Equestrian therapy is a family godsend

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

Kelly Cox Vicari’s entire life has been entwined with horses. She grew up on a Folsom ranch that raised, bred and showed more horses than she could count.


She also successfully competed in “eventing” at horse shows until she attended Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. But, she never gave up riding.

“I’m very fortunate to have grown up in a place like this,” Vicari said of her 20-acre farm. “We’ve always had horses.”

Learning primarily from her avid horsewoman mother, Vicari has taken her 50-plus years of horse experience and knowledge to launch Equine Therapy Connection on that same family land. The program provides horse touch therapy to the elderly, disabled, veterans, recovering addicts, hose experiencing Alzheimer’s disease or grief.

Vicari didn’t realize it, but her first client was actually her mother, who was suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s. Their shared love of horses and the opportunity for her mother to live with Vicari and her family in a place that was familiar forged a connection through the disease’s 13-year progression.

“Over the years with Alzheimer’s, she had some rough spots,” Vicari said of taking care of her mother along with her five children. “One day I said, ‘Somebody grab a horse.’ One of my girls ran out, brought a horse to the back porch, and I brought my mom out. That’s where it began. That change I saw in her was unbelievable. It was almost magical.”

Vicari said she can’t take credit for what happened.

“It was just her seeing this horse, and everything changed,” Vicari said. “She quieted; she remembered; she went straight to the horse without fear. You could tell she knew – her experience with horses was not gone. She knew how to handle it. From there, we would get her more involved with the horses – whether it was over the fence or in the barn. As my girls and my son were riding, she would watch them ride. It really started taking on a therapeutic part of our life with her.”

Her mother’s death left Vicari with a huge void.

“I felt like I had all this time on my hands, and I felt like I should be serving others,” Vicari said. “That’s what we’re made to do. I didn’t think about the capacity of what we were doing until after she passed away.”

Then, a friend and her mom with Alzheimer’s visited her farm. Vicari brought out older horses for her.

“She melted into this horse; she put her face on the horse’s neck, hugged it … and became so calm,” Vicari recalled.

The dramatic difference in her friend’s mother’s behavior lasted days. Equestrian Horse Therapy soon materialized after lots of prayer and jumping the red-tape hurdles posed by insurance, permits and taxes.

Retired racing horses
A strong Catholic who is a parishioner of St. Peter Church in Covington, Vicari entrusted her vocation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and received the spiritual support of Father Blake Deshautelle, pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Mansura.

Vicari said she regularly blesses the horses on their foreheads, and her Catholic clients pray with her before each session for safety.

Vicari primarily uses donated off-track thoroughbreds with the names Teewinot (“Tea” for short), Bear, Ash and Jet, and mini ponies Romeo and Juliet, which she has trained specifically for therapy. Sessions are tailored individually, based on a client’s response to the horses.

The entire program is touch therapy based on “present moment awareness” of a horse. Therapy depends on each person and his or her mobility.


Just recently, Vicari worked with Susan Swanner’s daughter Tracy, 16, who has cerebral palsy, and Emelia Fernandez, 26, who has autism.
“Tracy, he missed you,” Vicari said about the therapy horse Bear as Tracy, who uses a wheelchair, got close. “Licking you is his way of saying hello.”

As Tracy lifted her hand to touch the horse, he kissed it.
“He’s kissing your hand like a princess, Vicari told Tracy as they moved to another horse, Ash, who responded to the sparkles on Tracy’s pants.

“He likes your sparkles,” Vicari told Tracy encouragingly as she petted Ash.

Emelia was more hesitant around the horses, but eventually warmed up while walking with a horse in the enclosed paddock area. When she left, Swanner called and told Vicari that Emelia kept using sign language to explain how she touched the horses.

“The touch therapy is good to get people (like Emelia) comfortable to ride a horse, Swanner said. “Petting any animal is soothing. There’s something therapeutic about touching an animal. It generates healing and encouragement and creates trust between the person and the horse. We’ve all gotten more accepting of the horses and are less afraid.” 

The horses are used differently depending on each person and what the need is through therapy.

“Sometimes, I have to be very creative with their sessions,” Vicari said. “They come and they may be having a good day or a bad day  or just having something going on that I am not aware of that is affecting their mood. A lot of times, like Tracy in a wheelchair, it’s touch-only and acknowledging that the horse is near. ”

Vicari initially thought Equine Therapy Connection would solely be for Alzheimer’s clients. But, she’s realized that anyone with physical or mental health issues can benefit.

She’s watched grief victims who could barely get out of bed move forward after working with horses. She’s seen stress eased when she’s brought Jet to the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office, and retirement home residents perk up in his presence. She’s also working with a hospital to be part of a cancer survivor’s program.

“My goal is to become a nonprofit,” Vicari said.

She hopes to organize a spring fundraiser in April to help cover the expense of running the farm and caring for the horses.

For details, visit Vicari’s website at www.equinetherapyconnection.com or her Equine Therapy Connection Facebook and Instagram sites.

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