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'There’s no limit to what you can do'; Saint Johns woman starts equine therapy business

Mikayla Temple, WSYM, 2021.

Pamela Allen retired after 20 years in child welfare. She decided she wanted to keep helping people, so when she moved to Saint Johns in January, she had an idea.

By: Mikayla Temple

Posted at 7:38 AM, May 23, 2021

and last updated 2021-05-23 07:38:13-04

There's no doubt the pandemic has caused stress and uncertainty in our lives.

“This last year with changes in work and parenting and everything we’ve bumped up against,” said Saint Johns resident Pamela Allen.

Pamela Allen Equine Therapy — Pamela Allen is pictured here with her horse Zoe.

After retiring, Allen knew she wanted to continue helping people.

“I knew at some point child welfare would have to come to an end and I’d have to do chapter two,” said Allen.

Pamela Allen Equestrian Therapy — Ase was Allen's first horse six years ago.

Six years ago, she adopted her first horse Ace who inspired her to start a therapy business using horses.

Six years ago, she adopted her first horse Ace who inspired her to start a therapy business using horse.

“The parallels between what I was seeing with his history and child welfare and the kiddos I worked with just kind of kept speaking to me,” Allen said.

Allen adopted Zoe and Miko when she moved to Saint Johns in January and decided to launch Pamela Allen Equine Assisted Coaching.

“Equine-assisted coaching is different because we keep our feet on the ground, we don’t ride,” said Allen.

What is equine therapy?

“It’s really coaching and learning life skills, recognizing emotion, reducing stress,” said Allen.

Equine therapy started with riding in the United States in the late 1960's. Studies are showing the benefits include:

emotional awareness
social skills
confidence
impulse control
trust and empathy
problem-solving skills

“Maybe the client feelings like challenging themselves a little bit and recognizing how does anxiety feel in my body when I start to be challenged,” Allen said.

Through activities like leading or even painting on a horse, people can learn to navigate through their emotions.

“There’s no limit to what you can do,” said Allen.

Horses react to people's emotions — Allen said horses can react to people's emotions through their facial expressions and body language.

Allen said horses can detect and respond to human emotions, sometimes before the client recognizes what they're feeling, and react to the emotions they pick up on.

“Let’s say they chose Zoe," Allen said. "I’m watching for her facial expressions and her body language and her ears, tight muscles, her relaxed muscles.”