Kassondra and Randy Torchetti’s relationship began with a memorable trail riding date—one that took a sharp turn when Kassondra had to quickly dismount as her horse tried to roll over mid-ride. That was before marriage, before kids and before they found their way to Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga.

Now, with the help of equine-assisted therapy at the THS farm provided in collaboration with ECS Psychological Services, Kassondra and Randy have found their relationship’s best strides.

The couple began talk therapy over three years ago, and their therapist, Ashley, recommended THS as a way to apply the skills they learned in therapy in a more immersive setting. Aside from that nightmarish horseback riding date early on, Kassondra and Randy lacked any real hands-on experience with horses.

“They’re so much bigger than you expect when in person. It was a little intimidating,” Kassondra recalled as she and Randy embarked on their first equine-assisted therapy session at the farm.

Their first session would’ve felt daunting to anyone that shared that intimidation Kassondra mentioned.  With just a halter in hand, Ashley sent the couple into the paddock for their first equine therapy session.

“Our task was to put the halter on the horse and bring them back (to Ashley) with no other instructions,” Kassondra shared. “We had no idea how.”

That first session lasted about two hours. During those two hours, Kassondra and Randy became abundantly aware of how these sessions could take the tools garnered from those three years in talk therapy and put them to the test in a real-life application.

“I think that’s what opened our eyes to realize how effective equine therapy really is,” Randy shared of his initial takeaway from their equine-assisted therapy sessions. “We started couples therapy to save our marriage and the equine therapy enhances it.

“Much like life, each therapy session at the farm looks different. Everything we do with the horses, we can apply to our life situation—Whether it’s the communication aspect or working as a team,” Kassondra recognized.

And again – just like the people in our lives – all horses on the THS farm have different personalities, which has helped Kassondra and Randy explore important lessons in boundary setting.

“We’ve also worked on boundary setting with the horses, but also on the real-life application of boundary setting with family members in our lives,” Kassondra shared. Kassondra recalled a session where she shielded Ashley from an approaching horse. Ashley immediately latched onto that situation to point out that Kassondra often puts other’s well-being over her own.

“Ashley is extremely good at identifying what we need to work on and applying it to the horses,” Randy echoed.

After losing insurance coverage for their talk therapy sessions, equine therapy sessions took over as their primary form of therapy. Luckily, due to Randy’s veteran status, their equine therapy sessions remained completely covered through The Freedom Rein Project. THS offers this program to all active military and veterans thanks to the Veterans Affairs Adaptive Sports Grant.

Many therapy sessions at the farm featured the horses as a team-building activity, while others took a more relaxed approach, allowing the horses to offer their equine superpowers of comfort and healing. Kassondra and Randy recalled one of those more lowkey sessions after Randy’s mother passed away.

“Our next session after that, we just pulled up chairs in the paddock and talked with Ashley in the presence of the horses,” Kassondra recalled. “We were grooming the horses, petting the horses for the comfort aspect.”

As Kassondra and Randy continue to navigate their journey together, the bond they share with each other and the horses deepens. Through equine-assisted therapy, they’ve discovered that the challenges they face, whether with their horses or in their marriage, are opportunities for growth, communication and collaboration. The lessons learned on the farm extend far beyond the paddock, enriching their lives and strengthening their partnership.