A Shot of AG
Why Horses Can Help Unlock Communication
Clip: Season 6 Episode 32 | 1m 12sVideo has Closed Captions
Elizabeth Nielsen explains how a horse’s movement can help clients regulate and communicate.
Elizabeth Nielsen explains why she built horses into her speech therapy practice. The consistent movement of a horse can help clients regulate their nervous systems, particularly those who experience heightened fight-or-flight responses. As regulation improves, communication can become easier, and Nielsen says she has even heard clients speak first words while riding.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
A Shot of AG is a local public television program presented by WTVP
A Shot of AG
Why Horses Can Help Unlock Communication
Clip: Season 6 Episode 32 | 1m 12sVideo has Closed Captions
Elizabeth Nielsen explains why she built horses into her speech therapy practice. The consistent movement of a horse can help clients regulate their nervous systems, particularly those who experience heightened fight-or-flight responses. As regulation improves, communication can become easier, and Nielsen says she has even heard clients speak first words while riding.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch A Shot of AG
A Shot of AG is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- Okay, but instead of going to people's houses, you wanted horses, right?
- Yes, yeah.
- Okay, so you're looking for a farm, again, you're young, but you do find one, right?
- Yes.
- Then tell me what happens.
- So we built... So we moved to Kaneville in 2019.
I had the barn built.
There wasn't a barn on there.
- Okay.
- So I had it built at the end of 2020 and started using it to use with the horses with the speech therapy, because the horse's movement is just so great for the clients that I work with.
It's so regulating for them.
- How's that?
- So a lot of the times, like, the clients that I work with can have either like a high-arousal nervous system where they're constantly in a fight or flight mode.
- Yeah.
- And the movement of the horse can be kind of, like, therapeutic itself.
Just the movement is so regulating.
- Huh.
- And it's constant and consistent.
And so the more that we can regulate our nervous system, our language part of the brain kind of turns on, so when we're dysregulated, that part of the brain just shuts off.
It's hard to communicate.
So I've heard lots of first words on the horse from my clients, yeah, yeah.
- Really?
Finding Her Calling in Speech Therapy
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S6 Ep32 | 2m | Elizabeth Nielsen shares how teaching, medicine and horses led her to speech therapy. (2m)
How Horses Became a Tool for Therapy
Clip: S6 Ep32 | 34s | Elizabeth Nielsen explains hippotherapy and how horses support therapeutic goals. (34s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
New Episode- News and Public Affairs
Top journalists deliver compelling original analysis of the hour's headlines.
New Episode- News and Public Affairs
Today's top journalists discuss Washington's current political events and public affairs.
New Episode
New Episode
New Episode
New Episode
New Episode
New Episode
New Episode
Support for PBS provided by:
A Shot of AG is a local public television program presented by WTVP