Octavia Brown has devoted her life to equine assisted therapy, which helps so many (Updated)

by Nancy Jaffer | Dec 15, 2020

A legend in the world of Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies, Octavia Brown got in on the ground floor of this significant movement, becoming a visionary instrumental in its growth. And at age 78, the Gladstone resident is still just as committed to continuing that evolution.

“Octavia has dedicated her professional life to improving the lives of others, and her passion and expertise have touched everyone and every aspect of the industry,” said Kathy Alm, CEO of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH International).

“We’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who has served on more committees and work groups for the association.”

Yet it all began simply enough, as often is the case with so many important things. It happened that Octavia was a horse person in the right place at the right time, which was 1967. She was dating a man who worked at the McLean psychiatric hospital, which had a farm in Belmont, Mass. A horse-owning co-worker came up with the idea of bringing in horses as therapy for the patients.

It seemed a novel notion, but soon grew into a worthy one. When the horse owner moved on, the project needed someone to continue the program. Octavia, an immigrant from Great Britain with an equestrian background, was the perfect candidate to take over.

Four horses became part of what was called “activities therapy” and “I was `the horse lady,’ ” reminisced Octavia, who had ridden since she was eight.

McLean patients would come with an orderly to the barn or a walled, enclosed locked area (“so they couldn’t run away”).

Some were dealing with schizophrenia; others experienced psychotic episodes or were depressed.  When they walked out of their wards, Octavia recalled, they “looked like the shutters were down on the windows.”

Yet after entering the barn, “all of a sudden, those eyes would come to life and we would be horse people together. It was a perfectly normal activity that could take place in this stressful environment,” she said.

“They would always go back in a better frame of mind than they came, and everyone would see that.” It quickly became evident to Octavia that when they spent time with the horses, “It was a skill they were learning and improving at, and I think that’s what got me hooked.”

For the patients, she realized, the horses were a slice of normal life, like music and art sessions, because “you could use your own talents, nobody was trying to analyze you.”

The program was created by Octavia and a colleague, Helga Haendel from Germany, the art therapist at McLean, who had heard a little something about equine therapy in Europe.

But “There was no training, nobody to tell you what to do,” recalled Octavia.

“I essentially learned on the job and took a lot of seminars and learned a lot about mental health and observed what people did with the horses. I taught horsemanship, and people responded,” she said.

Little did she realize, however, that an opportunity for someone who was “just a good horse person” could become a key component of what would develop into a respected mode of therapy.  Eventually, it spread across the country as the concept grew around the world.

Octavia is the consummate teacher.

By 1969, people were getting together to create NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, PATH’s predecessor) and they organized a meeting in New York City of those who were interested in furthering the work. Octavia attended and found that at age 28, she was the youngest person in the room.

“They said, `We need a board of directors, who’s willing?’ We all put up our hands. So I was on the founding board from that moment.” She is the only person who remains from that original panel.

Octavia was asked to write about the program for an in-house seminar at McLean and produced a 15-page paper on psychiatric theory in connection with how people related to the horses.

“No one had a theory about what was happening and I created my own theory,” she said, explaining it had roots in activities therapy, which also included drama, music and art for psychiatric purposes Although Octavia had received an excellent secondary education in England, she didn’t have a college degree.

To fill that gap a year later, she enrolled in Harvard University’s school of education, seeking a master’s degree in Education for General Purposes, submitting the paper as part of her application.

She continued her understanding of therapeutic riding with a course at the Cheff Center in Michigan, where she earned a certificate and learned about the physical aspects of therapy and how it could be used with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and stroke. Octavia presented an innovative international paper about teaching someone with cerebral palsy how to post to the trot, a technique that “was entirely my own invention” she said, confiding its origins involved the way she learned to post without stirrups.

“I discovered if you lift your chest, your chin and your pelvis forward and up, essentially you lighten up your seatbones and you can, in fact, post and you don’t have to grip like fury with your legs to get yourself unweighted,” she explained.

“Someone with spasticity can’t really use their legs and seats to push off of…but they can use their upper body to move with the horse and give that little upward push.”

By the time Octavia married and moved to New Jersey in 1971, she said, “I pretty much had it all under my belt.” When she founded the pioneering Somerset Hills Handicapped Riding program, it took off quickly.

