08/28/2026
This week, Jace visited a group of human trafficking survivors, and our topic was trust.
Trust can be one of the hardest things to rebuild after trauma. It can feel fragile, confusing, and sometimes unsafe. In this session, we talked about how trust is not something that can be forced — it is built slowly through safety, consistency, healthy relationships, boundaries, and repair.
Jace was the perfect horse for this conversation because he has his own story of trauma and healing.
In 2020, Jace was attacked by two dogs. He survived, and despite that trauma, he still has the ability to trust dogs.
Then in 2022, we almost lost his eye. We still don’t know exactly what happened, but one morning we found him in the pasture with a chunk of his eye gone. What followed were months of around-the-clock care, including treatments through the middle of the night. We did everything we could to help him heal.
But healing hurts.
Jace is not exactly the easiest patient for the vet, and after 2–3 months of intensive eye care, our sweet little guy — who would normally come running to our founder — began running away instead. The very hands trying to help him had become connected to pain, fear, and discomfort.
And honestly, that makes sense.
Because healing is not always neat. It is painful. It is messy. And sometimes, rebuilding trust takes longer than surviving the original hurt.
As a therapy horse, trust matters. If Jace didn’t trust his handler, how could he help others feel safe enough to trust again too?
So we slowed down. We gave him time. We spent years rebuilding trust through patience, consistency, and love.
That is why Jace was so meaningful in this week’s session. He represents something survivors need to know deep in their bones:
You can be hurt and still heal.
You can be scared and still learn safety again.
You can lose trust and still rebuild it.
This week’s group reflected on healthy relationships, communication, grounding, and ways to reconnect with themselves and the world around them. Jace was the perfect reminder that healing is possible — even when it takes time.
The data we are collecting from these groups is beginning to tell a pretty powerful story too. Across our first 13 participant surveys, 100% reported enjoying the sessions, 100% reported a reduction in stress or a positive emotional shift, and 100% said they would like to continue participating. In this week’s group alone, every participant reported feeling less stressed or anxious afterward, every participant wanted to participate again, and 80% said they could use what they learned outside of the session.
We are so proud of these survivors and honored to hold space for th
