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Committee lays over bill to expand equine therapy for first responders
Summary
A Minnesota House committee laid over House File 261, which would expand a pilot program providing equine-assisted clinical therapy to a broader group of first responders. Supporters cited a reported 98% retention rate among participants; the bill was discussed but not advanced to a vote.
A Minnesota House committee on Wednesday laid over House File 261, a bill to expand a pilot equine-assisted clinical therapy program for first responders.
The bill, introduced in committee by Representative Kosnick, would broaden eligibility beyond the earlier pilot to include active and retired police officers, full-time and volunteer firefighters, ambulance service personnel, 911 communicators and correctional officers. Representative Kosnick told the committee the program builds on a pilot funded by the legislature and reported a 98 percent retention rate for keeping first responders at work.
Supporters said the program, run by a nonprofit called Abijah's, provides clinical, horse-based therapy tailored to first responders' trauma. Sally Mixon, founder of Abijah's, told the committee she has worked with the population for more than a decade and described individual outcomes the program has produced. "You can always lie to us as therapists, but you can never lie to the horses," Mixon said as she explained…
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