After an article about her interest in starting a therapeutic program appeared in a local paper, a physical therapist from the Easter Seals therapy center in Morristown contacted Octavia, asking to work with her on getting a program going with her patients. An important piece of the puzzle was missing, however. So Octavia went to the Somerset Hills Pony Club, saying, “I need horses, can you help?” And they did,

Other people got involved. The Roser family, who had an indoor ring, hosted the program once a week. Octavia’s friend, Naomi Lorch, a psychologist and physical therapist who was working with Easter Seals at that time, referred people. The late Helen Gordon, who was active with the U.S. Equestrian Team, got on board. With the agreement of Octavia’s husband, Truman, for which she was grateful, the program moved to the couple’s Crossroads Farm in Bedminster in 1975, where it remained until the early 1990s. In that decade, it moved to Oldwick and eventually became Mane Stream.

“This Somerset Hills areas embraced me with both hands I never had any trouble fundraising,” Octavia said. The Essex Foxhounds were helpful as was Jack Fritz, then executive director of the USET. Although she and her husband are divorced, she emphasized how supportive he was of her project. For Octavia, it was gratifying that so many took to the concept.

“It became a thing that everyone was aware of, and we benefited from that. It seemed like once you tell horse people what you want to do, it’s almost a given they will get on board,” she observed.

“I think as it grew, it was self-evident to a whole bunch of people that this should be a good thing,” said Octavia.

“When I get on a beloved horse and go for a trail ride, I know what that means to me, so you have to extrapolate that to anybody with any type of challenge. It just is a natural sell.”

Octavia still enjoys riding.

Naomi Lorch noted that while there had been a focus on “the impairments of the body, getting people to move better,” beyond that what was important for clients involved “getting into real activities and being part of the world and doing what other people do, and not just being this kid with a disability who goes to therapy and doesn’t do much else. There was a sense that doing something that was fun would be good for kids.”

Octavia, she noted, “adapted to their levels and introduced the challenge of doing more and more based on their abilities, rather than a passive pony ride.”

Tracy Cole, who became one of Octavia’s first students in 1972, has gone on to be an instructor of therapeutic riding at Centenary University and mentor other instructors in training.

She got involved at age seven when the doctor at Easter Seals asked if she wanted to swim or ride for her therapy.

“I had wanted a horse my entire life,” said Tracy, so the choice was easy and Naomi connected her with Octavia.

The ability to ride horses has been life-changing for Tracy, who has cerebral palsy.

“They give me a chance to do things  I can’t do on my own two feet, to go places, see things and compete,” said the Randolph resident, who uses a rolling walker to get around when she’s on the ground.

She took to Octavia immediately when they met.

“I was a little kid and she was going to teach me how to ride, and it was a dream come true. So she was the best person I ever knew,” said Tracy.

Octavia also has been active in the worldwide therapeutic movement, serving for three years as president of Federation Riding for the Disabled International. Europe, she pointed out, had been ahead of the U.S. in the 1960s in instituting therapy using equines in response to the polio epidemic. The Germans invented hippotherapy, in which a therapist uses the movement of the horse for therapeutic purposes.

Now the really good riders and trainers are seeing the value of going above and beyond and teaching someone to get into the Paralympics, she commented.

Octavia Brown

When Octavia moved on from Mane Stream, she went to work in higher education as she and Karen Bocksel co-founded Therapeutic Riding at Centenary (TRAC) in 2003. She also taught a course at Centenary on therapeutic riding and became the Gates Ferry Lecturer in 1993-94. She went full-time at the school in 1997, teaching a leadership and basic riding skills, as well as leadership and other thought-provoking courses. Centenary recognized her achievements by awarding her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Although she retired this year, she still is involved with TRAC, now run by Karen Brittle.

“It has been a daunting but exciting prospect to steward the program forward, following Octavia’s impressive tenure,” stated Karen.

“In every way, Octavia strove to be supportive and generous towards me as we transitioned the TRAC program to new leadership, and this has afforded me the wonderful opportunity to get to know Octavia and to better understand her immense contribution to the EAAT industry as a whole. We are looking forward to next steps for the TRAC program and our EAAT industry training courses, while honoring the traditions of inclusion, vision, excellence in service and community that she established.”

Octavia’s influence is wide-ranging. She was involved with establishing Operation Centaur, Centenary’s therapeutic riding program for veterans now run by George Paffendorf. She’s still on a committee to further research the horse/human bond with the Horses and Humans Research Foundation, and consults with the Center for Therapeutic Riding of the East End on Long Island.

Despite all she has done, she sees more that should be accomplished.

Octavia hopes at some point insurance companies will cover therapeutic riding. They are “highly resistant to paying for anything that has to do with a horse, because by definition, they think it’s sport,” she explained.

