Equine therapy session reunites retired farmer with some old friends

In their Tennessee days, Bill Pfieffer and wife, Carol, would often ride horses into the town of Big Sandy for a hearty plate of biscuits and gravy.

But time with horses has become a luxury ever since the couple moved to Aurora in 2008. Bill, 80, is now a resident of Countryside Care Centre in Aurora. Nevertheless, the dream of whispering to horses never fades from his mind.

Bill's bond with horses was renewed recently during his first equine therapy session at Elgin's Reins of Change stable. He felt the horses' grassy breath as they felt his carrot-smelling hands. They turned for a cheek kiss when his brush rolled down their backs. They lingered by his side until the session was over.

A born animal lover, Bill wasn't so much into horses when he first moved to Tennessee after 30 years of teaching in Michigan. He dotted his 200-acre farm with geese, cows, pigs and a 3,000-pound bull. But it was not until he married Carol in 1996 that whinnies were added into his pastoral jukebox.

A longtime rider, Carol brought two horses to the farm. Over the years, they had 11 of them, including Appaloosas, Arabians and Tennessee Walking horses. Bill never seemed to have trouble calling his buddies to attention: Just fill your pockets with mint leaves.

On his recent visit, the trick worked again, this time with carrots. Almost all 11 horses at Reins of Change came to greet Bill in their own way.

"When we see a session like that, it feels like there's not much happening. But there's so much happening in that time frame," said Amy Blossom, owner of the stable.

Most of the horses at Reins of Change were either donated or bought at auctions.

"So they wouldn't go to meat buyers." she said. Ten to 15 certified mental health and horse professionals work for the Elgin stable and its branch in Plainfield.

As the organizer of the one-on-one therapy sessions, Passages Hospice has been funding the equine visits for its patients since December 2008. Kaitlyn Henderson, the director of corporate communications, said it's the only hospice program in the Northern suburbs to offer equine therapy, citing a research of 118 hospice providers by the University of Chicago.

"It is open to all of our patients, just as long as they are physically able to get to the facility and undergo the training," she said. Passages patients do not need to pay extra to participate, though a one-hour session could cost about $155 for individuals.

Carol said they would come back to the stable if Bill is able to. "It has perked him up a lot since he sees the horses. He loves horses."

That said, Bill might still pick something else over his buddies.

Waiting in the hot barn, his case manager Terri Voitik half joked: "Which one would you like, horse or ice cream?"

Playing with his souvenir horseshoe, Bill replied: "Whichever is cheaper."