If you are in the Equine Assisted World and you have not yet hear of the Institute for Human and Animal Connection at Denver University, then you should. The institute – one of the first to really get academics behind the work we all do with horses and people (and not just horses) paved the way for real careers in the field, and through its research and collaborations had brought a much needed scientific legitimacy to what was once disregarded as mere ‘playing with ponies’.
At the helm of the Institute is the amazing Nina Ekolhm Fry. Originally from Finland – indeed from the minority of Swedish Speaking Finns, she grew up with horses in the northern European tradition but also began working early in her career with the Red Cross and humanitarian aid, so the combination of horses with compassion based healing work comes was established early on.
Nina has a fascinating story – how she came to the usa and began exploring the many equine assisted programs on offer while developing programs at Prestcott College in Arizona and then at Denver, and helping to develop the field into a globally recognised therapeutic modality, including the work of HETI (Horses in education and Therapy International) in which she is a prime mover. So if you don’t yet know her, meet Nina now, and you’ll realise how much we all owe to her pioneering work, as how far – thanks to those like her – we have all come. Listen on.
Contact Nina:
nina.ekholm-fry@du.edu
https://ihac.du.edu
Also mentioned in the podcast:
Fran Jurga equine repository research
https://equineassistedresearch.com/
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