Horses, Dementia, and the Science of Connection | Paula Hertel & Nancy Schier Anzelmo of Connected Horse, with Kansas Carradine | EAW 56

✨ "They come in with a cane and feeling disabled, and then they say, 'Here, take the cane, honey. I'm gonna walk this horse.' We've seen this so many times we can't even number it." – Nancy Schier Anzelmo

Description Paula Hertel and Nancy Schier Anzelmo are the co-founders of Connected Horse, a California-based program that brings equine-assisted experiences to older adults living with dementia or memory loss — alongside their care partners. Backed by research conducted with Stanford University and UC Davis, Connected Horse is one of the first programs in the country to specifically serve this population in this way. Kansas Carradine, HeartMath-certified trainer and returning EAW guest, joins to explore the science of heart coherence, entrainment, and why horses may be uniquely suited to reach people that other approaches cannot.

Connected Horse's work challenges the assumption that equine-assisted services are only for children or younger adults. Their Stanford and UC Davis pilot studies recorded statistically significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden — with 100% participant return rates at a six-month booster session. Participants regularly go from fearful and withdrawn to walking horses, speaking in full sentences, and feeling activated to change their lives. The program is designed to be failure-free: for the person with the diagnosis, for the care partner, and for the horses.

In this episode, Rupert, Paula, Nancy, and Kansas explore the physiology behind what happens when a person leans their heart against a horse's neck, why dementia and autism require similar practitioner responses around pacing and unconditional presence, what ritual and ceremony have to do with cortisol regulation, and how social prescribing may bring programs like Connected Horse into mainstream healthcare. If you want to support the show, you can do so at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome

If you want to support the show, you can do so at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LongRideHome

🔍 What You'll Learn in This Episode

Why older adults living with dementia have been largely overlooked by the equine-assisted field — and what Connected Horse is doing to change thatHow Stanford University and UC Davis pilot studies measured statistically significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden in just 15 hours of horse-based interventionWhy Connected Horse works with the person living with dementia and their care partner together —