Equine Facilitated Therapeutics provides activity and therapeutic stimuli for children, and adults with disabilities mentally and physically. Many people have asked how I got into that field or wonder what made me choose that as a career field. Well here is the answer.
I started riding at the age of twelve, lets just say I never grew out of the pony phase as a little girl. I did not go to college with the intent of getting a degree in anything horse related, riding was just a hobby that I loved. How you're expected to know what you want to do for the rest of your life when you graduate is beyond me, I didn't even know EFT (Equine Facilitated Therapeutics) existed as a major when I was in high school. I went to college and got my Associates Degree in Liberal Arts with a focus in music.
Throughout my life I now realize there were points where God used to pushed me to where I am now, studying EFT. I had a family friend who mentioned Hippo-therapy (Horse therapy) to me when I was young, that is probably what initially got me headed in the right direction, but at that point in time it got buried in the back of my mind. Another point that linked with the first was my realization that I loved to work with kids. I had already known I loved kids, but then I ended up as a teachers aid in a first grade classroom. I genuinely loved helping them in their classes and teaching them little things. I then decided I wanted to be an elementary teacher, that was my senior year of high school.
The summer after my senior year I went off to my church camp for my final year and met a young boy with autism. Now, not all cases are the same and you can get some extreme and dangerous cases of any disability, but this particular boy had a wonderful outlook on life. He would walk around saying "me so happy" all the time, but what you didn't know were the burdens he walked around with and yet still said that phrase constantly. I wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids, and people like him. Of course then I wanted a degree in Special Education, but my community college didn't offer that, so I went back on the education track until I found out that didn't transfer well to other colleges. As a result, back to the drawing board I went.
Slowly the idea of Hippo-therapy (now called equine therapy) grew on me as it worked its way out of my memory. It was the perfect combination of the hobby that I loved and the career I had wanted. I had the opportunity to volunteer at a stable near my house that ran therapy programs and that was it. I knew that was what I should be doing. God had led me there through a series of events that were impactful. Being able to help people get what they need, say their first word, or learn something new combined all the things I had wanted to do. So, that is why I am an EFT major.
