For Some People Struggling with Addictions, Spending Time with Horses Is Healing

The Gateway HorseWorks program in Malvern, Pa., is a place where recovering addicts and alcoholics meet to talk, care for, and groom horses, reports NPR in a look at the program that's been around for four years.

The idea is to give people who've struggled with addiction a second chance at life, and the horses are a big part of that.

"It helps those humans who are trying to recover feel strength and understanding, and kindles a kind of kinship between people and horses," says a 33-year-old man who's also in recovery.

"You start hearing their stories and everything like that, and then you finally start relating and stuff like that, and it helps," he says.

"And it's very similar to the horses, actually, because these are rescue horses."

NPR's ScottSIMON: "You look into their eyes....

They have a lot of emotion."

T: "Oh, my God....

Some of them are more rambunctious or whatnot.

But some of them also give you the cold eye or the cold shoulder, so...SIMON: Was it something you said? T: Yeah, like, also, like, Nova the pony is very, very tough.SIMON: People who

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