{"id":1489,"date":"2026-10-07T14:14:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/?p=1489"},"modified":"2026-10-07T14:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T18:14:08","slug":"grace-osterlund-finding-healing-through-horses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/2026\/10\/grace-osterlund-finding-healing-through-horses\/","title":{"rendered":"Grace Osterlund: Finding Healing Through Horses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In my experience, there is something absolutely unique about the therapeutic value of spending time with horses. It\u2019s not just that it\u2019s therapy; it\u2019s a kind of therapy that you\u2019re not going to find anywhere else. I think that if you ask anyone what the hardest part of the healing process is, they\u2019ll tell you that it\u2019s the very beginning. It can be hard to get started. The thing about working with horses is that they give you a reason to take that first step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you\u2019re just brushing them, you\u2019re taking an active role in their care and welfare, and the mental reward that comes with knowing you\u2019ve made a positive impact on a living, breathing being is enormous. It makes you think, \u201cI\u2019ve done something good. This horse would probably appreciate it if I kept doing this.\u201d And thus, you have yourself the motivation to become your best, most capable self, so that you can come back and do it again \u2013 spending some time with one of the world\u2019s best listeners while you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Grace<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Not a lot of people in my life know this, but when I started college, I only saw it as a pathway to a degree, and nothing else. On top of that, I was moving to a new place about two months after the death of a friend, and there\u2019s nothing more jarring to an 18-year-old than losing someone your age. Coming to the barn, inspired by a childhood interest in horses, gave me the opportunity to discover not only a true passion of mine but a reason to be a healthier person every single day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will always be grateful that I had this chance at Miami. My only hope from here on out is that other people will find the same strength and love that I found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on Miami\u2019s Horse Therapy Program visit MiamiOH.edu\/HorseTherapy<\/a> or contact us at 513-529-4634.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my experience, there is something absolutely unique about the therapeutic value of spending time with horses. It\u2019s not just that it\u2019s therapy; it\u2019s a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9565,"featured_media":1500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","category-rec-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1489"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1503,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489\/revisions\/1503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/recsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}