Equine therapy charity aims to double capacity as demand from flood victims soars
ABC Shepparton / By Rosa Richie 7 May, 2023
When Colin Emonson set out to help Black Saturday bushfire victims recover, he drove to the regional Victorian disaster zone with a float full of horses.
Mr Emonson is the founder of a unique therapeutic model that combines narrative therapy and horse handling.
He supported survivors at Kinglake who were experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, and returned to hold therapy sessions over a number of years.
Under the Horses for Hope model, participants work with horses that have had "trauma and trouble" in their lives, including from the racing industry.
Participants learn to regulate their emotions and become a carer for the animals, supported by horse handlers and counsellors.
"It flips the therapeutic process on its head, really," Mr Emonson said.
Now the same program is proving crucial to northern Victorian communities after the October 2022 floods.
"The first session that we had after we reopened after the floods was a young woman who came along and she'd lost everything," Mr Emonson said.