Since Hippocrates in 400 BC, horseback riding has been recognized as a form of therapeutic treatment for sensory, neuromotor, and cognitive disorders. What is it about horses that gives them such magical powers? According to Kaye Marks of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH) International, “Whether it’s a five-year-old with Down syndrome, a 45-year-old recovering from a spinal cord injury, a senior citizen recovering from a stroke, or a teenager struggling with depression, research shows that individuals of all ages who participate in EAAT (Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies) can experience physical and emotional rewards.”
One of the main reasons for this is because riding a horse engages the mind, body, and spirit. Another reason is that horses and humans share striking qualities, such as being social beings, sharing a similar herd/family structure, and having the ability to communicate emotions, feel empathy, learn trust, and show stress.
Because of those similarities, horses and humans have developed a unique way to communicate with one another using what linguists call “an embodied language system.” Professor Keri Brandt Off of Fort Lewis College describes this third language—which relies on touch, emotional connection, and awareness of physical movements—as a “symbiotic and dynamic process that recognizes horses as sensitive, decision-making beings.”
She further notes that, “When it comes to creativity, analysis, and self-reflection, people tend to give a lot of weight to words and thoughts. Horses can help humans develop a different kind of knowledge, one rooted in the body.”
A new brand of riding stable is born
Blue Rider Stables Inc. (BRS), a non-profit organization founded in 1991, offers “a holistic educational environment in which people and animals can safely interact, and through their mutual therapeutic experiences, broaden the scope of their lives.” There the horses serve as therapists and instructors, and the guides serve as mediators.
Located down a dirt road (15 Farm Lane) in South Egremont, Blue Rider Stables is a beautiful oasis with lush green pastures, an open-space riding arena, and a stall-free barn. All 18 equines that call Blue Rider home are free to roam the common spaces, allowing easy movement among the humans and horses.
Blue Rider Stables evolved in part from the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, Austrian educator and founder of The Waldorf Schools and formulator of anthroposophy—a formal educational, therapeutic, and creative system that seeks to optimize physical and mental health and well-being by natural means. As noted on the website, the stable got its name from the Expressionistic Art movement started in Germany in 1911 by three artists (Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and August Macke), who saw animals as “the guardians of what was left of innocence and unspoiled nature, a being that can live without the angers of the ego. They called themselves ‘Der Blaue Reiter’ (The Blue Rider) because Kandinsky loved blue and Marc loved horses.”
Today, Blue Rider Stables’ programs include (per its website) “therapeutic horseback riding, basic safe riding, riding without fear, vaulting, horse care, stable management, summer programs, and more.”
The original founder of Blue Rider Stables was Charles Carlson III (Chip), a painter, photographer, and artist “who saw this stable as a place to take many different impulses and help mold them into a flexible new way of thinking and experiencing the animals” (BRS website).
Christine Sierau was asked to advise the organization and then became the heart of it for the next 30 years (semi-retiring and moving into a mentoring position just last month). As a nonverbal child, Sierau found communicating with animals easier than communicating with humans. Growing up, she lived with her parents in a Camphill Village—an integrated community where people with developmental differences can live a life of dignity, equality, and purpose—which inspired her parents later in life to start Berkshire Village, the seedling that grew into Cadmus Lifesharing, which are homes for people with special needs.
What makes equine therapy different from other forms of therapy? As she explained in a recent interview with Tracie Matthews on the “Move Well” YouTube series, “Horses are true partners. They are living beings whose basic need is to maintain balance to feel safe. When a person rides bareback on a horse, the energy flows both ways, from human to horse and from horse to human. The reciprocal process brings about healing both ways.”
An empowering partnership is forged
Becky Daddona’s third word was “horse.” She started working with horses as an eight-year-old, and has remained committed since then, pursuing training in equine therapy in Iceland, Canada, and throughout the U.S. East Coast. She first worked with BRS while attending college in Pennsylvania. “This has always been home away from home for me,” she notes.
After working here for two decades (full-time for the past four years), Daddona is now beginning a new role as head instructor. She describes Blue Rider Stables as “a unique place that tries to meet people where they are and give everyone space to be who they are.”
Explaining her role, she clarifies, “It’s the horses that make this place work. The instructors are just mediators. When you come here to ride, you use your feeling of what you’re going through to connect to how the horse is carrying you. And the horse’s energy and response tell the instructor what movement is needed or helpful. That’s true body work—you are finding the way to heal your body in partnership with the horse. And that’s empowering.”
There are currently 16 horses and two donkeys in the herd, which is higher than usual due to the increasing number of people they serve. Some come from auctions, some are retired show horses or racehorses (although that is less common now), some are Amish carriage horses, some were rescued from situations of abuse or neglect. Every horse makes a valuable contribution. Billy Boy, the donkey, serves as ambassador. “The horses are always guaranteed a home for life when they come to us,” she stresses. “They’ve earned their keep and deserve that security.”
