Explore every episode of the podcast Paws for Thought

It's a sad indictment on Australia that despite comprising just 6.6% of the nation's population, Aboriginal youth are 27 times more likely to be in juvenile detention than non-Indigenous young people. 

This over-representation reflects a history of trauma, cultural dispossession, and forced displacement and assimilation that have affected them, their parents, families and communities.

Over successive decades, western models of intervention have failed to nudge that statistic in a more positive direction. 

However, an equine-assisted learning program, designed and operated by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people in Western Australia's Kimberley region, is delivering some extraordinary results.

Thanks to the healing power of horses and Nyangumarta researcher Professor Juli Coffin, who pioneered the Yawardani Jan-ga program, around 2500 Aboriginal youth are now on a better path.

With more funding and support, Juli believes this Aboriginal-led model could reverse those statistics and transform First Nations communities across the country. 

A new Australian study is shining the spotlight on the healing power of horses, revealing that equine-assisted therapy could help address the growing mental health crisis among children.

As childhood mental illness rates spiral, compounded by lengthy waiting times for counsellors and the limitations of many conventional treatments, some social workers are turning to horses for the answer.

University of South Australia researchers have captured the lived experiences of 10 social workers and mental health practitioners delivering equine-assisted therapy (EET) to children. Their findings have recently been published in the Journal of Social Work Practice.

As we learn from social work researcher Morgyn Stacy in this episode, the evidence in favour of EET is compelling, although some major challenges need to be addressed. These include the lack of regulation, a reluctance among funding bodies such as the NDIS to recognise formal qualifications in this space, and the expenses involved in delivering equine-assisted therapy.

Morgyn's paper, co-authored by her UniSA supervisor Dr Fatin Shabbar, is available here:  Healing in relationships, the power of equine-assisted mental health interventions

A recent study led by Dr Tiffani Howell from La Trobe University confirms what many people in the assistance animal community are reporting anecdotally: increasing rejections from transport companies, hospitality outlets and even medical centres.

An online survey of 77 handlers said these constant access denials made them feel annoyed, anxious, excluded, hurt, distressed, exhausted, discouraged and embarrassed. 

The rejections are concerning and point to a need for more education, clearer legislation and greater penalties, according to Lisa Robinson, Director of Assistance Animals International.

Sydney woman Rachael Fullerton, who lives with multiple disabilities, decided to take on the nation's biggest airline - Qantas - when she was refused permission to fly with her assistance dog, Strike. Rachael recently won that battle after a lengthy legal fight, but many challenges still remain.

In this episode of Paws for Thought, we hear three different perspectives relating to access issues experienced by animal assistance handlers. More details on each speaker can be found at:

Qantas agrees to change assistance dog processes after being sued for disability discrimination - ABC News

Full article: Disruptions in Transportation and Medical Care Experienced by Handlers of Assistance Dogs in Australia

ASSISTANCE ANIMALS INTERNATIONAL - Assistance Animals International

In years past, Dean Mighell spent his days treading the floors of Parliament House in Canberra, lobbying on behalf of thousands of workers for better pay and conditions, in his role as Head of the Electrical Trades Union.

A 25-year career defined by conflict and immense pressure left behind deep psychological scars, as did a spell as an Army Commando in his early 20s.

When Dean stepped down from his role in 2013, he yearned for harmony, peace, and a new direction.

Thanks to a documentary on war veterans, he found it - along with a renewed sense of purpose.

Today Dean is walking a different path - The Path of The Horse, an equine-assisted therapy charity that he founded in 2016. His initial goal was to help veterans and first responders heal from post traumatic stress. Eight years later, he has broadened his services to also support neurodiverse people, troubled youth and victims of domestic violence.

The Path of the Horse is located in Trentham, Victoria. For more information, go to https://www.pathofthehorse.com.au/

17-year-old Summer Farrelly (they/them) is the creator of a unique animal assisted learning program called Chickens 2 Love, developed for autistic and other neurodivergent people to help them develop social skills. 

The program came into being when Summer was just 10 years of age, living in Bundaberg, Queensland and being home schooled due to an education system that did not cater to children who were different.

Fortunately, Summer's flock of 20 chickens proved exceptional teachers. Observing them closely, Summer identified a pattern of interaction and behaviour that could be applied in a human setting.

In the intervening seven years, Summer has earned their 'wings' as an animal behaviourist, inclusion advocate, sought after public speaker, education consultant and now university student - in the second year of a Bachelor Zoology at the University of New England in Armidale.

At the core of their work is a desire to demonstrate how neurodivergent people are shaping the world in a positive way, and why animals play such an important role in that space.

