Episode 142 • Riding to Recovery with Liz Olszewski

Episode 142 • Riding to Recovery with Liz Olszewski

What secrets to maintaining sobriety can be uncovered when you mix recovery work, childhood trauma and a paddock full of horses? This conversation on the Positive Sobriety Podcast follows Liz Olszewski, founder and Executive Director of Horses Healing Hearts, as she shares how growing up in an alcoholic home led her to build a unique equine-based programme for kids and adults affected by addiction.

You’ll hear her describe a childhood of chaos, fear and poverty, contrasted with a life‑changing summer on her aunt’s farm, where a rescued mustang named Jonathan became her first safe connection: “You’re scarred on the outside, I’m scarred on the inside… I would love to be rescued.” Liz explains how attunement with horses helps abused or neglected adolescents “remember how to feel” after years of surviving with rules like don’t talk, don’t trust, don’t feel.

She breaks down how horses sense emotional mismatch within an 80‑foot “energy field” and will refuse to connect if someone’s face says “I’m fine” while their insides are in turmoil. One 12‑year‑old who said she’d forgotten how to feel later found herself crying while brushing a horse, eventually saying she felt “lighter all over” after finally releasing buried emotions.

The episode also walks through Horses Healing Hearts’ three programmes: a prevention group for children of addicts, equine sessions for adults in treatment, and a youth emotional healing track for teens dealing with anxiety, depression, bullying and more. Along the way, Nate and David reflect on connection as “the opposite of addiction” and even wonder what society lost when life shifted from horses to machines.

It’s a warm, honest chat for anyone curious about alternative approaches to healing, children of alcoholics, or fresh ways to think about connection in recovery. Could a horse help you get a bit more honest with yourself?