PLATO TOWNSHIP -- She's spent her entire life around horses -- the last 10 years as a equine therapist. But Amy Blossom never saw a horse cry until a few months ago.
A patient from Passages Hospice -- in a wheelchair and who had recently lost the ability to communicate well -- was crying when Blue, one of Blossom's therapy horses, laid his head on the man's shoulder.
(Marina Makropoulos/Staff Photographer)
"I could see it was an emotional experience for the patient. He began to cry silent tears down his face and Blue put his head on the patient's shoulder. Blue began to have water running down his face as well," she said.
She's always been told that horses don't cry, Blossom said. But Blue changed her mind about that conventional wisdom.
"When the patient left, he was so joyful," she said, and the horse no longer had water, or tears, coming from its eyes.
Seeing how the infirm react to horses is one reason that Passages Hospice, based in Elgin, started partnering with Reins of Change, Blossom's organization. Located in Plato Township, Reins of Change has worked with Passages for the past year, bringing patients who are nearing the end of their lives with therapy horses.
"We wanted to do something different" and outside of normal therapy options for their patients, said Seth Gillman, administrator at Passages. The hospice provider works with nursing homes around Illinois to give patients who are nearing the end of their lives support and care.
He had heard about the therapy options available at Reins of Change, and how therapists there work with autistic children, those with eating disorders, or children and adults with anger disorders, among other issues. "We explained that a lot of that stuff is systematic to Alzheimer's patients -- like their attention span is short, they are agitated and are easily redirected," Gillman said.
For those living in a nursing home facility, he said, working with the huge animals in the outdoors can be a liberating experience.
"In a facility, they can feel helpless. Now, having this half-ton beast that you are controlling, brushing or leading it, it is very inspirational. When you are suffering, one of hundreds in a facility, this can be the first time in a long time that you are in control of something so big. It is a great thing," Gillman said. "It can give a strength and a purpose and control back to your life."
Maureen Fox went with her husband, James, to Reins of Change last winter. James, Maureen said, was always a animal lover and had dogs through much of his life. She was pleased to see how James reacted to the horses. "He was grinning from ear to ear," she said.
"He perked up, and I am sure that it influenced that," Maureen said. "He was a fighter, he never gave up, but he began fighting more."
Although James passed away in June, she is glad that he got the chance to visit with the horses. "I would say take as many people as you can there. It was wonderful," Maureen said.