Australian Lions has been training hearing assistance dogs for 43 years, pairing more than 690 dogs with hearing-impaired people over that time.

More recently, they have branched out to train medical alert dogs for people living with type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition that affects more than 120,000 Australians and over 8 million people worldwide.

Laura Harris is a project co-ordinator and trainer with Australian Lions Hearing Dogs, and Eliza Bartlett is an Adelaide nurse and type 1 diabetic, who took delivery of Sal, a miniature labradoodle, 18 months ago.

In this podcast we learn about how the dogs are trained to help people manage their diabetes (a potentially life-threatening condition ),  who is eligible to be paired with a dog, and the extraordinary difference they make to people's lives.

Vanessa (Ness) Hawkins is a self-confessed horse nut, who was riding ponies in England before she could walk.  

Emigrating to Australia as a young child and growing up in rural Victoria, where her British accent made her a target for bullies, Ness found solace in pony club, eventually competing at State Championship level and then overseas.

A desire to care for others led her into nursing, a career she juggled for years while still riding, training and breeding horses.

In 2016, Ness established Euroa Horse Park in north east Victoria, a multipurpose facility that offers farm tours, carriage rides, camping, stallions at stud, horses for sale and animal-assisted services. 

Her focus is on helping people with disabilities and special needs, and she does this by holding regular clinics and seminars, educating people about the value of animals as a therapeutic tool.

In this episode of Paws for Thought, Ness explains how horses have given her conviction, a direction and a sense of purpose in her life’s journey. 

For more information about Euroa Horse Park, visit https://welcometoeuroahorsepark.blogspot.com/

Like many new teaching graduates, Sarah Macdonald started her career full of promise and hope for the potential impact she could have on a child’s life. But she soon realised that a great curriculum and a supportive environment were not enough. Children who weren’t in the right headspace and who were battling mental health issues - anxiety, depression and stress - were not open to learning. After a break from teaching and a spell as a dog trainer, Sarah realised that the two were not incompatible. Using dogs as a metaphor for learning has morphed into a satisfying new career. In today's podcast, Sarah tracks the journey of Canine Comprehension over the past decade.

If not for the Dunalley bushfires in 2013, Tasmanian teacher Cheri Allanby may still be delivering lessons to her students in the same way that millions have done before her - standing in a classroom, whiteboard behind her, explaining simple concepts to children and hoping that the sea of young faces before her are taking it all in. 

Fast forward 10 years and that classroom has moved outdoors and includes a new teaching aid – horses.

Her students are neurodiverse, experience learning difficulties, and struggle with conventional approaches to education.

But the combination of nature, a new approach to learning, and a majestic teaching aid in the form of a horse, has delivered life changing results for many children – and their parents.

In this episode of Paws for Thought, we talk to Cheri and one very happy parent - Liz Clements - who has finally found a form of animal-assisted learning that is working wonders for her two neurodiverse boys.

For more information about True Trails, visit www.truetrails.com.au

Note: While the term "animal assisted therapy" is heard in the interview, this podcast is strictly related to "equine assisted learning", which does not involve a health professional.

Karen Hollings is a highly experienced paramedic who has been employed by St John Ambulance in Western Australia since 2003. 

She loves her job and has been awarded several commendations over the course of her career, but it has also come at a high cost.

Like so many other first responders, she is confronted with trauma on a daily basis. She sees people at their best, their worst, and when they are vulnerable.

In 2014, a vicious assault by a drug and alcohol-affected patient left Karen with multiple injuries, requiring extensive surgery, rehabilitation and ultimately leading to post traumatic stress. 

Her recovery was slow - six years in total - but canine therapy played a significant role in helping her get back into society and eventually returning to work.

Karen has now started a project focused solely on the mental health of first responders, with dogs at the heart of it.

Dogs for First Responders was established in 2022.

Wendy Coombe's world came crashing down in November 2014 after years of buried trauma and corporate burnout led to a breakdown.

Overnight, a successful career as a high-functioning executive collapsed, leaving her floundering without a 'safe place' (her professional life) and a shattered identity.

Describing the next few years as "a Forrest Gump-like alternative universe," Wendy began the long, slow journey back to wellness. 

In six months she walked 2.5 million steps with her Border Collie, Jack, trying to make sense of her trauma, and finding solace in her dog and horse.

The realisation that animals were a key factor in her recovery prompted Wendy to go searching for a national organisation where she could learn more about animal-assisted therapy and where she could find help.

She drew blanks at every turn. In the end, the answer was clear: solving her own crisis and thousands of others in similar circumstances required a bold, life-changing step.

In February 2018, Wendy walked into her accountant's office and registered a new health promotion charity, Animal Therapies Ltd.  Five years down the track, it is now recognised as Australia's leading advocate for advancing health through animal-assisted services.

