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NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #9, by Claire Dorotik

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NO SECRET SO CLOSE is the story of a the most unthinkable betrayal humanly possible — at only 24 years old, Claire Dorotik’s father has been murdered, her mother arrested, and now, in a sinister twist of fate, Claire’s mother points the finger at Claire, accusing her of killing her own father. Battling the feelings of loss, abandonment, terror, and dissociation, and also learning about them, Claire struggles to stay in her master’s program for psychotherapy. However, when Claire’s brothers also betray her and side with her mother, Claire is left all alone to care for the 18 horses she and her mother owned. As the story unfolds, what is revealed is the horses’ amazing capacity for empathy in the face of human trauma, and the almost psychic ability to provide the author with what had been taken from her. Arising from these horrifying circumstances, the most unthinkable heroes — the horses — show Claire that life is still worth living.

Excerpt #9 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:

Just then, the comforting sound of horses rustling in their stalls was broken by Alex’s voice. “Claire what are you doing up here?”

I didn’t bother to turn my head. “Feeding the horses.” I pulled the first pieces off of the bale and tossed them in the cart.

“Well, we need you to help make fliers.” He positioned himself between me and  the hay cart, more or less blocking me as I tried to work.

Continue reading NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #9, by Claire Dorotik →

Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

What Horses Really Want, by Claire Dorotik M.A.

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Love, understanding, trust. These are the words we hear to describe what people look for in relationships, and while they may guide our actions with one another, do they apply to our relationships with horses?

The question we are really asking here, is: do horses crave the same things that people do? In essence, do the needs of horses align with those of people? While the answer to this question may be obvious, it is worth asking nonetheless. Clearly, horses’ needs are very different from those of people. Not bestowed with the comforts of an insulated world, the equine species lives at the center of what we consider our most primitive need — safety. While we have easily surpassed the hyper-vigilant state that is horses’ everyday experience, for them, life is still a minefield of scary objects. And yet we have even brought them into our world — away from the only safety they know — to face what, to us, is not scary, but to them, often overwhelming. To be sure, we ask them to walk down our streets, live in our building, and even wear the clothes we make for them.

So in hoisting them fully out of their familiarity, how often do we consider what they really want? The answer, unfortunately, is not much. Watching any person, new to horses, approach a horse for the first time is a lesson in just how frequently our understanding horses’ needs become enmeshed with our own. While the intentions are good, for sure, people give them what they would want. Applying affection first, people fail to consider that horses, who are driven by the unending need for safety, do not find safety in affection.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Hunter/Equitation, Phelps Media Group, Publications/Media, Show Jumping

Pre-Screening of Sundance Award Winning Film BUCK to Support Emerging Athletes Program

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Wellington, FL – March 3, 2011 – Support the USHJA’s Emerging Athletes program by purchasing tickets to see the Sundance Award Winning film Pre-Release Screening of BUCK on Sunday, March 6 at 7:00 PM in the Special Events Tent by the Grand Prix Arena on the WEF Showground in Wellington, Florida.

You must put the name of the person for the ticket and each ticket is $100.00, which includes a big Event night filled with the spirit of the Horse Whisperer himself.  Food and drink and a very worthy cause: our young riders of the USA who need sponsorship and help to fulfill their dreams of a chance to be one of America’s best in the saddle.  Come on folks! Support these kids! If you can’t make it, you can still support and donate.  Almost every other country in the world has a support for young equestrians to get training and consideration.  It’s time for us to do MORE! SUPPORT THE SPORT!

For more information or to purchase tickets please visit https://www.ushja.org/sa/foundation/movieTickets.aspx.

Continue reading Pre-Screening of Sundance Award Winning Film BUCK to Support Emerging Athletes Program →

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #8, by Claire Dorotik

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NO SECRET SO CLOSE is the story of a the most unthinkable betrayal humanly possible — at only 24 years old, Claire Dorotik’s father has been murdered, her mother arrested, and now, in a sinister twist of fate, Claire’s mother points the finger at Claire, accusing her of killing her own father. Battling the feelings of loss, abandonment, terror, and dissociation, and also learning about them, Claire struggles to stay in her master’s program for psychotherapy. However, when Claire’s brothers also betray her and side with her mother, Claire is left all alone to care for the 18 horses she and her mother owned. As the story unfolds, what is revealed is the horses’ amazing capacity for empathy in the face of human trauma, and the almost psychic ability to provide the author with what had been taken from her. Arising from these horrifying circumstances, the most unthinkable heroes — the horses — show Claire that life is still worth living.

