S2 Ep 15 - The Power of Horses: How Equine Therapy is Changing Lives | Denise Panariello - Visual Eyes - The Community & Collaboration Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Chris Baker (00:08):
Chris Baker, and each week we'll explore
incredible connections betweennonprofits, businesses and the
community.
This is a space where wehighlight inspiring partnerships
, uncover strategies forcreating meaningful impact and
share stories that show howworking together can make all
the difference.
Whether you're a nonprofitleader, a business owner or

(00:28):
someone just passionate aboutbuilding connections, this
podcast is for you.
Welcome back to Visual Eyes.
Today.
I have Denise Panariello fromBit by Bit and tell us about
your organization.
Sure, Chris, thank you forhaving me.
Yes, pleasure.

Denise Panariello (00:47):
Excited to be here.
At Bit by Bit.
We are a non-profitorganization that provides
therapy and therapeutichorseback riding to individuals
with disabilities, starting asyoung as 18 months, going all
the way through the lifespan.
So we provide healing with thehelp of a horse.

I love that I actually had that opportunity
back in Minnesota.
That was one of the mostinteresting Because, honestly,
if they're comfortable with youand they connect with you, that
energy is so powerful it reallyis.

It truly is.
And then, and bit by bit bit,we take it even a step further.
So we provide occupational,physical and speech therapy.
So not only are we looking atthe emotional impact, because
there's no denying that thebeing around the horse, in the
psychosocial aspect it just isso calming and makes us feel

(01:45):
great.
But we are also looking at thephysical impact that the horse's
movement has on an individual'sbody.
So by putting, for example, achild who has cerebral palsy,
who may have an uneven walkingpattern one side of their body
is different than the other bysitting on the horse and moving,

(02:05):
the horse's movement gives thema symmetrical walking pattern
that mimics the typical humangait pattern and not.
There are so many other waysthat we can incorporate, tapping
into their sensory systems forchildren on the autism spectrum,
who have sensory integrationissues, and so we um, there's

(02:27):
just so many magnificent waysthat the horses can help in
individuals so I I have to goback because, like, I've only
had the opportunity to actuallybe on a horse once and it was
the most magical moment for mybrain.

So I just read like 11 books from this author that
just had amazing ability to talkabout horses and how they
connect with humans, and theyhave the ability to talk to
their companions.
It's an amazing series.
So shout out to Mercedes Lackeyand read her books.

(03:05):
The first one is the Queen'sArrow trilogy Wonderful, take a
look at it.
Amazing.
Heading back to here, but thatwas the first time that I
actually understood what kind ofwhat you're talking about.
I wanted to feel thatconnection.
So when I got on the horse forthe first time, it was

(03:28):
completely in sync.
Like the horse understood who Iwas, how the movement needed to
be, it was so unique.
Obviously, this wasn'tnecessarily, you know, the same
type of you know work that theydo, because it was just, you
know, going out for a ride, butthe horse understood they have

(03:50):
such inept ability to work withyour body and they're
nonjudgmental, oh absolutely.

No, there's no judgment, there's no
preconceived notions, there's noexpectations.
It is just.
Am I safe?

Yeah.

You're not here to hurt me, let's go, and
that is one of the things thatmakes it so remarkable there's
no, there's no judgment, there'sno.
Um, what's the word I'm lookingfor?
There Ego, no, ego, none, yeah,and um, and so the kids ego, no
ego, yeah oh, absolutely because, you know, living in the world

(04:32):
where they have teachers tellingthem what to do, parents have
their rules to follow, you know.
And then when they get with thehorse, it's just a safe space,
it's just a quiet space.
The non-verbal communicationyou know, horses have a very
powerful way of communicatingwith us without saying a word.

(04:52):
And you pair that with a childwho is also non-verbal and
watching the connection and thecommunication that happens
between the two is remarkable,oh, absolutely Wonderful,
wonderful.

Okay, so, as you're building bit by bit, what are
the collaborations that you'vehad the opportunity to work with
?

