The short documentary “La Femme Equi-Libre” focuses on the Elm Grove Centre in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island run by Josée Gallant Gordon a graduate social worker.
Gordon offers equine therapy to mental health patients and in lieu of tranquilizing patients with enough tranquilizers to kill a horse the horse and therapist play centre stage where medication and standard therapy has proven ineffective which two veteran participants suffering from PTSD attest to stating the horses relax you, always have your back, make you see things differently and permits a focus for what works for you instead of having that defined by a therapist. Equine exposure works wonders in ways the documentary only grazes on.
One client explains in an office setting with a therapist you are in a constrained space forced to interact with your therapist but with a horse one can divert your attention and ruminate with the horse as a buffer between yourself and the therapist. Equine therapy is used for some United States veterans so it is not a novel concept but it is encouraging it is a therapeutic strategy also used in Canada.
Directed by Hélène Lebon and is part of the Hot Docs Citizen minutes screening on 30April2025.
RKS CANADIAN Documentary Rating 66/100.
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