“For physical, psychological and psychiatric reasons, it needs to be documented and researched as thoroughly as can be,” said Octavia.

While Octavia has no intention of ending her involvement, there now are many others who will pay forward what she did for them. As Tracy put it, “She was one of the reasons I became an instructor. I wanted to give someone else the opportunity she gave me:”

Reflecting on her career, Octavia said, “I truly do think I was exceptionally lucky. But also I realize that when a door opened, I went charging through – and perhaps that’s the legacy I’d most like to pass on to my students and riders.The truism is that if one door closes, seek another one that will open.”

Giving thanks for getting together

by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 26, 2020

So much that we enjoyed sadly has fallen by the wayside during the Covid era, but those who found a way to adapt have kept precious customs alive.

The Thanksgiving meet of the Essex Foxhounds for decades has drawn hundreds to watch horses and hounds gather at Ellistan in Peapack. The ritual started when Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her children would ride out, and it grew even after they no longer were a part of it.

But this year, state Covid restrictions that limit outdoor gatherings to 150 people meant the public could not be invited to the great estate, where they always enjoyed tailgating, seeing old friends and watching the riders depart.

The Essex members were determined to continue the tradition for themselves; they just had to do it in a different way today.

“Some things are just too valuable not to do; it’s just been tradition,” said Jim Gordon, who is the Essex treasurer.

So 27 Essex riders met at the hunt club, then hacked over to the “backyard” of Ellistan for the traditional stirrup cup before starting their ride, not discouraged by mist, occasional drizzle and a bit of rain.

Riders met for a stirrup cup behind Ellistan, rather than in front of the house, where the public usually gathers. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

Dennis Sargenti is served a stirrup cup. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

Smiles seemed broader than usual this time around, underlining the meaning of getting together and giving thanks for being able to do it.

Sarah and Hank Slack, owners of Ellistan. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Essex Joint Master Jazz Johnson Merton and her niece, Rose Biedron. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

The Johnson family always brings a carriage to the meet. (Photo © 2020 by Lawrence J. Nagy)

Smiling in the rain, Essex Joint Master Karen Murphy gives Reagan Price her first ride. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

Lizzy Chesson, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s managing director for jumping, looks good in the saddle herself. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

It will be hard to fill Steve Teichman’s shoes

by Nancy Jaffer | Nov 20, 2020

It obviously was Steve Teichman’s destiny to become the U.S. eventing team’s farrier.

The career path that made him one of the most respected practitioners of his trade around the world began in an unusual way when he was just 13. Steve’s father came up with what he thought was a bright idea to sidetrack his son’s artistic inclinations, since he preferred the teen to focus on eventually getting a “proper” college degree.

“I know this guy who shoes horses in Delaware. Why don’t you go work with him for a summer? Maybe that will satisfy some of your creative instincts,” Dad slyly suggested.

Turns out he was right–except that it backfired.

“This is where the hand of fate gets involved,” Steve recalled with a smile.

“I did that, and there wasn’t any looking back.”  He had found what he was meant to do. Even though Steve went on to get a degree in biology, he was shoeing horses on the side while in college and never stopped.

Steve’s father “wasn’t really happy” with the way his plan turned out, but legions of horse owners, veterinarians and team members over the years have been incredibly grateful that Steve pursued what appears to be his pre-ordained profession, from which he retired this month.

Steve Teichman in a familiar pose with handfuls of shoes by his truck. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

Jim Wolf, who managed the U.S. eventing teams in the 1990s and into the 21st century, called Steve “just a genius. He’s an artist, an engineer, all those things you need to be a good farrier.

“He’s the whole package and such a great person to have on team trips, such a great influence on everyone about how to be a human being.”

Steve did his utmost to get horses in shape to compete, but he also had the same type of consideration for the horses.

“He could always figure out how to get the horse comfortable,” said Jim, yet at the same time, “If Steve said a horse shouldn’t go (into a competition) then it shouldn’t go.”

Steve’s expertise has been unique.

“What made him so good was in solving a crisis, he was able to see the big picture,” commented Oldwick-based Dr. Brendan Furlong, who served as veterinarian for the eventing team.

“His understanding of micro- and macro-anatomy of the horse’s foot is probably greater than any other person I’ve ever interacted with,” observed Brendan, calling Steve, “an  incredibly clever man.”

Brendan Furlong and Steve Teichman have watched many horses go over the years as they blend their expertise to solve problems. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

He got to know Steve while treating horses ridden by two-time eventing world champion Bruce Davidson. In the early middle 1990s, Brendan recalled, a lot of U.S. riders were training in the United Kingdom, where the Americans were having problems getting farriers who would do things the way they wanted them done. The answer to that was drafting Steve, who began working with the team in 1997.

