PRINCETON, Iowa — Excelsior Ranch in Princeton, Iowa, is changing lives through animal-assisted therapy. It's a treatment program where horses, and donkeys help veterans, first responders and trauma survivors find healing. At a recent open house, visitors experienced the powerful bond between humans and other animals first-hand.
"Horses can be a really useful tool," Jessica Billiet, an EAGALA-certified equine specialist said. Billiet, who's been helping people heal with animals for over two years, said that the horses' larger hearts create an electro-magnetic field that has been shown to have a calming effect on humans.
"It's really interesting because in clinical studies, when you approach a horse and enter into that sphere, your blood pressure and heart rate begin to go down," Billiet said.
One of the open-house attendees, Deborah Burk from Geneseo, shared her own experiences working with horses. Burk, who held equine summer camps for at-risk children, emphasized the power of the animals to bring joy to those in need.
"I've seen the difference it makes. When you see a child who has been through trauma, angry all the time, go up to one of the horses, and suddenly the biggest smile you ever saw comes across their face," Burk said.
Burk added that the bond between the children and the horses runs deep. "They know they can say anything and everything to a horse, and the horse will never judge them," she said.
Excelsior Ranch provides its services free of charge to veterans, first responders and military members, offering a safe space for those in need to heal with the help of animals.
You can learn more about services offered here or sign up for counseling with the animals here.