Restoring Life Through Horses

CONROE, Texas -- In north Conroe, you pull up to a short gravel driveway and your anxieties from the drive up instantly dissolve in the breeze. As your feet find the gravel out of your car, the crunch of the rocks remind you of the ground holding you; a much needed break from the busyness of everyday life and an invitation to find your true self again is extended. Horse and Soul is a place where people can find healing from trauma and past wounds, where families can be restored and where businesses and corporate leadership teams can grow to become more productive and successful. Through Faith Based Equine Assisted Philosophy (FBEAP), people partner with horses to uncover, in real time, what might be blocking them from freedom and success. Founder, Maria Delavan, MA, had been dreaming of a place like this since 2008 and in early 2018 had the opportunity to attend a certification clinic where she was equipped to do this work. Horses had always been some of her greatest teachers and she knew, if given the opportunity, they could become teachers for others, as well. Of the numerous success stories to date, one in particular sticks out in her heart as significant. A local youth group arrived at Horse and Soul for a group session where teens were led through exercises in being present then partnered with horses to work through obstacles that they had built to represent real life challenges they experience everyday. One young lady built an obstacle that represented issues in her family, particularly, her parents arguing. She arranged some tires on the ground like a pin ball machine and began to explain that the tired represented her parents fighting. Everything would be going along fine, but then all of a sudden she would hit a tire - her parents would fight. When she led the horse through the obstacles the horse stopped (without being prompted) at each tire and the streams of tears fell from the young girl's face. 'This is exactly what it is like!' she released. After listening to the girl confess her experience, Maria asked the girl to pretend the horse is her and that she was God. 'See what would happen if you went through the obstacles with God instead of alone. She walked straight through this time and the horse followed in line behind her. No one stopped to hit the obstacles this time. Maria asked her, 'so, what was different this time?' The girl responded, 'with God, I am not impacted as much by the fighting because I am no longer alone. I have God with me.' A smile appeared on the girl's face.

This is just one of the many testimonies from Horse and Soul of breakthrough and healing. If you would like to learn more or participate in Horse and Soul's program, please visit our website www.horseandsoultexas.com