“Let’s go for a ride,” I said to Joe as he lay expressionless on his bed, covered in blankets and staring at the ceiling. The room was stuffy with hot, stale air. No bigger than a walk-in closet, the space held the lifetime possessions, many of them scattered on the bed, floor, and windowsill, of a 75-year-old veteran residing in an assisted living facility. Joe appeared frail and bored in the silence of the room.

Illustration by Janet Hamlin for AJN.

That’s the start of the Reflections column, “A Dream of Horses,” in the January issue of AJN. Written by a nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the short, moving essay describes a series of healing encounters between a frail older man, who seems to have given up on life, and the horses at a therapeutic equestrian barn.

The here and now.

The story told here reminds us how much we humans can cocoon ourselves against the more elemental forces of the natural world, and how healing it can be to encounter a magnificent animal that asks only that we be present in the here and now. The senses awaken. We look beyond our own habitual ways of thinking and feeling and acting. Maybe, something new seems possible. 

The essay may also be a reminder to not give up on patients, however stuck they seem. Maybe one just hasn’t found the right approach. Writes author Anne Marie Craman, MSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC:

One of my biggest lessons has been to not underestimate the restorative power of the horses and the unconditional support that comes from the community at the barn.

That’s exactly right. It’s always easy to forget such gifts, even when we’ve seen them for ourselves. But read Craman’s thoughtful, engaging essay, which is free. Have you had any experiences along these lines? We’d love to hear, so leave us a comment.