While many stables place horses in individual or shared stalls, BRS is firmly committed to the idea and practice of living in a herd. “The horses are more comfortable in themselves living this way,” Daddona explains. “There is always one horse that is aware of what’s going on, which gives security to the others.” They move and eat small amounts all day and night and appear confident and relaxed, compared with horses living in the box. According to Daddona, seniority exists among the horses, but not hierarchy. Those who have been here longer are not necessarily stronger but have experienced more and get more respect. Living as a herd also means the roles aren’t fixed but, rather, fluid. In this environment struggles are shared, resulting in empathy, caring, and greater consciousness.
Sierau often tells people, “At Blue Rider Stables, we teach children how to be ‘herd-thought people.’” That means employing teamwork with everything they do, so students are taught to help each other, offer encouraging support, and show each other the ropes.
How do people find BRS? This happens mostly through word of mouth—kids attend school, afterschool, and summer camp programs. There are also many longstanding partnerships, such as with Camphill Village. “We don’t do a lot of advertising for our programs,” Daddona explains, “just events.” Participants range in age from 18 months to 90 years old.
Covering costs
As a nonprofit organization, BRS relies heavily on donations and sponsorships to keep the business going—those represent about two-thirds of its nearly $250,000 annual operating budget. It also applies for grants, most of which come from local organizations and enable BRS to provide scholarships every year.
According to Daddona, caring for the horses is increasingly costly. A bale of hay cost around $5 last year, and $6.50 this year. The herd eats, on average, 12 to 15 bales a day during the winter, so that added another $20,000 in feed costs this year alone.
Farrier costs (the cost to manage and provide protection for horse hooves) run about $50 per horse every six weeks, which comes to an annual $433 per horse (or close to $7,000 for the whole herd). Then there are property taxes, veterinary costs, and replacement blanket costs. In addition, some horses require laser treatments, chiropractic care, Chinese herbal treatments to boost their immune systems, or acupuncture. “Their bodies suffer a lot of wear and tear when carrying so many people who struggle to find their center of balance,” Daddona says. BRS also employs a paid staff of 10 to 12 people (along with having a loyal core of volunteers).
Blue Rider Stables also hosts its own fundraising events, always involving the horses. One of the big fundraisers has been the Funday held at French Park in August, which features pony rides, a bounce house, kid’s games, and an auction. The event typically raises $20,000, but when they applied for the permit last February, they were put on hold due to ongoing COVID concerns. Fortunately, they were able to hold their circus and recital on June 11, with students showcasing their work and riding skills to parents, friends, and the public. The event raised $6,000—indicating strong community support.
Because many people felt unsafe the past two years, Blue Rider Stables has become a more important safe haven—a place where, as Daddona puts it, “we try to honor the scariness of the world.” She notes that “kids are really struggling now. After COVID, they are reluctant to go into each other’s personal space.” The number of children coming in with a formal diagnosis of anxiety and social anxiety has increased dramatically over the past few years. Is it the lack of time spent in nature? The obsession with social media? The isolation of the pandemic? Yes, and a host of other less tangible causes. But spending time with the horses and staff is helping them come out of their shells, interact with peers, and learn to speak up for themselves—all of which is having a positive effect.
People with many different conditions—including cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, and traumatic brain injury—find a path to recovery here. Khali Zabian, who was struck by a car on Route 7 on August 7, 2019, suffered a catastrophic brain injury and multiple fractures. She was left paralyzed on one side. After five brain surgeries and daily therapy, her mother Lisa decided, “She needs to ride a horse.” So Khali began her weekly riding lessons with Falcur and the hard journey to regain full mobility. Her recovery is nothing short of miraculous and would likely not have been possible without the horses.
John Greene, BRS board member for the past seven years, a house parent at Cadmus, and board member of Camphill USA, describes Blue Rider Stables as “a unique place, like no other,” adding, “I can’t imagine partnering with anyone else.”
He first came to know the stable through “his guys”—the Camphill young men he accompanies to weekly lessons. In his opinion, what makes the experience unique are the relationships and the “absolutely brilliant union they have with the horses they’ve taken in.” Ben has been coming for over 12 years and Jonah for five. As they make their way around the riding arena, there is an all-consuming calm that fills them, changing worried expressions to smiles, hunched posture to upright, and tense arms to outstretched arms, at times even lifted above the head while riding!
“My guys really benefit from the time they spend here… They leave much stronger, more centered, and more flexible. They also pick up on the horse’s calm—the more peace there is, the better it is for them.”
“You’d benefit from it, too!” he adds.
