From Racetrack to Lifeline: How One Thoroughbred Helped a Woman Heal

After two devastating car accidents left Ashley Carson struggling to rebuild her life, an unlikely partner, a retired racehorse named Dancer, helped her find hope again.

Ashley Carson was reduced to tears.

In the aftermath of a second life-changing car accident, the then 24-year-old from St. Andrews, N.B., was left broken, physically and mentally. She needed to find hope in some form but had no idea where to turn.

“I suffered a serious head injury in the second accident, and I had already had head injuries from the first one,” recalled Carson. “I was able to manage the medication before, but after I got in the second accident, I was diagnosed with a new TBI (traumatic brain injury) and it’s now a permanent one. I was in really bad shape and had a lot of soft tissue injuries – just a lot of problems with the TBI. I ended up moving back to my parents’ house in Saint Andrews.”

What she needed at the time, more than anything, was a reason for optimism.

After considering a multitude of ideas, Carson found herself returning to one in particular.

“I had heard about a farm here where you can go hang out with horses, so I went there to go ride.”

The experience did not play out as she envisioned.

Walking through the paddock, Carson began to sob. Little did she know she was being watched.

“I was crying and a horse stuck his head out of a stall and heard me. He just looked at me and then he made me gravitate towards him. And he pressed his head against mine and I will tell you, I’ve only felt that connection once before, with my childhood dog. And I think I swore because it was just so magical.”

From the Track to a New Life

The horse was Western Wall, a son of Gone West out of the Nureyev mare Grands Jetes.

Bred in Kentucky, the chestnut was eighth in his debut, at Gulfstream Park, on March 10, 2007. He broke his maiden in his next engagement, a 1 ¾-length score at six furlongs on the Woodbine main track. His third start, also at Woodbine, would be his final race, when he was last of nine, on August 10, 2008.

Not long after, Western Wall was donated to LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society by his owners and breeders Marjorie Cowan and Irving Cowan

One of the most respected horse retirement and adoption organizations, Longrun was established in 1999. Its property in southwestern Ontario is home to 50 retired Thoroughbreds, a mix of sanctuary horses and others rehomed through the organization’s adoption program. ​

From there, Western Wall made his way to Canada’s East Coast.

Carson was immediately smitten with the horse who had a big personality and a less-than-flattering reputation.

“He was the horse everybody didn’t like, and he didn’t like the world. But in that moment when I was crying, he just took to me. He saw that I was vulnerable, and he just was telling me, ‘Hey, it’s okay, I got you.’ He was at that farm when he came from LongRun for probably 12 years. He was not trusted at all, but in that moment, for me, it was like, ‘Oh, well, who cares about riding?’ I just want to hang out with you.’”

So that is what they did.

Carson’s hope of strengthening their initial bond took a step backward over the next few months.

“We went through that initial honeymoon phase and then he got scared. He thought I was going to leave him. It was as though he felt he had to push me away because I’m going to leave. He did his best to try to get me to leave him. He didn’t want to be touched or groomed at all.”

Carson, who officially adopted Western Wall on January 19, 2022, never once considered giving up.

“In that time period, I just started hanging out with him in a stall,” she said of the horse who was given the name Dancer when he arrived at the farm in New Brunswick. “I would sit down and bring my iPad and watch a movie or something. And we spent the first year and a half of our relationship doing nothing but just bonding. Eventually, he let me back in again when he found out that I wasn’t actually leaving him. And it became a really strong bond for that first 18 months of not even trying to ride, not doing anything, but just hanging out and letting him be himself.

“We started having a fun time. I would sit on his hay. He would pick up his hay, drop it on my head, then rub his face into my hair. And that was his little, ‘I love you.’ He let me see the goofy side of him that nobody else saw. He let me into his world. He made my life worth living again.”

Jasmine Chomski, a registered psychotherapist who offers equine-assisted therapy outside of her traditional office practice based in Erin, Ont., has seen firsthand the impact horses can have on humans.

“In my experience, many of the issues people struggle with today come down to a dysregulated nervous system,” said Chomski. “Anxiety, burnout, trauma, and chronic stress all affect how our nervous system functions, and talk therapy often only looks at it from a thinking perspective. Horses work in a different way.

“As prey animals, horses are highly attuned to their environment and to the nervous systems of those around them. They are constantly reading subtle shifts in body language and their environment to determine what is safe. Because of this sensitivity, they respond immediately and honestly to what a person is feeling, often before the person is even aware of it themselves. Being in the presence of horses can help regulate breathing, slow heart rate, and improve heart rate variability, which is an indicator of a more balanced nervous system. Their calm presence and grounded energy often invite people to settle into a more regulated state.

“One of the most powerful things I witness is how horses create a safe space for emotions that people have been holding in for years.

I have seen clients who carry deep trauma or grief finally feel safe enough to release emotions they have suppressed for a long time. The presence of the horses often allows people to bypass the defenses that keep those feelings locked away.”

Hope and Healing

Carson’s relationship with Dancer has been transformative.

For the first time since the second car accident, she found contentment and confidence.

“I wasn’t able to drive when I met him because I had panic attacks. He made me start driving again. And then he made me start driving at night to go feed him and see him. So, he really helped in that way, and he became my mental health therapist and my physical therapist. Physiotherapists gave up on me because I had a frozen shoulder, but Dancer got it working again.”

