inside, another horse came over and stood directly behind her horse. Blocked on both sides, the horse had no place to go and panicked. It let out a high-pitched squeal and kicked out its back leg at the other horse. "[The veteran] had a strong reaction; she said, 'Get me the f--- out of here!' Later her caseworker found out she had been raped as an adolescent by a relative, and she had never told anyone about it. When the horse squealed, she had a flashback. We thought it was a flashback to the roadside bombing she had experienced, but it turns out it was an early childhood trauma, and she was able to talk about it and open up for the first time with a professional and deal with that."
Giving Confidence Full Rein
Equally effective with men and women, in groups or one-on-one, the EAGALA model is particularly rich ground for the flowering of personal empowerment and self-esteem. That's why Anne Gordon, an art teacher, thought it would be the perfect therapy for her 10-year-old daughter, Ruby (not their real names). Adopted at one year old from an orphanage in Kazakhstan, Ruby has been struggling with various fears and safety issues for the past year or so. "She's an incredible kid—she's amazing," says Gordon. "She doesn't know why she's afraid and nervous all the time, but it's definitely related to that first year of her life. We don't know what really happened [in the orphanage], but her anxiety is a visceral thing—it's in her body. She's constantly aware of it and hypervigilant about where she is and who she's with. Everybody's got their thing, and that's her thing."
Ruby has always loved horses and had taken horseback riding lessons in the past, but her newly developed fears extended to the sport; now she'd rather remain on the ground, observing horses instead of making direct contact with them. With its unmounted approach, EAGALA seems to be just what Ruby needs. In a recent exercise, Ruby was invited to instruct Nichols verbally on how to perform various equine tasks such as grooming a horse and putting on its harness. Nichols was not allowed to talk, and Ruby could not touch the horse; she could use only her voice. At the end of the session, the girl was beaming. "She loved giving the directions and getting [Nichols] to do what she wanted her to do," says Gordon. "The horse can be a metaphor for things she's uncomfortable around, and help her start to feel like she can take control of things and work with them. That will hopefully start affecting other parts of her life as she works on that sense of safety and confidence."
Meanwhile, Nichols and Rouhana are developing a girls' empowerment group this summer for girls aged around 8 to 14. "It will focus on helping girls build their communication skills, assertiveness skills, and healthy relationship skills," says Rouhana. "We're coming from the lens of how much girls struggle with self-confidence, especially with the challenges of peer pressure and bullying." Through various interactions and activities with horses, they'll learn that with good communication and hard work you can succeed at something. Adds Nichols, "We're offering it to help kids discover their strengths and also learn to ask for help when they need it. It's about creating healthy boundaries and having the self-esteem to create their lives. What are your goals? What do you want to do? They're less of a victim and more of a creator." With the goal of offering the program to families who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it, Nichols and Rouhana have created a GoFundMe campaign called Girls' Power with Horses and have started to raise scholarship money.