Not many people can put their hand on their heart and say their job makes their heart sing. 

Vicki Macdermid counts herself among the lucky few.

The executive business coach and chartered accountant has established a model for leadership that accesses the power and wisdom of horses.

Her workshops are a little different to the leadership courses that most CEOs sign up for. 

"When I see senior business people leaving judgement at the door and allowing an animal that has roamed the Earth for millions of years to teach them a thing or two, it is truly special."

Vicki is one  of the key speakers at the 2023 Animal Therapies Ltd conference in Brisbane. You can learn more about her work at www.vickimacdermid.com

Why do animals play such a pivotal role in helping humans to heal? And how can we ensure this powerful bond is taken seriously by governments and the community? 

Child psychologist Dr Aubrey Fine has spent 50 years working in the field of animal-assisted therapy and will deliver the keynote address at the 2023 Animal Therapies Ltd annual conference in Brisbane. Ahead of his visit to Australia in February, Dr Fine shares some insights from a lifetime’s work in the sector.

Seventy per cent of veterinarians know at least one colleague who has taken their own life and almost the same number are experiencing mental health issues within their practice.  Long hours, low pay, high stress, unrealistic client expectations, financial pressures and a lack of mentoring and support for young veterinary graduates have created a crisis for the industry, with many vets leaving the profession. 

Veterinary pharmaceutical company Elanco has partnered with Animal Therapies Ltd to  help tackle the problem by offering animal-assisted therapy to struggling vets.  Elanco Wellbeing Lead, Dr Cate McPherson, explains why the industry is at a tipping point. 

Northern Territory resident Rashida Khan wears many hats: animal nutritionist; horse, cattle and miniature mule breeder; equine assisted therapist; and corporate and personal coach; not to mention full-time carer for her 82-year-old father. 

There’s not much downtime juggling four businesses from her base at Red Rocks Stud in the Top End, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. We caught up with Rashida by Zoom, just outside of Katherine, 300 kilometres from home and one of the many regions she visits as part of her mobile equine therapy business. 

With a sense of smell up to 100,000 times more powerful than a human’s, it’s perhaps no surprise that dogs can reliably detect hundreds of different scents, including COVID-19. But as Dr Anne-Lise Chaber explains, their potential as an effective screening tool goes way beyond the pandemic - into the realm of cancer, tuberculosis, influenza and other diseases.

Ever thought of pairing prisoners with retired greyhounds to domesticate the latter for adoption in the community? It's an odd combination but it pays dividends, for inmates and ex-racing dogs alike. Since 2014, the women's and men's prisons in South Australia have re-homed 400 greyhounds as part of the largest foster program of its kind in the world. The results are life changing, as you will hear in this podcast.

Lesley Porter was orphaned at the age of five when she lost her entire family in a car accident in England. She was the only survivor. Raised by her grandmother, who brought her to Australia, Lesley was shunted between relatives and friends for the next six years. Between them, they abused her sexually, physically and emotionally. At 11 years of age, horses saved her. A chance meeting with the owner of a riding school in Healesville, Victoria, proved the turning point in her life.

Childhood literacy rates in Australia are among the worst in the developed world, with one in five children failing to meet international standards. The Federal Government is pouring millions of dollars into addressing the literacy crisis, but is there a simpler solution staring us in the face – while also begging us for a walk in the park? As thousands of school children are discovering, reading to a dog can be a real page turner.

Dani Hale was living her dream life, serving her country in the Army and then in the Navy. But the physical demands of the job took a heavy toll over many years, leading to multiple back operations, a spinal cord implant and, inevitably, a medical discharge. Pain and depression were her companions until 2019, when Integra Service Dogs Australia came to the rescue with Poppy, an assistance dog. 

One in three women experiencing domestic violence don't leave - or delay leaving - because of their pets.  But services are now available in Australia to provide safe havens for both. The law is also catching up, with recent legislation in NSW and Victoria recognising animal abuse as a form of family violence . These steps, and Amber's inspiring story, provide hope to thousands of women and their pets currently caught in a living hell.

Since 2003, Nils Lantzke and his herd of alpacas have been spreading the love around Canberra, helping those doing it tough and putting a smile on people's faces. After 17 years, Nils is hanging up the reins, leaving a remarkable legacy.

Mental health social worker Zel Tomasevic explains why she stepped away from her office four years ago and now spends her days in a paddock, getting her clients to work alongside horses - with much better results.

What can a horse teach us about ourselves? Jasmine Hobbs explains how equine therapy has transformed her world, helping to reduce her anxiety and better manage social interactions.