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Horseback riding, painting provides form of therapy for nurses battling COVID

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Posted at 5:45 PM, Oct 25, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-25 19:10:34-04

WOODFORD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Escaping to Haven Hill Farm to be with her horse, Brego, is a form of therapy for Bailey Freemire.

"I best explain it as just one big deep breath," she said while riding Brego. "Of just letting go of anything else that's going on and being very much in the moment."

When she's riding, her mind is focused on nothing else. It's not focused on the ICU where she's battled COVID for two years as a travel nurse.

"It's been a lot," she said. "It's been hard, but these horses and being out here and having them to come to and relax is very changing in how I'm able to take care of my patients because of them."

She's taking care of herself so she can take care of others. It's the same idea for registered nurse Melissa Schodin, who named her horse "Neon".

"I like to tell him that he's my Neon light in a gray year," Schodin said. "That means a lot to me."

With Halloween approaching, the pair spent Monday morning doing another form of therapy: painting.

Neon was transformed into a giraffe and Brego became a Narnia-inspired skeleton.

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They're getting into the holiday spirit and celebrating how much they've overcome.

It's a break to relax and enjoy life so that they feel ready to get back into the saddle and into the hospital to do what they do best.

Horse riding form of therapy