Can horses teach people with early-stage dementia useful lessons about how to cope with their disease?
That’s the question behind a pilot project at Stanford University’s Red Barn, which recently hosted five early-onset dementia patients along with their caregivers for a series of workshops with horses.
Foreseeing a tidal wave of dementia cases with the aging of the baby boomers, organizers hope to test whether equine therapy can counteract the feelings of isolation and hopelessness often experienced by newly diagnosed patients. If successful, the approach could be replicated in stables and barns across rural America, where there can be a shortage of organized services for families coping with dementia.
The Connected Horse Project is the brainchild of Paula Hertel and Nancy Schier Anzelmo, both equestrians who have worked for decades in the senior services industry.
If I asked you to picture a horse, it is most likely you would also picture a rider…a jousting knight, a cowboy riding off into the sunset, a jockey circling the racetrack. Horses have long been our partners in work, travel, play, and creative pursuits. Now a new pilot program in the Bay Area draws upon this partnership to help those living with dementia.
According to a press release, the Connected Horse Project is “a a groundbreaking pilot study to explore how guided engagement with horses might help people living with dementia and their care partners.”
Nancy Schier Anzelmo and Paula Hertel are colleagues and friends. They are both well known in the senior living industry where they have worked as consultants for about 20 years. They both have a passion to improve assisted living and dementia care. They also both love and own horses. These combined enthusiasms led them to create a new joint endeavor, which they’ll launch later this month – The Connected Horse Project.