{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Medicine Horse, Evidence-Based Therapy with Horses","description":" Our show is a space for riders and horse owners of all disciplines to learn best practices and to discover skills, strategies, tools, ideas, and insights for better connecting with their horses, with all horses and for getting work done.  We love to hear from listeners and contacting us is easy here.  We offer these shows for free. If you think it\u2019s worthy of a small contribution, we sure would appreciate it. This is Episode 15 of Season 4 and in it, Jec interviews Dana Schultz, a therapist at Medicine Horse, a therapeutic facility in Longmont, Colorado. So, yes, this episode is a bit out of our purview. But then again, we have been talking about mental health lately and Medicine Horse in particular seems to be an outfit that connects good science with good horse work. So there ya go. Also, if this is the season of gratitude, then this episode is perhaps a good reminder of what we owe our horses. With all the busyness of the season, we could, you know, just stop for an extra minute, or maybe even an extra hour, to just BE with them and perhaps connect in a way that says, \u2018thanks.\u2019 Also, thanks to you, dear listeners, for buying books and donating to our cause. There is still time to order books from us. Visit Jec Ballou and Cayuse Communications for many fun options. At Cayuse, you can get a free book with every order. I\u2019m recording this on December 15 and there is still time to get books to you by Christmas.  Thanks to our title sponsor, Lucerne Farms, producers of quality forage feeds, extremely handy and healthy bales of alfalfa, timothy, and grass blends. A great addition or substitute for your hay or grass and way better than grain.  We thank Sampson Moss and his business, Prairie Wind Hat Works for the generous sponsorship. Sampson makes custom hats from his place in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Order yours and have it for the spring riding season. You will look sharp! Sounds like Medicine Horse is doing good work and that their horses have good lives. I\u2019ve always been interested in the impact therapy sessions have on the horses. We know that cortisol, commonly called the stress hormone, is lowered for humans in horse-human interactions. But what about the horses? It\u2019s my understanding, from talking with equine therapy folks as well as canine therapy workers, that the animals can only handle a certain amount of this kind of work each day. My mom trained her dogs for therapy work. When 9\/11 happened, she told me about the dogs who were called in to work at the centers set up for families to pick up death certificates of those who died in the towers. She said the dogs could only handle an hour before they needed a break. Read this article on a WSU study of kids and equine facilitated therapy.  All to say, it\u2019s so good to give our animals jobs, but let\u2019s be careful. Thanks to Redmond Equine and Pharm Aloe \u2013 for generously sponsoring our podcast. Check out Pharm Aloe\u2019s aloe pellets which you can simply sprinkle on your horse\u2019s feed and Redmond\u2019s Rock on a Rope which you can simply hang on a fence. We think you\u2019ll love \u2018em. Also thanks to Patagonia WorkWear for their continued support. Give us feedback, suggest a topic or guest, or make a donation and you\u2019ll be automatically entered to win one of two free Patagonia WorkWear items that we give away every month. Don\u2019t forget that Redmond Equine is sending a complimentary syringe of Daily Gold Stress Relief to everyone who drops a tip in our donation jar. Pretty cool and a $15 value. If you get something of value from our podcast, please consider making a donation. We sure would appreciate it.    ","author_name":"Best Horse Practices Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/besthorsepractices.libsyn.com\/website","html":"