Erin Cain on Personal Resilience and the Power of Horses to Heal

Erin Cain didn’t grow up around horses but eventually was exposed to them and the remarkable abilities they have to facilitate healing for a wide range of individuals.  A series of life events caused her to move from her native northeast to the Colorado Rockies and today, she’s the co-founder, owner, and operator of Grace Reins Equine Therapy. In this episode she describes the personal hardships she’s overcome and the work she now does rescuing and “gentling” wild mustangs, then working with these animals to provide therapy to the diverse group of individuals who come to Grace Reins for healing. 

 

Chapters: 

00:00 Erins’s East Coast Roots 
Host Bill Burke introduces Erin Cain, founder of Grace Reins, a therapeutic horse organization. Erin shares her early life growing up on Long Island in a blue-collar family, far from horses, and how she eventually moved to California. 

03:12 Discovering Equine Therapy 
Erin recounts her first exposure to equine therapy in Connecticut at High Hopes, a major program.  

07:22 Grace Reins: Founding & Mission 
Erin discusses her journey from volunteering at High Hopes to getting certified in therapeutic horsemanship. She details her move to Colorado in 2013 and the eventual establishment of Grace Reins, emphasizing the inspiration she drew from Special Olympics events. 

11:12 Rescuing Wild Mustangs