Excerpt #8 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:

“OK, well find out and get back to me. I’ll have Lewis bring the papers over.”

I hung up the phone and rested my forehead against my hands. I knew we’d have to sell the house — my mother’s severance wouldn’t last more than six months, and I had no income, my attempts at selling horses not proving  profitable — but I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I especially didn’t want to become my mother’s power of attorney. The thought of it made me feel more like a criminal than I already did. I’d already been using her accounts at the feed stores to buy hay for the horses. I was already paying her bills. I was already driving her car, having sold mine for money. I was already living in her house. I was already accused of her crime.

Continue reading NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #8, by Claire Dorotik →

Contributors/Press, Equine Assisted Therapy, Publications/Media

Can Equine Therapy Replace Traditional Therapy? by Claire Dorotik M.A.

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While equine therapy has been employed as a more inviting modality for those who are otherwise treatment resistant, can it really be a replacement for traditional talk therapy? Certainly, with substance abuse cases, and with adolescents, practitioners have often relied on the addition of horses to elicit responses that would otherwise not be possible in human encounters. Horses are much less threatening than people, and simply being in their presence can result in a physiological calm, that can then pave the way to effective communication with a therapist. But is equine therapy enough to tackle some of the weighty therapeutic issues people face, or is talking things through with a licensed professional necessary?

Avid equine enthusiasts have long attested to the healing power of horses, and swore by their time with them, yet these people are also familiar with horses, and more than likely not entirely mystified by their responses. In almost an instinct, when a loved horse behaves in particular way, his owner will adjust her behavior accordingly, thereby providing the response that the horse is searching for. As an example, a typically bold horse may suddenly become quite tentative, and require more strength and leadership from his rider. Should the rider not respond with this, the situation would escalate, and perhaps become dangerous. And while this scenario involves some understanding for those not accustomed to horses, it happens in a matter of seconds.

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*Featured/Spotlights, Art/Photography, Contributors/Press, Events

The Equine Vision of Robert Vavra

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Kentucky Horse Park to Present a 60-Year Retrospective by the World’s Premier Photographer of Horses

LEXINGTON, KY (February 24, 2011) – Famed novelist James Michener once wrote, “Though equus has fired the imaginations of painters from the prehistoric hunter-artists of Altamira to Leonardo da Vinci, Velazquez, Goya and Picasso, still in the history of photography no cameraman has recorded the horse with such excitement and personal style as has Robert Vavra.  His photographs are works of art; they are interpretations of the horse as perceptive as those done by Stubbs and Remington.  They are a joy to see, because they evoke the inner nature of the horse.”

Today Vavra is universally recognized as the world’s premier photographer of equines, and his work will be the focus of the Kentucky Horse Park’s next exhibition, Vavra’s Vision: The Equine Images of Robert Vavra, Mar 19 – May 30 in the International Museum of the Horse – a Smithsonian Affiliate. The exhibition is being presented courtesy of the International Institute of Photographic Arts.

By portraying the horse in his fresh and very personal way, Vavra has become an icon in his own lifetime. He is the author of 37 books accounting for more than 3 million volumes in print, in eight languages. This retrospective exhibition will delve into the world that Vavra has created through his lens over the last 60 years while circling the globe. In photographs, in film and in print, his images capture the strength, beauty and wisdom of the horse.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=13315

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #7, by Claire Dorotik

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NO SECRET SO CLOSE is the story of a the most unthinkable betrayal humanly possible — at only 24 years old, Claire Dorotik’s father has been murdered, her mother arrested, and now, in a sinister twist of fate, Claire’s mother points the finger at Claire, accusing her of killing her own father. Battling the feelings of loss, abandonment, terror, and dissociation, and also learning about them, Claire struggles to stay in her master’s program for psychotherapy. However, when Claire’s brothers also betray her and side with her mother, Claire is left all alone to care for the 18 horses she and her mother owned. As the story unfolds, what is revealed is the horses’ amazing capacity for empathy in the face of human trauma, and the almost psychic ability to provide the author with what had been taken from her. Arising from these horrifying circumstances, the most unthinkable heroes — the horses — show Claire that life is still worth living.

Excerpt #7 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:

And we were different, he and I. My dad had been a high school football star in Texas at a time when injuries like dislocated shoulders were not a reason to stop playing. You just get back in the game. Running track in high school, a scratched cornea and a patch over my eye were not reason for me to miss practice either. I had no depth perception and would have to live with the name “Cyclops” that my teammates chided me with for years after, but you just get back in the game.