He also gave Carson the riding moments she had longed for.

“I trusted him. And we did it. And he took me. I was just reading through journal entries, looking at the first time we rode together. He took care of me and he would start by just walking and then he was like, ‘Okay, can we trot now?’ And he’d start like trotting a little bit and I would tell him to stop and he would.

“He understands everything I say. He knows when there’s one word out of place and he senses how to take care of me. If I lost my balance, he caught me. And I know that sounds weird, but he would feel me and put his body underneath me. We moved on to the next step of cantering. He was telling me, ‘Oh, you got the trot down? Okay, let’s go do this now.’ It is a remarkable bond we share.”

Chomski has witnessed similar moments during equine-assisted therapy sessions.

“One of the most powerful things I witness is how horses create a safe space for emotions that people have been holding in for years.

I have seen clients who carry deep trauma or grief finally feel safe enough to release emotions they have suppressed for a long time. The presence of the horses often allows people to bypass the defenses that keep those feelings locked away.”

She recalls one experience in particular.

“One that stays with me involved a young client who had lost a parent at an early age. Her grief had largely come out as anger and frustration. In her first session, my horse Sage connected with her right away. Open and curious, he walked over and gently laid down in the grass beside her. The child sat down on the ground with him. Sage simply stayed there with her, quietly present. After some time, the child finally began to cry and release the grief she had been holding inside for years. The resulting shift in her, at home, was profound.

“Horses seem to just know how to meet people exactly where they are emotionally and offer a kind of quiet companionship that allows healing to unfold naturally. I have seen it happen, time and time again.” ​

So, too, have staff at LongRun.

In partnership with former champion jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva, LongRun offers the Equine Experiential Connection (EEC) program.

The program supports mental health, personal development, and emotional healing by incorporating equine-assisted experiences. Through interaction with the horses, participants can release stress, strengthen self-confidence, and improve emotional awareness in a supportive and calming environment.

“LongRun is excited and grateful to witness what our horses and Eurico can do to heal and help people experiencing troubled times.” said Vicki Pappas, LongRun chairperson and founding member.

For Carson, the connection with Dancer continues to be a thrill ride built on mutual trust.

“He’s been teaching me, and he’s been my partner in everything, and has helped so much in my life. I didn’t think I would be very good on a trailer. He just said, ‘I’m going where you’re going.’ And that moment, it just melted my heart, and it made me cry because I knew he was going to follow me wherever I went.”

It hasn’t been a drama-free journey.

Three years ago, Dancer encountered life-threatening health issues.

“At one point, he almost died,” recalled Carson. “Nobody knows how he survived, but there was a lot of fight from him, and a lot of people helping out, just trying to keep him going.”

Carson reached out to LongRun for assistance.

“LongRun was thrilled to be able to help Ashley with Western Wall,” said Pappas. “Thanks to the generous support we receive from the racing industry, horse people and horse lovers, we are able to act as a safety net for our retired equine athletes should they need assistance down the road.” ​

“It was nothing short of a miracle – how he fought,” added Carson. “I think he was thinking, ‘I just got my happy life, so I’m not giving up on it right now.’ Thanks to LongRun and a lot of people, he was able to get great care and treatment.”

Carson and Dancer had switched roles.

“I had to help him and become his therapist, doctor, nurse and everything in between. And he’s now in the best health that he’s been in. I’m just so grateful that he is part of my life and he is with me because he’s got me through some very dark times. He saved my life and then I was able to help save his. So, it’s just been this kind of full-circle thing.”

A journey that still has more chapters to be written.

The Gentle Power of Horses

On Feb. 23, Dancer celebrated his 22nd birthday. Celebrations were briefly delayed after a snowstorm swept across the Maritimes.

The following day, Carson made the 40-minute drive to see him, arriving with a stockpile of treats and gifts.

She also brought along his fast-food favourite.

“He had McDonald’s sweet and sour sauce, which I know sounds extremely weird, but that is his top treat. I was eating chicken nuggets in a stall one day and I turned my head for something and before I could do anything, he stuck his tongue into the sweet and sour sauce. At first, he didn’t like it. He stuck his tongue out and shook his head, and then he thought about it for a minute, and then, the next thing I knew, he was coming back for more.”

Typically, Carson visits Dancer four times a week.

The stall remains their own version of Shangri-La.

“I just like hanging out with him. That’s just been our main thing for all these years. I do a little bit of riding, but with his health issues, and with mine, we never seem to sync up well. We just like to watch TV together. I’ll just sit in the stall, and he puts hay on my head and then rubs it in. He’s also very good at posing for photos. He always likes to stick his nose in the camera.”

The hard-headed horse will always be picture-perfect in Carson’s eyes.

“Dancer has given me something to look forward to and keep fighting for myself and him. He is goofy and a sweetheart. Now, he gets everyone gravitating towards him. He’s got a really nice herd with three other horses, including his best friend.

“We’ve shared so many pieces of our life together over the eight years that I’ve known him.”

Happy tears are now the norm for Carson.

“My life changed the moment I first saw him. He is living his best life right now and thanks to him, so am I.”

Chris Lomon