March/April 2025 Issue

EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN March/April 2025 Page 53 will spend the rest of their lives on the farm. Many of the horses suffered abuse before they came to Gateway, and they bring their own traumas to the job. Nova, a pony they think to be 18 years old, was pulled from the auction pens. “She has a lot of ongoing health issues, and unfortunately, she was not well cared-for before her owners de- cided to sell her. She has had two colic surgeries and multiple bouts of laminitis,” de Marco says while nuzzling Nova’s fluffy mane. “But she’s our little Energizer Bunny.” She says that when clients hear Nova’s story, they identi- fy with her. “We were recently doing a session with some folks that are in an inpatient facility for drug and alcohol recovery,” she says, “and they were like ‘if I were her I’d be so mad to be sep- arated (from other horses and her friends),’ and you know we were able to process how Nova deals with that anger. Like exploring what is that like for her?” These sessions are facilitated by licensed mental health practi- tioners and an equine specialist certified in the EAGALA model, de Marco says. “They utilize these interactions with the horses as a base for furthering the thera- peutic goals.” Out in the pasture de Marco introduces Rimtiana, an Argen- tinian thoroughbred. “She came to us from New Bolton Center.” She was a broodmare and could no longer carry foals. “They were going to euthanize her. You know, because she couldn’t fall into a more traditional job, you and I both know that humane euthana- sia in that situation is not a bad thing,” de Marco says. “Because a horse could get into the pipeline and then suffer a much worse fate than death, unfortunately.” She stood before Rimtiana, in the freezing wind and patted her head. “Being able to have pro- grams like ours that are unmount- ed for horses that can’t fall into a more traditional riding-based program is really important. We make sure that there are programs where horses get to just be them- selves.” And there is Willow, a 28-year-old who raced for eight years as a trotter, and who is fea- tured in a book by Martin Clunes, called “Meetings With Remark- able Animals.” And there are the boys, Dew- ey, Disney and Dallas, each one a gentle reminder of the purpose of de Marco’s organization. Fund-Raising is Part of the Job De Marco says that Gate- way receives funding through foundations and donors, and they hold fund-raisers throughout the year. There is even a documen- tary film about Gateway, called Healing in the Open, and there’s a link to the film on Gateway’s website. To find more informa- tion about programs, events and how to help, the website is www. gatewayhorseworks.org The Horse Will See You Now (Continued from page 51)