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Organization uses horses, therapy to improve quality of life

Opening Gates held a special party while raising money for its cause.

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — Valentine’s Day is just under a week away and Opening Gates held a special party Saturday, but it wasn’t the typical run of the mill celebration with flowers, cards and candy.

It was a pretty party featuring miniature horses.

“We have a kissing booth, we have a dress up booth with the miniature horses, we have cookie decorating – we have a grooming station,” Shara Wiesenauer said.

Opening Gates hosted the valentines-themed bash for fun, but also for funds.

The nonprofit is run 100% by volunteers and they depend on donations to keep their programs afloat.

Those programs include using the furry friends for therapy sessions.

Wiesenauer, a lead counselor at the organization, was a traditional talk therapist before starting this nonprofit. She says with the help of the horses, she’s seen much better results.

“I often times say that I feel like I cheat when I’m here at Opening Gates because the horses are so powerful, and they can draw so much more out of clients than I can draw out of them when I was set in that traditional therapeutic setting. You speak volumes through your body language and through your emotions. That’s what the horses pick up on and that’s what I can see through the horses and I can see what’s really going on with a client,” she said.

For more information on the program and how you can get involved, click here for more information.

►Contact reporter Abby Lutz at alutz1@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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