So there's so many other organizations and
people that we collaborate withon a regular basis, and some of
our biggest ones are with ourlocal universities.
So we provide clinicalfieldwork opportunities for
occupational therapy andphysical therapy students.
So we collaborate withUniversity of Miami's physical
therapy department, NovaUniversity, FIU's nursing

(05:42):
department Actually, they cometo us for volunteer community
service hours as well as KaiserUniversity, FIU's nursing
department Actually, they cometo us for volunteer community
service hours, as well as KaiserUniversity.
We've even had someout-of-state come as well for
their doctorate and occupationaltherapy capstone projects that
we do.

Other organizations .

we also have partnered with the Dan Marino
Foundation as well, as there's aschool in Miami, the Marion
Center, where we do they have anadult day program and we
collaborate with them, where wedo three six-week sessions a
year and they come once a weekfor two hours and we have a
whole program dedicated just forthem as well.

(06:20):
One of my most meaningfulcollaborations is with the
Morenci family, and Bob andVicki Morenci especially.
They lost their daughter in2003.
She was 17 years old and shewas a devoted horseback rider

(06:45):
and they suffered a tragedy thatnone of us would ever want to
have to go through.
And in honor of her memory,every year since their loss they
hold an annual fundraiser eventto raise money for nonprofits
and to provide healing to othersas well.

(07:05):
For the past eight years, bit byBit has been so fortunate and
honored to be the recipient andthe beneficiary of this annual
event.
It has grown over just the pasteight years alone.
We started where we had about400 guests and this past event
we had about 1200 guests.

(07:29):
Wow, and you know thecollaboration with bob and vicky
has grown so much more as aswell.
You know they're they're almostlike family and I love them
dearly, and I we are in themiddle of a big project.
We're looking to build a coveredarena.
We right now have a very openarena, no shade, open to the

(07:51):
elements, and I have found outrecently that Megan's dream was
always to have her own facility.
She always wanted to have aplace of her own where she can
teach others her love and herpassion of riding horses, have a
place of her own where she canteach others her love and her
passion of riding horses, andshe wanted to train horses and
train children and um, and incollaboration with them, we are

(08:12):
going to make megan's dream cometrue and we are about to start
construction on the meganmorenci riding arena and we're
looking to break ground in April.
And this is because of thatrelationship that we have with
them and some committed memberson the Mega Morenci Wild West

(08:34):
Night Committee.
Some of these individualmembers have put their heart and
soul into this project and havebeen reaching out to and coming
up with differentcollaborations with construction
companies, electricians for thefoundation that we need for the
surveys that needed to be done.

(08:55):
And in speaking with them, youknow it is such a heart project
for them that people aredonating their time, they're
donating their services, they'rereducing costs as much as they
possibly can to help make this areality for us and for the so

(09:16):
that's one of the most importantpieces that you know I really
want to hopefully get out toeveryone else.

You know, obviously this kind of a project is going
to cost a lot of money.
However, there's otherresources.
Like you're talking, it is justso remarkable to see this
coming together.

I mean, my heart is so full and I am in
such you and stress on the horseand you you Thank you.

(12:55):
Yeah, this is probably a Wellfor starters, those 1,200 plus
sessions we wouldn't have tomodify.
They would be able to stay onas they would the rest of the
session.
You, you, you, thank you.
Retreats as well as workshops,educational workshops, a big

(14:26):
part.
This is so amazing.
I mean, obviously this is notgoing to happen.
I mean I'm not going to be ableto do this.

We hope that the inspiration and practical
insights can help you fosterstronger connections and
meaningful change.
Don't forget to subscribe,share the episode and leave us a
review.
To learn more about Visuals byMomo and how we support
collaboration and storytelling,visit visualsbymomo.
com.
A huge thank you to everyoneout there listening.

(31:56):
Until next time.
Remember, collaboration fuelschange and your connections can
inspire the world.

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S2 Ep 15 - The Power of Horses: How Equine Therapy is Changing Lives | Denise Panariello

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}S2 Ep 15 - The Power of Horses: How Equine Therapy is Changing Lives | Denise Panariello