Reader Story

Last summer I found myself in a really bad place. I was barely functional and could barely leave the house...

"Tank was taken in and had been beaten and had a hard time trusting people and needed a job..."

"My horse Rumor Has It has been in my life since she was 4 months old..."

"During a spring ride with a friend I fell off my horse. I shattered my lower leg and cracked my hip..."

Tentatively and quietly he said, "I can't go to school." The words came out as if they had been clawing in his throat all day and finally managed to narrowly escape...

My horse Koda has rescued me from depression and anxiety....

I was the Equestrian Director of a private school named Bachman Academy, for children with special needs. They ranged in grades from middle school to high school...

Oct 17, 2003, a wreck with a drunk driver changed my life in a heartbeat. I went from being healthy and active to using a wheelchair...

Fifteen years ago I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis...

My horses San and Tyler have gotten me through some very dark times in my life...

Horses have been a wonderful source of comfort in my life. But the first pony I brought home, a little Shetland my neighbor had rescued from the local auction, well, I wouldn’t have called him “comforting”...

I have been blessed with amazing horses who have taught me many life lessons...

On April 6, 2018, I stood in a college auditorium and scanned rows filled by my faculty colleagues, students, family, and friends—the people I most admire and want to respect me. Then I said something I never thought I’d utter aloud...

Moonshine was a throwaway, ruined off-the-track racehorse who had been abused and then abandoned...

When I was 16, I begged my parents to let me ride the beautiful, *very* recently saddle-broke PMU mare that our good family friend had recently bought...

I was an avid horsewoman with extensive trail riding experience. I also dabbled in Limited Distance and enjoying Mounted Orienteering. But late November 2016, I suffered a terrible side effect to the flu shot called Guillain Barre Syndrome...

My name is Amanda, and I am an Air Force veteran who nearly lost my life to PTSD...

Twelve-year-old Damion has Lesch-Nyhan syndrome. He is in a wheelchair, unable to stand or walk without assistance...

How does anyone handle the unexpected loss of a 15-year old Arabian to colic? We had come so far...

I have been riding at the REATH Center for two years now. It has become a big part of my life. When I was born, I was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC), a congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body.

Jake is a 21-year-old Tennessee Walker Paint gelding that has been working for the 4-H Grand Equestrians Therapeutic Riding Program in Howell Michigan for longer than I can remember.

In April 2013, our second son ended his own life in his room at our house...

I have miniature therapy horses. JJ was my first one and the one I take out visiting the most as he's the one that seems to connect with the people who need it the most.

I’ve been riding for about 9 years now and it has become my rock. When I was 7 I was hospitalized for an anxiety-induced stomach ulcer...

I’ve gone from having depression with major PTSD to survivor to now THRIVER! Hope is a powerful thing.

Six years ago I was disabled physically and mentally from PTSD and personal challenges after my time serving in the Navy...

I got Fancy in my 40s and she changed my life. She has given me a social circle that I normally wouldn't have...