Fall - 2022

140 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • F A L L 2 0 2 2 turns out that mountain lions—another species with a history of preying on horses—approach horses in the same manner as humans do, jump- ing on their backs to attack. “When someone is sitting on a horse, the animal’s prey instincts kick in and they feel threatened. We want our horses to have choices. We want them to come to us of their own voli- tion. This creates trust and more desire for connection.” And it works. These animals are profoundly empathetic. “Their instinct is to look at us warily and they can sense and feel everything about us. No other animal possesses that ability to desire to connect with us on a deep level.” EHC’s operating funds are generated by billing insurance companies and through patients pay- ing a sliding scale of fees. At any given time, EHC serves around 350 people, both individually and in groups. “We reached more than 900 patients in 2021,” Fenton says,“and 75 percent were at or below the poverty line.” EHC is partnered with several other area organizations, including Gathering forWomen, Door to Hope, Monterey County Child Protective Services and the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. “We are a mental health service,” Fenton explains.“All clinicians are licensed or license eli- gible marriage and family therapists and clinical social workers.” She says that EHC is a safe place where those in need of help can find it in a peaceful and supportive atmosphere. “I have been practicing mar- riage and family therapy since 2006 and was licensed in 2012. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen results like the ones we achieve here.” For more information about Equine Healing Collaborative, please visit www.equinehealing.org or call 831/582-1017. Many of the animals at EHC have troubled pasts. Through being lovingly cared for and by working as therapy animals, they regain their strength. “We want both horses and humans to no longer feel broken or that they have no purpose,” says Fenton. The horses—and miniature horses, ponies and donkeys—each have their own stories to tell and are all rescues, donations or surrenders.