About Us
A Helping Hoof, PLLC was started in 2007 as a place where people who dealt with anxiety and depression could come to work with horses to help them feel better. The program began with a specialty in helping veterans who are struggled with issues around transition from military to civilian life and who had suffered some form of trauma while in the military. In recent years, it has expanded to include people of all ages and backgrounds.
Philosophy
Mark Rashid, Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli, and Eitan-Beth Halachmy among many others emphasize the use of soft feel when working with horses. Soft feel is having a relationship with the horse such that minimal stimuli is needed to signal the horse. Sometimes there’s an almost magical quality to well-expressed feel as the observer may not even be able to see the cues. At A Helping Hoof the same concept is taught. Working on soft feel, but when teaching it to people, feel includes more than the relationship between the human and the horse. Soft feel means being soft with the self. Treating oneself with the same lightness of touch that can get the horse to move in any direction. Soft feel when correcting oneself, when exploring the inner depths, or when learning new behaviors.
Many clients who come to A Helping Hoof have experienced difficult times and/or trauma at different stages of their lives. And whether taught directly or absorbed indirectly, many are hypercritical of themselves and expect only the best. There is often an “all or nothing” quality to their self-evaluation but since it is impossible to be perfect, the sense of failure often pervades their self-esteem and description of self.
Learning to be soft is not feeling sorry for oneself. It is not wimpy or sissy. It is the beginning of learning compassion for self and is a means to develop self-acceptance. When someone remains hypercritical and is depressed or anxious, the energy is put into being angry and resentful at oneself rather than being able to move forward and grow. Soft feel does not come automatically, especially toward the self, but with the help of the horse, seeing how soft feel creates relationships and bonds between human and horse helps clients understand that they can develop that same kind of compassionate bond with themselves.
Many clients who come to A Helping Hoof have experienced difficult times and/or trauma at different stages of their lives. And whether taught directly or absorbed indirectly, many are hypercritical of themselves and expect only the best. There is often an “all or nothing” quality to their self-evaluation but since it is impossible to be perfect, the sense of failure often pervades their self-esteem and description of self.
Learning to be soft is not feeling sorry for oneself. It is not wimpy or sissy. It is the beginning of learning compassion for self and is a means to develop self-acceptance. When someone remains hypercritical and is depressed or anxious, the energy is put into being angry and resentful at oneself rather than being able to move forward and grow. Soft feel does not come automatically, especially toward the self, but with the help of the horse, seeing how soft feel creates relationships and bonds between human and horse helps clients understand that they can develop that same kind of compassionate bond with themselves.
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Laurie Sullivan-Sakaeda, PhD, is the founder and director of A Helping Hoof, PLLC. She received her doctorate in Clinical/School psychology of Utah State University. Dr. Laurie has worked with children, adolescents, veterans, and other adults in community mental health settings, group homes, alcohol and drug treatment programs, and private practice. In her off time she rides her horses, hangs out with her kids, and gardens.
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The facility located at 354 Wrathall Lane in Grantsville, Utah |
