27 Jun All In Stride, an equine therapy and horse rescue

Olwyn Kingery founded All In Stride, an equine therapy and horse rescue. Her program offers assisted learning and assisted psychotherapy using horses to help her clients. She also aids in personal growth through specific therapeutic horsemanship experiences that she trains her horses to give.

Olwyn grew up with an old family quarter horse. As a 5 year-old, Olwyn would ride Nuevo as her older sisters hand-walked her around the barn. From that point on, Olwyn knew she would be a horsewoman for the rest of her life. When Nuevo was sold, she begged her dad to buy her another mount until he finally promised to grant her that wish when she turned twelve. That dream came true through her black mustang, Montana who became not only the first horse she could call her own, but also her best friend. Montana was the amazing animal who taught Olwyn how to rescue and care for a horse. Montana is now the inspiration behind how Olwyn operates All In Stride and how she cares for the horses and people she meets along the way.

Unfortunately, rescuing animals isn’t all fun and games. Olwyn finds it difficult to deal with the pain she feels for these animals because of what happened in their lives prior to arriving at All In Stride. She can see the damage and the misunderstanding in every horse she nurtures. She sees the long lasting emotional abuse take it’s toll on these animals. After all, they can’t go to a therapist. Thankfully, Olwyn also gets to see these animals recover, and re-discover their true personalities. She loves to see them have room to grow and feel security, then to watch them flourish.

The first animal Olwyn rescued was Mister. He is an ex-racehorse who suffered a fall and soft tissue damage at 3 years old and went through many buyers and sellers until Olwyn found him at 7 years old. Mister had been sick for four years. When he cantered, he was very afraid: she could feel him saying “I can’t do this”. It’s been a long haul but Olwyn persevered because she could see that he had a bright future. Mister has become one of the most loving, compassionate horses at All In Stride despite the fact that on the first day he arrived, he nearly bit Olwyn’s pinky finger off! Now Mister has learned to do different tricks, interact with different people, and share his experiences as part of therapy.

At All In Stride Olwyn tries not to pressure her horses. With her new rescues, she begins by nourishing them with a mix of alfalfa hays and a supplement such as Aloe Vera, used to calm the horse down. Besides healing the outside scrapes and rubs, Olwyn also focuses on the emotional support that each of her horses need. She believes that horses should be out every day, so she allows her horses to play for hours in spacious turnouts. Olwyn loves to be a matchmaker- trying to find a turnout buddy for her new horses to spend some time with. She usually waits at least 30 days before trying to ride her new horses, allowing them to settle in.

All In Stride is working for the community, both horses and people. Olwyn holds fundraisers to help support those who need emotional healing but cannot readily afford it. All In Stride can assist anybody: a college student, a foster child, a veteran, or someone with ADHD. All kinds of issues can be met with equine therapy.
To help Olwyn’s efforts, visit her Go Fund Me page to donate and learn more.