2023 IMPACT REPORT STORY

The Guilford Foundation (TGF) awarded a $2,500 grant in 2022 to the Ethan Miller Song Foundation for a unique equine therapy program that benefited a group of young girls who have experienced profound trauma. The mission of the foundation is to carry out the legacy of Ethan Song, who spent his all-too-short life rescuing animals, honoring veterans, helping others, and enjoying sports. The TGF grant covered the cost of the equine therapist and equine specialist for the girls’ six-week summer program.

Equine therapy has proven very effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Often working with rescued horses, a specially trained and certified mental health practitioner helps the client and animal to form a bond and break down emotional barriers. For Kristin Song, the benefits of equine therapy align closely with her son’s passion for caring for animals and helping people. Ethan and his family had fostered nearly 100 dogs, and Kristin has owned two horses in her lifetime.

“Animals don’t judge. They don’t post on social media. They need to feel as loved and safe as the children do,” Song explains.

Using groundwork — training from the ground rather than the saddle — participants in equine therapy learn to notice the animal’s behavior and consider why and how a horse might react with fear or trepidation. Eventually, they recognize their behaviors and emotions mirrored in the horse’s behavior.

“It’s really mutual. They begin to trust each other, allowing the child to let their guard down to the therapist. It’s a more subtle way of counseling children,” Song explains.

Though the program’s logistics are undergoing some changes this year, Song hopes the foundation will be able to support an equine therapy camp next summer and continue celebrating the beautiful and healthy relationships between animals and people that inspired Ethan.