Maurette Hanson, TRI, ES

 

My journey with horses began at the age of 8.  I was the typical horse crazy young girl who dreamed of having and riding my fairytale horse.  I saved all of my birthday/holidays monies so that I could attend riding camp during the summers.  Life moves on…college, marriage and children, but my connection to that dream never left.  As kids started school, I was able to start back into the equine world.

My greatest opportunity was when a local therapeutic riding center was looking for volunteers and the possibility of becoming a certified therapeutic riding instructor was offered.  To me it was a no-brainer!  Coming from a special education background and combining my now years of equine knowledge and experience just was perfect!

I am a 25 year veteran of equine management and 18 year student and practitioner of natural horsemanship.  I am a PATH, Intl. (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International) certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and PATH, Intl. certified Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning,  along with being a Special Olympic Equestrian Coach.  I am the Owner/Manager of Angel Smile Farm, LLC and the Executive Director of Healing Horse Therapy Center, Inc.  My vision has been to create and offer a safe, nuturing, supportive, serene environment for humans and horses alike.  I believe this is the right combination for healing and wellness to take place.

 

“Maurette  (and the programming at HHTC) has an intuitive and gentle way to work with both horse and human; she provides an environment of both emotional safety and professional acuity which is essential in the equine facilitated mental health setting.  She is a pleasure to work with and an adept collaborator; she has the capacity to merge her natural horsemanship skills into a mental health/equine setting to bring about a wonderful connection between horse and human.

 

She sees the implicit value of the horse/human relationship in helping repair emotional fracture and trauma; she understands that in equine facilitated mental health the “skills” one learns are a conduit to emotional healing rather than skill building alone.  Her dedication to the work and willingness to look outside of the box of traditional therapeutic horsemanship to explore this burgeoning and needed field of Equine Facilitated Mental Health is inspiring.  Her understanding of how to collaborate on a mental health program makes working with her enjoyable from start to finish–for professionals and clients alike.”

T.B.P, Licensed Mental Health Therapist