Horse Therapy Is Good For The Soul

Megolia Natural Healing Center offers horse therapy sessions as well as various other wellness services just outside of Fredericton in Beaverdam, New Brunswick. The center is owned by Megan O’Rourke Dunlop, who offers these horse therapy sessions as an opportunity for people to connect with horses by grooming, walking, and interacting with them. An hour session costs only ten dollars, but the relationships that clients form with these creatures are invaluable.

Although it was nearly -15 degrees, that didn’t stop five of Dunlop’s most committed clients from bundling up and driving out to the barn for an evening of laughter, fun, and relaxation.

The Center is also home to many other animals including chickens, two dogs, a cow named Hannah, and many social sheep. Clients look forward to spending time in the therapeutic space that Dunlop has created.

For clients such as Suzanne Munn, coming to horse therapy is the highlight of her week. She has been attending these sessions since the Fall with a friend of hers and although she was nervous around the horses in the beginning, she has fallen in love with their personalities and they have become good friends.

“There are not too many places in Fredericton where you can go to spend time with these big, beautiful animals. For us, it is therapeutic, it’s fun, it’s relaxing, and now that we know the animals, it’s a pleasure to be with them,” said Munn.

She claims that many are confused when she tells them that she pays to spend her evening with horses. But for Munn, who has always wanted to own a horse of her own, and never had the opportunity, horse therapy is the next best thing.

 

Among the group is Lisa Portelli and her friend, Lacey. She has also been frequenting horse therapy sessions regularly as a way of de-stressing from her day to day life.

“I come because I love animals, and I have a very busy job and this is sort of a moment of joy in my evening, just to be with them and have an opportunity to spend time with them and groom them and walk them. It’s good for the soul,” said Portelli.