After two decades of serving as manager for nearly 60 horses at the Rock Creek Park Horse Center in Washington, D.C., it would seem like managing four horses would be a breeze for Amber Power.

“I had 45 people on staff at Rock Creek Park,” the Murrysville resident said as she walked the grounds at Power Farms Equine Center, a farm off Logans Ferry Road that once belonged to her grandparents. “Now, I have four horses and I’m going crazy.”

Part of how Power calms her frenetic pace is through an activity that she and mental health specialist Ilse Eisele will host again on Thursday: guided meditation with horses.

“I used to have a horse at (Rock Creek Park) and Amber approached me one day about doing equine-assisted therapy,” Eisele said.

Power and Eisele use the Eagala model of equine-assisted therapy, a hands-on approach where a licensed mental health professional and qualified equine specialist work with a client and horse. Horses are never ridden, and are allowed the space to interact with a client as they see fit.

“I saw the powerful effect it had on clients,” Eisele said. “Rather than have a therapist tell you what you should do, a client finds their own solution, with the horse there to help guide that process.”

Both Eisele and Power saw the Eagala process’ effectiveness firsthand in D.C., working with veterans as well as children.

“Working with kids, they can check out if you’re in a room,” Power said. “But when you’re outdoors with a 1,000-pound animal, you’re always present.”

Walking into the stables, it’s easy to see what Power means: Bella and Reuben, a pair of deep-brown half-siblings, are simultaneously imposing and calming, towering over everyone in the room but also exuding a sense of peacefulness.

Power said being able to continue her work throughout the pandemic — because it’s done primarily outdoors — has been immensely helpful.

“The kids really needed it,” she said. “We had parents asking if they could sign up to come to the park every day.”

Power said the centuries-long bond between humans and horses makes them ideal for a therapy setting.

“You see it through history: war, farming, recreation,” she said. “As a herd animal, they have this need to connect, and it blows my mind the emotional cues and other things they can pick up on.”

During the meditation sessions, Power and Eisele have partnered with Corina Berkoben of Breathe Yoga in Murrysville. Sessions are set up at a small show ring, with torches illuminating the area.

“You’re out in nature, you’re a couple feet from a horse, and you can just relax and listen,” Power said.

“You hear the horses munching, you listen to the soft voice of the meditation guide,” Eisele said. “We’d like to eventually do retreats where people can have a couple days to be here, have bonfires in the evening and be around the horses.”

As they work toward securing nonprofit status, Power invited the community to find out more about the farm, and about the positive benefits working with horses can foster.

“Horses can read a room really well,” she said.

For more, see PowerFarmsEquineCenter.com.

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