Here’s a story that demonstrates Steve’s inventiveness. When the team went to the Open European Championships at Burghley, England, that year, one horse had torn off a shoe on cross-country and as the time came for the horse inspection, the competition’s farrier was nowhere to be found. He had the forge, the steel and everything else that Steve needed to use if he were to fix things (he couldn’t transport his own equipment overseas, so he was reliant on the local man’s truck.) Steve came up with an inventive remedy for the bar shoe he lacked–nailing an ordinary shoe on the foot backwards to provide support for the trot-up. The horse passed the ground jury’s scrutiny, Steve finally got access to the truck and was able to produce a regulation bar shoe so the horse could compete in the show jumping phase.

In the days when he worked in the blacksmith shop at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, Steve thought about pursuing a veterinary career, then decided against it.

“I just felt this industry needed the help so badly, I decided to stay with it,” he said.

Steve gives his next move some thought. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

And that was the way things went until this week, the last time Steve completed his regular shoeing jobs. Although he still will be involved with some consulting, help the industry out with a few clinics and take on a special case here and there, at the age of 62, he decided it was time to step aside from his farrier business.

“Physically, it’s really hard,” he said.

“I don’t want it to get the best of me. It controls your life. It’s hard to take time off with the quality of horses we do.” In a regular (non-Covid) year, he noted, “by now, you would know where you are every single week until April. It’s pretty grueling.”

Yet he still is thinking of the greater good for those who keep on shoeing horses. He spent three and a half years getting a master’s degree in equine locomotion with Britain’s Royal Veterinary College and just finished a 38-page paper on toe surface modifications and how they affect break-over.

“It was really fun to do. I only wish I was 40 years old when I did it,” he said wistfully, “but when it’s published, it will be good to get it into the hands of farriers. This industry needs that.”

While in the last 30 years he thinks there may have been as many as 35,000 peer-reviewed articles in veterinary journals, he estimated there have been only 10 articles on that order for farriers.

The college sent over professors four times a year to meet with students in space provided by the University of Pennsylvania.

“They started this program because they wanted farriers to research and ask questions if they needed answers; vets look at feet differently than a farrier,” he explained.

As difficult as it was to think of retiring from a regular shoeing schedule, Steve pointed out, “There are a lot of other things I really enjoy doing, too.”

He’s had a parallel career producing art and doing silver and metal work, as well as engraving. A gallery or show is his next ambition, and he plans to have a website.

Some of Steve’s engraved bracelets. (Photo © 2020 by Nancy Jaffer)

Steve got his training for engraving from men who dealt with firearms. He worked on people’s firearms at his house after getting a federal firearms license. But when he moved to Unionville, Pa., firearms weren’t allowed in a residential neighborhood, so that was the end of that.

“What am I going to do with all these skills,” he wondered, then had his answer in short order.

“It was much more profitable to work on a bracelet, and safer,” he realized.

He’s planning on taking some time to go to Florida with his partner, Laura Rowley, who is an animal communicator and intuitive healer. The two don’t work together, but every once in awhile, her insight will help him out. He recalled being on the phone one day with a client whose horse had a lameness problem, when Laura overheard the conversation and told him, “it’s not in his feet, it’s in his back.”

A good friend of Steve’s is Patrick Reilly, New Bolton Center’s chief of farrier services and director of the applied polymer research laboratory, who also got a diploma in equine locomotor research from the Royal College.

He calls Steve, “The hardest working farrier I know. He’s honest about what he can do and what he can’t. He’s happy to talk to you about it. I would consider him very definitely to be a role model.”

Patrick, who moved to Unionville from New Hampshire, recalled a funny incident when his son, Patrick, came home from the first day of first grade and was very disgruntled.

When his father asked what was wrong, he explained, “I got into an argument after I said my father was the best farrier because he works at New Bolton. And this other kid said, `No, my father’s the best farrier.’” That was Marshall, Steve’s son, and there aren’t many places in the U.S. where two elementary school pupils would have a conversation like that!

Steve’s last turn with the team was the 2019 Pan American Games in Peru, where the U.S. eventers qualified for the Olympics.

“A lot of the team’s medals belong to Steve,” said Jim Wolf.

“We wouldn’t have medaled nearly as many times as we did without Steve. We had gold medal horses and riders, but I have to tell you we had a gold medal backup team and he was a star player.”