Mar 28, 20202 min read

Healing a Traumatized Horse

Miss Betsy was a very traumatized horse when she was rescued by a horse sanctuary where I volunteered. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her as Miss Betsy taught me so much about how trauma can be transformed. She showed me that we are not solely defined by the events that happened in our lives.

I am a certified Trust Technique Practitioner and I did my practice sessions when I was in training. Miss Betsy had a terrible past, and it resulted in her dangerous behavior. She would kick anyone who came near her.

In her past, Miss Betsy was forced to be a drug horse runner, where they tie all the horses’ legs together to keep them from escaping. When they were done with her they left her in a barn to starve. She was so frightened of people, dogs, everything, she would bolt, kick anyone who came near her, even to feed, and when left alone, she would just stand and stare at the wall of her stall. After a couple of months of working with her with the Trust Technique and other soothing methods, she became a total love bunny. She loved interacting with people and being treated to all the good in the world.

This formerly traumatized horse grew to love interacting with people and she was delighted to participate in our healing classes

Although at first terrified of dogs, here she is interacting with myself and Sophia, my service dog. The three of us were able to take soothing walks together.

She accepted Sophia as a pack member and could calmly eat in her presence.

The moral of the story is there is hope for even the most traumatized animals. Healing takes time and it takes patience. The Trust Technique helped me to build a sense of safety for her, and allowed her to trust humans and other animals.