Continue reading NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #7, by Claire Dorotik →

Breeds, Contributors/Press, Equine Assisted Therapy, Publications/Media

Of Horse and Human: What’s behind the Bond, by Claire Dorotik M.A.

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People, for centuries, have been drawn to horses. Their power, grace, and mystique has not escaped the attention of thousands who are otherwise unfamiliar, as horse racing, in particular, has consistently drawn national attention. Additionally, the development of our relationship with horses has symbolized many societal changes. From the beginning, horses were used solely for work related tasks, such as plowing fields, transportation, and military conquests. At this time, little attention was paid to their welfare, and consequently, little more than rudimentary efforts were expected of them. However, as equines immersed into a multitude of cultures, and their unique qualities became more evident, they began to be looked at differently. With the realization of what more could be accomplished with horses, their societal value rose, as did the concern for their welfare. Soon horse racing evolved and shortly thereafter, a well stocked stable was considered a sign of wealth.

With horses evidencing wealth and stature, the exploration of just what it is about horses that provides this feeling soon emerged. Certainly, various theories came to the forefront, and while each one was somewhat different they were not separated in their belief that horses offer humans emotional wellness. Yet the question remained, what really constitutes the bond that horses and humans share?

Continue reading Of Horse and Human: What’s behind the Bond, by Claire Dorotik M.A. →

Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #6, by Claire Dorotik

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NO SECRET SO CLOSE is the story of a the most unthinkable betrayal humanly possible — at only 24 years old, Claire Dorotik’s father has been murdered, her mother arrested, and now, in a sinister twist of fate, Claire’s mother points the finger at Claire, accusing her of killing her own father. Battling the feelings of loss, abandonment, terror, and dissociation, and also learning about them, Claire struggles to stay in her master’s program for psychotherapy. However, when Claire’s brothers also betray her and side with her mother, Claire is left all alone to care for the 18 horses she and her mother owned. As the story unfolds, what is revealed is the horses’ amazing capacity for empathy in the face of human trauma, and the almost psychic ability to provide the author with what had been taken from her. Arising from these horrifying circumstances, the most unthinkable heroes — the horses — show Claire that life is still worth living.

Excerpt #6 from NO SECRET SO CLOSE:

My hand reached up to rub the round patch of white hairs in the middle of Nimo’s forehead.

“You’re free,” I whispered to him.

He looked at me intently, cocking both ears forward.

“That’s right, you’re free. Do you remember what you taught me? Well, back at ya pal.”

Continue reading NO SECRET SO CLOSE excerpt #6, by Claire Dorotik →

Breeds, Contributors/Press, Equine Assisted Therapy, Publications/Media

Equine Therapy: Are Some Breeds Better Than Others? by Claire Dorotik

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When equine therapy first became popular as a therapeutic modality, it found its way into many addiction treatment centers. At the same point in time, the theory of dual diagnosis — where addicts are understood to have a secondary diagnosis in addition to an addiction — was also gaining ground. As more and more sufferers of addiction were found to have experienced trauma that might be at the root of their proclivity for addictive substances, the thought was that introducing horses that have also been abused in some way, would help these patients relate to the horses, and consequentially, their own traumas.

However, during this time, the thought of particular breeds being more adept as therapy horses was not considered. Yet for the horse experts who were often employed to work alongside the therapists in the equine therapy sessions, this was clearly a question worth pondering. And to those who have spent years showing, riding and training horses, the idea that breed does not influence personality, behavioral characteristics, and certainly ability to work in the therapeutic capacity, would be absurd.

Yet even given the breed differences that are clear to people familiar with horses, the calling of a therapy horse is somewhat unique. Not asked to “perform” in typical horse events, the therapy horse is asked to do something that most people, themselves, struggle with. He is expected to be ability to interpret the underlying thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the person. While the outward responses a person can have to many situations are frequently obvious to those around him, what the therapist is most concerned with is what is not said, expressed, or otherwise made obvious. For this, she turns to the horse. Through the horse’s responses to the person, the hope is that often unconscious motives will be revealed. Then once this shadowed self is out in the open for not only the therapist, but also the patient to see, internal conflicts can be resolved.

Continue reading Equine Therapy: Are Some Breeds Better Than Others? by Claire Dorotik →