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Located at Autumn Acres, a horse boarding facility in Warwick, NY, Francesca Mollica operates Beautifully Abled, an equine-assisted learning program designed to support a wide range of students by providing hands-on sessions in a farm setting.  

Francesca, who has been a special education teacher for four years and has been working with horses for ten years, has always had a passion for education, helping others, and the equine world. “I have always had it in my head that I wanted to have my own business that would combine the two, but it always felt out of reach. I thought that I had to have a large program right away that would require me to leave my full-time job, own my own barn, and own more horses,” she explained. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted to start now. Even if I only had one client, helping one client is better than helping none.”

Francesca graduated from Marist University (formerly Marist College) in 2021 with her bachelor’s degree in psychology and special education, and is certified with childhood education/students with disabilities from first through sixth grades and students with disabilities from birth to second grade. Currently, she is a full-time special education teacher and has been for four years, mostly focusing on pre-school. This July, however, she will be moving into a teacher supervisor position, which will allow her to help others grow into the teachers they want to be for their students. Francesca has also worked in ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy, which is an approach that uses principles of learning and behavior to improve social behaviors, and in early intervention education.

Beautifully Abled became an official LLC on May 6, which is also Francesca’s late father’s birthday. “That gave me the confirmation that I made the right choice,” she shared. Now, just over a month later, she has four incredible clients and more inquiries coming in. 

The core of the program

The star of the show is Francesca’s horse, Liam. She purchased the now 17-year-old horse seven years ago and said that as soon as she saw him on Facebook, she fell in love with him.

“The first time I met him, he just had the kindest eyes, personality, and soul. I knew he had to come home with me. I had him shipped to the barn I was going to keep him at only to find out that he could barely walk off of the trailer,” she shared. 

Francesca said that the original owners would “barely speak with us long enough to figure out what was wrong,” so she quickly called the vet to have Liam examined. She quickly found out that Liam had navicular syndrome, which is a chronic degenerative condition primarily causing lameness in the front legs. Francesca was told by local veterinarians that Liam’s case was the worst they had ever seen, and ultimately, the suggestion was that he get sent back or euthanized. 

“I refused to do either. It was clear that everyone had given up on him,” she said. “I gave up barrel racing when I decided to keep him because it was clear that he was never going to be ridden and I could only afford one horse. I knew our journey wasn’t over though; we were going to accomplish something meaningful together. Seven years later, he is doing amazing and he is the main horse in the Beautifully Abled program. I am so grateful that he is in my life.” 

The calming effect of horses 

According to an article from Psychology Today, equine-assisted psychotherapy has been used to treat a number of conditions including ADHD, autism, PTSD, anxiety, and depression. According to the same article, because horses have been domesticated and lived alongside humans for long, it is believed that they are attuned to humans’ emotions and nonverbal signals. 

Although Beautifully Abled is technically equine-assisted learning (a non-riding, facilitated method that uses interactions with horses to promote personal growth, learning, and development of skills), it shares many of the same benefits as equine-assisted psychotherapy.

“While engaging in activities with the horse, the client will attempt to recognize how the horse’s behaviors might be due to their own emotional signals – a client who is angry or anxious, for example, may see the horse pull away or otherwise respond negatively. This ‘mirroring’ process is thought to help the client identify what they’re feeling and potentially modify their emotions for the better, all in a nonjudgmental environment,” Psychology Today reports. 

“Horses are hyper-aware of emotions and can mirror them from the people that they’re around,” Francesca said. “When you are around horses and the natural calming effect takes place in your own body, this mirrors back to the horse, giving them the same sense of calmness, security, and mindfulness within themselves, which ultimately causes the chain reaction of horse and human having an unspoken connection.” 

Francesca notes that this is especially beneficial for special education students, as some who are neurodivergent may not be able to express how they are feeling verbally, may have difficulty processing feelings, or may struggle with additional mental health conditions. “The unspoken emotional regulation, presence, interaction, and connection the horse provides is ideal to help grow these skills.” 

Building individualized sessions for each student 

Each session is designed and differentiated based on the client’s needs, abilities, and interests. “Each session is going to look different because each client coming to me is going to be unique, and therefore they should always have an experience that fits,” she explained.

Prior to sessions, Francesca collaborates with the parent or caregiver to learn more about the child and what areas they need to work on. She blends her knowledge of education with her knowledge of horses to work on a range of development skills with students, some of which include maintaining attention, minimizing impulsivity, promoting social-emotional growth, building coping mechanisms, strengthening communication, developing academic skills, and more. 

Activities are designed to encourage creativity, physical activity, and mind-muscle connection while also improving fine motor and social-emotional skills and behaviors. 

Some activities include a nature scavenger hunt or walk with the horse; deep breathing techniques in which the horse blows bubbles from his nose with a bubble wand; yoga moves, in which the horse does a bow that is very similar to a downward dog; and a role reversal in which the student acts as the teacher and puts a treat on a certain letter and the horse eats the treat to encourage letter recognition. 

“At the end of my first session with a client, the parent said to me, ‘I have never seen him pay attention to something the way he did this,’ and they had a shocked, yet happy look on their face,” Francesca recalled. “It was amazing that I was able to give the parent the time to watch their child flourish in something they loved, and it was even more amazing that the child found something they loved enough that they wanted to pay attention the whole time.” 

Looking ahead, Francesca sees Beautifully Abled growing into a larger program that allows her to touch as many lives as possible. “Turning this program into a full-time position for myself would be truly a dream and I pray for the day that can happen,” she shared. “When the day comes, I would love to own a barn and add two rescue horses to the program. But I am so grateful for where I am right now. We are at an amazing barn, and the owner of Autumn Acres, Nicki, has encouraged me throughout this process. I am so lucky to say that Beautifully Abled started at her barn.”

Beautifully Abled is located at Autumn Acres at 13 Spanktown Road, Warwick, NY. To learn more about Beautifully Abled, visit its Facebook page here or contact Francesca via email at beautifullyabledllc@gmail.com.