Sam Bruce with horse Casper, who she connected with during the Horses for Healing program at Nest Equine and Nature Assisted Learning. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
Flanked by rolling hills on one side and sweeping ocean views on the other, Sam Bruce leans in to give horse Casper a kiss on the forehead as a thank you for helping change the course of her life.
When Sam first arrived at Nest Equine and Nature Assisted Learning for its Healing With Horses program at Dunmore, she said she was “not in a good place” mentally.
Over eight weeks, through guided interactions with horses and nature, she began a journey of healing and recovery.
Delivered in partnership with Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre (WTR), the program is designed to support women who have experienced domestic, family or sexual violence to rebuild trust, set boundaries and reconnect with themselves.
“I did not have good self-worth, self-boundaries,” Sam said.
“By the end of the program, I had the capacity to move away from a role I was doing, to then start doing some ventures on my own.
“I started my own not-for-profit and I would say that this program was a massive catalyst to doing that. It gave me the confidence to do it.”
Sam wanted to create a new life not just for herself, but for other women and in September, launched Beacon of Hope Project.
She said the peer-led, women’s not-for-profit organisation was built around the very principles she discovered in the paddock: dignity, purpose and the power of connection.
“We do peer-led activities, support coordination and psychosocial recovery coaching and then we do disability inclusive markets,” she said.
“It’s about amplifying women’s dignity and purpose and helping create change, because in my life that was what was a massive catalyst to healing.”
Sam said while Beacon of Hope was still in its early stages, she was already working towards creating a peer-led hub, a space where women could come for connection, skill-building and support.
Central to Sam’s story is Casper, the horse she was most often paired with during the Healing With Horses program.
“He and I, yeah, we bonded … he really got me,” she said.
“He just read me very differently to others and he would sit with me.”
She said the program was designed to slowly build up contact and confidence with the horses.
In the early weeks, participants work at a distance from the horses, gradually progressing to closer, more intensive activities as their comfort and trust grow.
For Sam, the progression felt natural.
“Casper and I got quite close quite quickly and then we could do things where I didn’t feel scared around him,” she said.
Even when she returned for a catch-up visit after the program, Casper’s response was immediate.
“Yesterday, when he first saw me, he nudged me straight away,” she said.
“Typically, I would be quite hesitant with big horses doing that … but with him, it’s just different.”
Sam kissing horse Casper, who she credits with helping change her life. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
Sam said she had engaged with other forms of therapy, but equine therapy – and particularly a women-focused program grounded in lived-experience – had been uniquely powerful.
“In general, women-focussed things like this are dramatically more meaningful,” she said.
“I then think anything with animals is something that we need to utilise more.”
Illawarra WTRC CEO Elise Phillips said the centre had a holistic model of healing and recovering, which included services that might be a bit harder for women to access ordinarily.
“Equine therapy has a significant evidence base to demonstrate that this does contribute to healing and recovery,” she said.
“What we have observed is that women feel seen and heard.
“They’re able to self regulate in a way that they perhaps might not have been able to before and can then head home feeling calmer, feeling more confident and then being able to navigate the challenges that might face them in their day-to-day life from a better perspective.”
Nest Equine and Nature Assisted Learning owner and program facilitator Lauren Dawson said the animal-assisted therapy was built on The Horse Wisdom Program, developed by the Equine Psychotherapy Institute and involved eight gentle horses, including a miniature horse.
Lauren said there was a progression with the program, with women starting out with the basics in regulation, grounding and awareness through nature.
“That’s something they can access at home, if they walk out their front door,” she said.
“Then we move into boundaries, relationships and challenging situations and they’re all experiences they have with the horses.
“It’s really noticing what’s going on in the body and we learn all that from the horses.”
Laurene said there were also benefits to the horses, many of which were older and retired from farm work, but “still had a lot to give”.
She said while she offered varying programs for the community, helping women was her passion.
“It’s about helping women, giving them opportunities to look ahead in their life and have goals and meaning again,” she said.
“That’s the massive transition we’ve seen through the program.”
Illawarra WTRC is looking to launch a new program called Healing in Nature that has many of the same benefits as Healing with Horses.
Learn more about Nest Equine and Nature Assisted Learning or access Illawarra Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre services.
