Equine therapy, also known as hippotherapy, is a therapeutic treatment that uses interaction with horses to improve physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This is the driving force behind Clarksville, Tennessee-based Lauren Crocker’s founding of Saddled Souls, a non-profit dedicated to providing equine-assisted hippotherapy for children.
Experts believe that the movement and gait of horses provide positive sensory input that can improve mood, mindset, neurological conditions, and more. Those who take part in this horse-based therapy have a chance to create steady ongoing relationships, gentleness, and unconditional love with the animals. This relationship can help center children and adults in ways that traditional therapies haven’t.
Children with autism have been shown to react quite well to equine therapy. The socialization aspect is one that many professionals look to foster in those children. By bringing them together with these majestic creatures, the possibilities to foster social skills were abundant. Crocker couldn’t stop thinking about this fact and knew that she needed to bring Saddled Souls to life to assist children who may desperately need to develop these relationships.
“Right now, we are starting out small and finding horses that will benefit a wide range of children. For example, kids with multiple sclerosis are going to need different types of horses than autistic children,” she said.
When she’s not furthering Saddled Souls, her passion project, Crocker has been a successful real estate agent since 2016 and currently specializes in commercial property in the Clarksville area.
Bumpy Trail to Success
Despite her appearance today as a happy, warm, and helpful local professional, Crocker’s journey to the successful space she occupies has been filled with challenges. However, she doesn’t harp on the downtimes, but rather on the ways she regained strength to bring positive change to the world.
“Everyone has a story, and everyone has gone through something,” she explained. “If we don’t heal from the inside, we won’t grow.”
Throughout her life, horses have provided strong relationships, and spending time with them provided a much-needed retreat at times. Because she knows firsthand how much joy horses can provide, she knew she needed to pursue a business that would let her provide that peace for other kids.
This isn’t simply an idea for Lauren. This is her passion and one that she knows can work for others as it has worked for her.
Access to Equine Therapy
More research is being released every year about how equine therapy benefits children. However, traditionally the therapy has been expensive and exclusionary.
Her initial spate of equine therapy offerings is aimed at all children. The interactions with horses have helped many to bridge the gap of understanding and find comfort in the majestic creatures.
Her experiences and empathetic approach to hippotherapy are making her a budding thought leader in the field. She’s already developed a reputation as someone willing to push boundaries to help more children.
“Children truly are our future. Any help we can offer them now only benefits them in the future. In doing so, hopefully, that future will be a little less focused on hate and anger,” Crocker said.
Her message is both heartfelt and inspirational, and the work she is doing helps to uplift the children who flock to Saddled Souls. For more information on Saddled Souls’ mission and Crocker’s equine therapy charity work, visit https://www.facebook.com/SaddledSou to learn more.
About Lauren Crocker
Lauren Crocker is an experienced real estate agent and broker. She specializes in both commercial and residential real estate properties in Montgomery County, TN. She is also the founder of Saddled Souls, a non-profit that specializes in equine-assisted hippotherapy for children. For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/SaddledSouls
