Harnessing the Healing Power of Horses
By: Maisie O'Brien
Ellorie Levy, OTD25, grew up in "horse country," a rural swath of Northern Florida filled with equestrian centers, horse parks, and farms producing top racehorses. She learned to ride on her beloved horse, Poco, and worked in stables, feeding and grooming the animals.
Before leaving for college, Ellorie donated Poco to a therapeutic riding program and began volunteering there as a way to stay connected to her horse. She attended the Special Olympics with the program where she met an occupational therapist who introduced her to the field of OT and equine-assisted therapy, or hippotherapy.
"I decided on my career path then," says Levy, who now works as a hippotherapist at the BRIDGE Program at Easterseals, a leisure and sports program for adults and children with disabilities.
"There is so much research pointing to the benefits of riding and being around horses," Levy says. "Riding has been shown to alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression, and supports balance, posture, and sensory processing. The gait of the horse actually mimics the movement of a human's pelvis, so riding gives clients an embodied and empowered feeling."
Levy loves seeing her clients soften and relax in the presence of these large, empathic animals. "It's my dream job," she says. "I never thought I'd be doing work that aligns with my passions so early in my career. There's no way I'd be here without the support of my mentors at Tufts."
In addition to her hippotherapy work at Easterseals, Levy also runs camps and teaches cooking classes. This spring, she founded a new group called "Barnyard Friends," where children with disabilities complete an obstacle course and interact with different things in the barn through sensory play. They describe what they're seeing, touching, and smelling—from equipment to animal feed to goats and bunnies.
Levy studied kinesiology, physiology, and disability studies at the University of Florida prior to coming to Tufts. She was drawn to the OT Department's national ranking and the close-knit community she observed while touring Tufts. "I wanted a small, supportive environment for graduate school, and that's what I found here," she says.
In her third year at Tufts, Levy completed level II fieldwork placements at a community-based mental health program for young adults and an integrated elementary school where children with disabilities learn alongside neurotypical children. “I loved both of my placements, and they inform the work I do today,” she says.
For her doctoral capstone experience project—a research project OTD students complete under the guidance of a faculty mentor—Levy worked in a lab specializing in neurodiversity and autism-related research. She analyzed how eye gaze patterns match up with flirting behavior as part of a larger project exploring how people with autism date and form relationships.
Levy particularly enjoyed her courses with Faculty Mentor Mary Barnes, Former Lecturer Sarah Skeels, and Teaching Professor Peggy Morris. She took multiple courses with Morris as part of the School-Based Practice Certificate she earned along with her OTD degree.
Levy also enjoyed her Assistive Technology course taught by Jennifer Buxton, where she created a switch-adapted baseball bat. Levy returned to the course this spring to participate in a hackathon and represented Easterseals as a community partner. Levy mentored Tufts students in creating an adaptive grooming tool for horses.
A year after graduation, Levy remains in contact with many of her friends and professors from Tufts. She was the social chair for the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) and was in charge of planning fun events for students, such as trivia nights and ice cream socials. “I made so many friends,” she says. “I’m grateful for the network I found at Tufts.”
Looking to the future, Levy hopes to continue developing her skills in hippotherapy, pediatric occupational therapy, adaptive sports, and teaching. "I've learned so much even as a new practitioner, and I look forward to sharing the skills I've gained," she says. "I would love to return to Tufts as a faculty member one day—it's an amazing community."