When Greenport artist Debra Riva found herself unable to work last summer — “stuck,” as she puts it — she never expected that a horse would be the key to help unlock her creativity.
“I just couldn’t get back into my studio.”
She reached out to Marisa Striano, who runs Spirit’s Promise, a Calverton-based horse rescue and equine therapy center.
“I shared some stuff with her,” ” Riva recalled, modest at first about the painful particulars. A horse named Bentley approached.
Striano, (pictured above right — with Riva), remembers the moment vividly.
“Bentley came over and said, ‘You’re scared. You’re scared on the outside and you’re scared on the inside. You match.’ And then he never left,” she said. “Horses look for congruency. They don’t care if you’re angry or sad. They care if you’re real.”
Riva recalled that “the horse came and put his head on my head and probably stayed there for like 10 minutes. I could feel the heat of his breath. I got emotional … It was an amazing experience.”
Riva had confided to Striano that a family member has dementia.
“She was crying and saying, ‘I’m scared I might have it,’ Striano recalled. “The horse felt that. And because she was congruent — scared on the inside and out — he said, ‘I got you.'”
For Riva, the uncanny nexus between human emotion and animal intuition was the way through grief and into expression.
Striano told the older woman to “go home and paint what you think dementia looks like.”
Riva drove home, sat down in her studio and put her fears on canvas.
The result is a unique exhibit opening August 2 at Spirit’s Promise, featuring works by Riva and four other local artists. The show is the first in a new series of events the ranch plans to host inside its newly-restored 19th-century potato barn, which Striano said now looks more “like an old dance hall.”
Equine-assisted therapy is a therapeutic practice that uses interactions with horses to promote physical, emotional and psychological healing.
Rooted in the concept that the human-animal bond can have powerful effects on mental well-being, equine therapy is used today to treat a variety of conditions, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, autism and addiction. Sessions often involve grooming, feeding, leading, or simply spending time with horses under the guidance of a trained therapist. The goal is not necessarily horseback riding, but rather developing communication, trust and emotional regulation through the relationship with the animal.
The concept of using horses for therapeutic purposes dates back to ancient Greece, where Hippocrates spoke of the “healing rhythm” of horseback riding. Modern equine therapy began to take shape in the mid-20th century, particularly in Europe and North America.
After World War II, therapeutic riding gained traction as a form of physical rehabilitation for injured soldiers. In the 1960s and 70s, pioneers in the field began integrating mental health therapy into horse-assisted activities, laying the foundation for today’s more structured programs that combine psychotherapy with equine interaction.
For Riva, who took up collage art after her husband died suddenly, the experience has been transformative.
Striano, who calls herself a coach rather than a therapist, said the idea of using horses for emotional healing is rooted in how animals perceive humans.
“Horses never lie. People do,” she said. “Horses live with intention. If they’re thirsty, they drink. If they’re tired, they sleep. They don’t have an agenda. But they need the herd to support them—and that’s what Bentley did for Debra.”
It’s a theme that resonates throughout Spirit’s Promise ranch, which has become a refuge for people dealing with grief, trauma and life transitions.
“I have people that have been in car accidents and can’t get past being behind the wheel again,” Striano said. “I don’t go backwards. I don’t care when you were potty-trained or whether your father hugged you enough. I only go forward.”
The emotional power of the horses is central to her method.
“They’re creatures of pure emotion,” Striano said. “If your insides don’t match your outsides, they’ll walk away.”
That purity struck Riva so deeply that she knew she didn’t want the show to be just about her.
Among the artists who will be featured next month are Hilary North, Sophie Sejourne, Mary Moran and Rich Russell, a graphic designer who created the flyer below.
“It’s just happening so beautifully,” Riva said, beaming, on sunny morning during an interview at the ranch last month. “This is so in the flow.”
To make the exhibit more engaging, Striano plans to offer tours of the ranch during the show. And while turnout is always a challenge, both women believe the timing is right.
“This is the time of year people come out,” Striano said. “They’re up and down Sound Avenue, looking for things to do — and this is really different.”
The exhibit opens Saturday, August 2, at Spirit’s Promise Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation in Calverton. For more information, visit spiritspromiserescue.org.
