“Sweat ran down my arm like a stream in the middle of a desert. I tossed the last of the manure into the wheelbarrow before dumping it on the pile outside the barn door, the pungent scent burning my nostrils. The calluses on my palms throbbed as I re-tied my ponytail.

It was another summer morning on the farm, but this one was to be special. I was taking the lead in my first equine-assisted therapy session. For five years I trained for this, earning hundreds of hours towards my Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning (ESMHL) certification from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH). All unpaid hours, it was truly a work of the heart, one that some people could not understand…”