Leading Uruguayan Equine Therapy Specialist Shares Treatment Tactics with Minnesotans

A world-class horse trainer and equine therapy specialist found himself more than 6,000 miles from home this month, standing alongside Susie Bjorklund, the founder of Freedom Farm in Waverly, Minnesota, as two clients mounted up for a riding session.  

News of Freedom Farm's innovative approaches to equine therapy brought Gustavo Dos Santos, a captain in Uruguay's army, to Waverly and other horse facilities throughout Minnesota during the first two weeks of November.

Dos Santos was a trainer of Uruguay's paralympic team in China in 2008, and is currently a leader in his country's military-run horse therapy programs that treat more than 1,000 people across the progressive South American nation with physical disabilities, drug addictions, mental illness and other challenges.

Dos Santos was invited to Minnesota under a nearly 50-year partnership between the state and the nation of Uruguay. An outgrowth of the Kennedy Administration's Alliance for Progress, Minnesota-Uruguay Partners of the Americas uses State Department funding and donations from members to bring professionals like Dos Santos across borders to share expertise and offer insights in a range of disciplines. Veterinary medicine, criminal justice reform, art and architecture and student exchanges are just a few of the group's activities in recent years.

Near Waverly, Dos Santos had training sessions with Janet Weisberg of Hold Your Horses in Independence, Minn., another highly regarded practitioner in the field. 

Elsewhere in the state, Dos Santos visited horse facilities in Granite Falls, Stillwater, Minnetonka, and not least the University of Minnesota's prestigious Equine Center, where staffer Sergio Gonzalez took him on tours at the Center as well as neighboring facilities. He also met with specialists working with Hazelden and Park Avenue Center to learn about their approaches to equine therapy for drug addiction. 

Lynn Baskfield, the founder of Wisdom Horse Coaching in Minneapolis and the host for Dos Santos during the visit, said she'd like to see Minnesotans going to Uruguay to learn more about the equine therapy programs there. Stay tuned for news of more travels in equine therapy between Minnesota and Uruguay!