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I was a lucky little girl who got to grow up with a wonderfully wise old pony named Misty. Misty would do anything for me, and I believed we were going to do it all. Climb the high- est mountain! Jump the highest rail! Misty carefully trotted over each little pole on the ground while I imagined I was flying. She taught me that horses are truly gentle beings. Part of what we humans find fascinating about horses is that they are so powerful, yet simultaneously so responsive. ey're bigger, faster and stronger than we are, yet temperate enough to be not only a child's best friend, but also an effective means of working with the disabled, lonely, sad, clinically depressed or otherwise challenged. Size and temperament are not enough to explain the allure of these magnificent animals. Maybe we're drawn to the sim- ple sensation of warm hors- ey breath or the velvety touch of a muzzle, or the sense that a horse is a wild creature even when gentled. Or maybe it's a spiritual con- nection, a kind of interspecies silent communication that causes us to somehow feel accepted and understood. It could even have evolved as a part of our cell memory over millennia of horses and humans interacting and working together. Initially hunted for food, horses were domesticated for trans- portation and companionship around 4,000 BCE. Ancient Mon- golians reportedly spoke of the "five hearts of a horse," and that no- tion is cherished by horse cultures worldwide today. Veterinarians confirm horses do have five hearts, in a manner of speaking. e idea of the four additional "hearts" refers to the action of a horse's bare hooves expanding to accommodate blood when each hoof hits the ground, and then contracting so that the blood is pushed back up their long legs as the horse moves. It's one of the many unusual anatomical phenomena of the Equidae family that makes them so unique. Today's domestic horse population is in the tens of millions. Horses are still used primarily for sport and recreation, but hippotherapy (from the Greek, "with the help of a horse") includes equine-assisted therapy, equine-assisted coaching and psychotherapy, physical therapy, therapeutic riding pro- grams for the mentally and physically disabled, veterans' programs, wild-horse herd observa- tion and experiential learning. With equine-assisted therapy, horses are finally getting credit for something they've been providing to humans all along. As with dogs, cats and iguanas, they can even be certified for use in hospitals and retirement homes. Simply put, animals are an im- portant and comforting presence for humans. e five-hearts anecdote expresses not only an anatomical mir- acle that exists in horses, but a cultural appreciation of the ca- pacity of horses to provide five times the amount of heart any other animal possibly can for their human partners. Read on to discover five different healing modalities you can experience in Southern California. Hippotherapy as Physical Therapy Hippotherapy, used by physi- cal, occupational and/or speech therapists, utilizes equine movement "as part of an inte- grated intervention program to achieve functional outcomes," says Leaps & Bounds Pediatric erapy's website (www.leapsandboundspediatrictherapy.com). Based in Norco in Riverside County, which has been dubbed "HorseTown, USA" due to its horse-friendly community planning and infrastructure, Leaps & Bounds focuses on children but also serves adults, helping people with a range of physical needs. Equine-Assisted Coaching "Horses are teachers and powerful personal development partners," says Kate Neligan, founder of Conscious Rockstar Coaching. "ey operate the way a mirror does, reflecting back everything we need to see about ourselves. Sometimes the mir- ror shines on our greatness and other times it exposes our shadow." In her program at Saffyre Sanctuary in Sylmar, Neligan incorporates rescue horses for her equine coaching sessions. e rescue horses, like many of her clients, begin a new chapter of their lives, and conceivably this shared "awareness" may even facilitate greater healing on both sides. Neligan has her own transformation story. Unfulfilled by the trappings of success in a corpo- rate career, she found her calling partnering with horses and being of service. She has more than Photos: Samantha Lovett june/july 2016 27