MU horses help comfort cancer survivors
Cancer patients found an unlikely source of help in MU's horses.
Published Oct. 31, 2008
Jackie O'Rourke doesn't like to think of herself as a survivor.
"I call myself an over-comer," she said. "It's much more positive."
In fact, O'Rourke, a self-proclaimed "over-comer" of breast cancer, said maintaining a positive outlook was part of her participation in an equine-assisted therapy demonstration at MU.
The demonstration, funded by a local affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, is hosted occasionally at the Trowbridge Livestock Center. The latest event took place last month. The demonstration, which was facilitated by Anna Schwartz, an equine therapist and oncology nurse practitioner from Arizona, included six horses and four cancer survivors.
Melanie Schneider, MU graduate student and event organizer, said the participants were never asked to mount a horse. All activities were performed beside the horse, and included catching and working as a group to get a horse over an obstacle.
O'Rourke said a lot of the interactions with the horses involved giving commands without using your mouth or hands. This was meant to simulate the frustrations faced while battling cancer and recovering from it.
"I just kept thinking about my energy," O'Rourke said. "I would ask myself, 'Is my energy positive?'"
Marci Jennings, MU Animal Science instructor and event organizer, said MU Animal Sciences provided the therapy horses.
"Normally, these mares are used to teach our undergraduate equine courses and are handled extensively by our students," Jennings said. "While these horses had no 'therapy training,' their natural personalities and quiet nature made them perfect for this event."
Despite the pleasant dispositions of the therapy horses, O'Rourke admits she was a little apprehensive about handling a horse.
"I'm not a horse person," O'Rourke said. "Horses are big, so I was nervous and scared."
But O'Rourke said she was excited to participate in the event, having heard about it during a cancer retreat.
"I expected to learn something about myself," she said.
Jennings said the participants talked openly about their challenges with breast cancer and experienced a wide range of emotions.
"It was touching to have such brave women share such a personal and vulnerable part of their life," Jennings said.
Schneider said the two-hour therapy session was very emotional for many participants.
"Tears were shed at times because it brought up memories of battling cancer and fear of getting cancer again in the future for several of the participants," Schneider said. "One of the participants mentioned as a survivor, emotional healing after having cancer is an ongoing process."
Equine-assisted therapy might seem strange, but O'Rourke said using horses is perfect for cancer recovery.
"Horses are big and scary, and cancer is kind of big and scary," O'Rourke said. "They choose horses because they're big, sensitive, and honest. (Interacting with the horses) made you examine how you deal with problems."
Horses are excellent for therapy because of their innate perceptiveness of human emotion, Jennings said.
"They can easily sense a person's worry or relief and react to each differently," Jennings said. "Using this, you can work through a therapy session around the horse and use the horse as a tool. The horse acts as a friendly creature that can comfort while upset, but they also mirror the subject's emotion."
Although the experience was challenging, O'Rourke would recommend this form of therapy to cancer survivors and hopes the event will continue as a permanent program at MU, perhaps as a philanthropy project by a sorority or fraternity. Schneider said plans are in the works to continue the program and a donation has already been made to help fund it.
"There's so much uncertainty with cancer. Anything that helps you learn how to deal is good," O'Rourke said. "It was really cool."
