How Virtual Equine Therapy Helps Students Through COVID-19

Edward Odle, a beloved teacher’s aide at the Biondi School, died of COVID-19 in early May. His death, combined with the strain of distance learning, hit students hard. But the Biondi School is using a unique approach to help students process their feelings. Clinical Director Jennifer D’Agostino, Ph.D., led students and their families through a virtual equine therapy session streamed live from the Sky Blue Equestrian Center. Watch the terrific WABC-TV report about the here.

Before the pandemic, Biondi had been using equine therapy with success. Sky Blue’s equine specialist, Stephanie King, traveled with the horses from her farm in Cortlandt Manor to the Biondi Middle and High School on Rising Ground’s 33-acre campus in Yonkers. Dr. D’Agostino found that equine therapy reduced Biondi students’ trauma symptoms with lasting effects. Therefore, she felt it was critical to continue the equine therapy¬—even while students were sheltering in place.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is stressful for everyone. But for our students, many of whom suffer from PTSD and other disorders, it’s even more challenging,” Dr. D’Agostino explains. “The horses serve as mirrors to what students are expressing. They draw connections to what they project the horse is feeling and their own experiences.”

Dr. D’Agostino used the horses to help students connect to their emotions about Mr. Odle’s passing. In a virtual grief and bereavement therapeutic intervention, students and families were amazed to see a gentle cotton-colored horse up close as the 1,000-pound animal nuzzled Dr. D’Agostino’s iPad. In the background, the sun shone in a bright blue sky. Birds chirped. Dr. D’Agostino led the live-streamed interactive visit, moving according to student requests and encouraging them to make observations about the horse’s behavior. All the while, students shared their reflections of Mr. Odle.

“It was peaceful,” says Dr. D’Agostino. “Parents told us afterwards that the students felt relieved. They were missing a connection with someone they loved, so relating to the horse, to nature, and to each other was soothing.”

Go to our YouTube channel to see the horses and listen to Dr. D’Agostino and Ms. King talk about the program. To learn more about the Biondi School, click here.