Watch

Therapeutic Horseback Riding Brings Healing

Creator:
Published:
March 6, 2024
May 2, 2020
This therapist is helping others heal through an equine therapy organization.

After a particularly challenging time in her life, Heather Miner took a year off to get "back to basics." That's when she discovered therapeutic horseback riding through Ride For Joy. Now she is helping others find healing as a therapist there and says it "feels like home."

Video Transcript

Heather Miner lost several loved ones over a short span of months.

Heather Miner: I lost several family members, and I consequently lost my job because I went to too many funerals, and I was just kind of a mess.

She knew she needed to find joy again.

Heather: I knew I couldn't function as a counselor because I needed to take time for myself to heal. I took a year or so, and I called it “getting back to basics.” If it was going to stress me out, I didn't do it.

That’s when she discovered Ride for Joy.

Heather: I heard about Ride for Joy. I had never heard of therapeutic horseback riding before. I was like perfect, I will just go ride some horses. It's all I had to do.

Ride for Joy is a nonprofit equine therapy program. Heather works with riders of various needs and abilities to aid in their healing.

Heather: So I got out here, and I realized my very first day out here, it was going to be more than just a job. It was definitely going to be a home for me.

Heather could share her lifelong love of riding with others.

Heather: I was working with a veteran, and he wanted to learn how to do something called lunging, which is making the horse go in a circle around the person.

In the process, she found healing for herself.

Heather: Teaching this veteran how to utilize his energy with the horse's energy and talk to the horse across a distance, he was really in the moment, and I was really in the moment. I'm like this is where I'm supposed to be. This is what I'm supposed to do. I'm home.

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
March 6, 2024
May 2, 2020
On a related note...
Assistant Principal Finds Passion in Woodworking

Assistant Principal Finds Passion in Woodworking

Grotto

Relishing the Richness and Freedom of Single Life

Relishing the Richness and Freedom of Single Life

Stephanie DePrez

Why I Write Letters of Encouragement to Strangers

Why I Write Letters of Encouragement to Strangers

Manda Carpenter

A Better Way to Handle College Stress

A Better Way to Handle College Stress

Jessie McCartney

How Self-Denial Transforms the Bachelor Life

How Self-Denial Transforms the Bachelor Life

Isaac Huss

How to Handle the Coronavirus Disruption

How to Handle the Coronavirus Disruption

Julia Hogan-Werner

How to Be an Ally in the Fight for Racial Justice

How to Be an Ally in the Fight for Racial Justice

Kayla August

7 Steps to Sharpen Your Focus

7 Steps to Sharpen Your Focus

Christine Chu

How Microlending Has Changed Women's Lives in India

How Microlending Has Changed Women's Lives in India

Molly Gettinger

Pier Giorgio Frassati Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Pier Giorgio Frassati Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

Creating Community Around Catholic Beard Balm

Creating Community Around Catholic Beard Balm

Grotto

5 Lifestyle Instas that Will Inspire (Not Depress) You

5 Lifestyle Instas that Will Inspire (Not Depress) You

Gabriella Patti

Why You Should Keep a Gratitude Journal All Year Round

Why You Should Keep a Gratitude Journal All Year Round

Emily Mae Mentock

Watch This Nun's ESPY-Nominated Curveball

Watch This Nun's ESPY-Nominated Curveball

Grotto Shares

Good and Decent S2|E4: From Old to New

Good and Decent S2|E4: From Old to New

Grotto

How to Heal When You Come from a Broken Family

How to Heal When You Come from a Broken Family

Julia Hogan-Werner

"How To Stay Friends With an Ex"

"How To Stay Friends With an Ex"

Sophie Caldecott

Starting a Business: Your Checklist

Starting a Business: Your Checklist

Grotto

He Uses His Iconography To Meet Others

He Uses His Iconography To Meet Others

Grace Carroll

Give the Gift of Charity This Christmas

Give the Gift of Charity This Christmas

Jessie McCartney

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.