‘They know what we’re feeling’: The horse lover taking on human trauma
By Laura Banks
From a metre away, Elizabeth Milinkovic says, a horse can sense how a human is feeling, clock their heart rate, and instinctively want to make people feel safer.
“Before we’ve even approached them, they [horses] know what we’re feeling,” the equine-assisted therapist says. “Horses really hold space for people who are fearful or who have anxiety, and they’ll keep them feeling safe.”
Elizabeth Milinkovic uses horses to help address the mental health and development needs of disadvantaged children.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Milinkovic’s affinity with the “majestic animals” has evolved alongside her career in child protection, and allows her to offer a unique trauma therapy using horses with children who sometimes do not even realise they are being helped.
For 12 years she worked as a case manager for adolescents and young adults in and around western Sydney who found themselves homeless. The children came with complex mental health needs as a result of severe physical and emotional abuse.
Milinkovic noticed she was taking home a little vicarious trauma from the children she helped, and increasingly sought solace in her horses; grooming them, working them and riding them. It led to an epiphany.
“I wanted to be the solution,” Milinkovic says, “and not just a temporary one. I wanted to give these people, the young people and children something they had never had before, something that horses allow - unconditional love and trust.”
‘You’ve got these incredibly beautiful animals that just take the focus off the fact that it’s therapy ... people feel safe to share.’
Elizabeth Milinkovic
Milinkovic spent five years re-training and is now accredited with the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA). She has a psychotherapist and counsellor on staff, who combine each session with the horses to offer a unique, non-clinical environment where the equines act as a conduit to allow barriers to be broken and conversations to flow freely.
Her clients are foster children, some who have escaped violent homes. Some are NDIS participants who need support developing social skills, others face mental health challenges that stop them engaging with the community.
With husband Vince, she has a three-and-a-half hectare Blaxlands Ridge property in the Hawkesbury region, with her five beloved therapy horses, and one stubborn miniature pony called Piper.
“The rapport building time is halved because you’ve got these incredibly beautiful animals that just take the focus off the fact that it’s therapy ... people feel safe to share and as a result, we get these incredible disclosures and these beautiful moments of development,” Milinkovic says.
Elizabeth Milinkovic with an ex-racing thoroughbred horse named Danny.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Each session is tailored to the needs of the individual client. They do not ride the horses, but learn to care for them, or work them, depending upon the aim of the session, Milinkovic says. “Sometimes the children engage in therapy without even knowing.”
Her clients may build an obstacle course and help the horses navigate it, and through that therapists will encourage dialogue about navigating trauma. Grooming a horse, she says, can be a trust-building exercise and may be the first time the child has experienced a bond with anyone before.
Many of the horses Milinkovic has on her property have been rescued from maltreatment and abuse. She says these horses have a stronger sense of empathy than her other animals.
“The best thing that a therapist can hope for is that our clients don’t need us anymore,” she says.
“We create a space for the client to make deep connections, especially for those who’ve never been able to make deep connections before. We allow them to build trust and confidence until they can tackle life’s obstacles without us.”
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