LIFESTYLES
WEEKEND, NOVEMBER 4-5, 2017
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Brian Hohstadt, of La Grande, walks his miniature therapy horse, Domi, between housing units recently while visiting with inmates at the Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution in Pendleton.
Hooves behind bars
Tiny horse brings unconditional love to prison inmates
“I wouldn’t trade
this for anything. I’m
along for the ride
and it has changed
my whole world.”
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
A miniature Pinto horse named
Domi has a superpower — the
ability to bring smiles to prison
inmates.
The 32-inch-tall horse seems
at ease in the bright, noisy envi-
ronment of razor wire and steel.
On Friday, she and handler Brian
Hohstadt passed through security
at the Eastern Oregon Correctional
Institution. When a sliding metal
gate crashed shut behind them, the
12-year-old mare seemed unfazed.
She and Hohstadt paused as another
door slid open and then set off down
a polished tile hallway, too slick for
most horses. Domi, however, wears
special leather shoes with rubber
soles that give her traction. The pair
headed to Housing Unit C on the
west side of the prison.
Inside the unit, a dozen men
crowded around the horse. Inmate
Lance Wood stretched a muscular,
tattooed arm toward Domi and
scratched the horse behind its ears.
A grin lit his face. After a few
minutes, he reluctantly stepped
aside so another man could have a
turn.
Wood, in prison for murder, said
he hadn’t seen an animal for a long
time prior to Hohstadt bringing
Domi to the unit. He said being
around the horse softens his reality.
“It momentarily takes me away
from this environment and the
nuances of prison,” said Wood,
who explained that inmates learn
to hone their macho, tough-guy
personas.
Hohstadt has become accus-
tomed to watching Domi break
through barriers. He sees men with
the hardest of shells get emotional
as they hug her neck or stroke her
mane.
“It gives them a few minutes to
— Brian Hohstadt,
horse handler
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Domi, a miniature therapy horse, reaches out to nuzzle the facial hair of inmate Gerardo Lopez in one
of the housing units at EOCI. The horse is fond of facial hair, according to her owner, Brian Hohstadt
of La Grande.
get outside of their heads and away
from the concrete and steel,” he
said. “With animals, it’s uncondi-
tional love.”
The room’s warmth triggered
a toothy yawn from Domi and
amusement from the men. Hohstadt
pleasantly fielded questions as he
held Domi’s leash.
The affable Cove native said he
doesn’t downplay the fact that these
men landed in prison because they
committed crimes. Still, he doesn’t
want them to lose hope.
“I’m a firm believer that
everyone has value,” Hohstadt said.
“We all make mistakes and must
pay for those mistakes. I want them
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Inmates Pedro Suarez, center, and Santiago Lopez play with the
mane of miniature horse Domi.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Inmates reach out to pet Domi, a miniature therapy horse.
to know I haven’t forgotten about
them and that they have value.”
Back home in Cove, Hohstadt
also has a gelding named Baxter.
The two certified pet therapy horses
visit not only four state prisons,
including Two Rivers Correctional
Institution in Umatilla, but care
facilities and hospitals. At Saint
Alphonsus Regional Medical
Center in Boise, Domi even has her
own identification badge.
Hohstadt grew up on a dairy
farm and spent a lot of time on
horseback. He started volunteering
at age 16 when he began visiting
nursing home residents. Eventually,
he blended horses and volunteerism
into his own brand of animal
therapy.
Hohstadt said research has
established the healing power of
the human-animal connection.
Time with animals, he said, releases
endorphins, relaxes, reduces pain,
lowers blood pressure and reduces
depression and feelings of isolation
and alienation.
Hohstadt, once an insurance
company executive, started doing
pet therapy six years ago and estab-
lished a 501(c)3 non-profit corpora-
tion called the Triple B Foundation
last year. Donations don’t nearly
cover the expense of feeding and
housing the horses and gas for his
travels, but the 51-year-old plans to
keep going until his funds run dry.
He volunteers five or six days each
week, transporting Domi in the
back of a specially outfitted Ford
Lariat F-150.
When training a therapy horse
for prison work, Hohstadt spends
time desensitizing them to noise,
eventually even using an airhorn.
“A correctional facility is an
intense environment,” he said.
“There’s lots of steel, concrete,
echoes and bright lights.”
On Friday at EOCI, Domi and
Hohstadt left the first batch of
inmates and walked across the
prison campus to another housing
unit, this one for inmates who have
followed the rules for 18 months or
longer. The day room was less stark
than the other, offering perks such
as vending machines, microwave,
television, coffee bar and exercise
bike. Hohstadt led Domi to a
round table where three inmates
sipped coffee. Domi nuzzled one
of them, Gerardo Lopez, in the
face. Lopez grinned and wrapped
his arms around the mare’s neck.
Antonio Sanchez lay down the
colored pencils he was using to
make greeting cards and scratched
the diminutive equine behind
the ears. The other inmate, Jose
Perez-Moreno, shook his head in
wonderment.
It is such reactions that keep
Hohstadt coming back to prisons.
“I wouldn’t trade this for
anything,” he said. “I’m along for
the ride and it has changed my
whole world.”
Hohstadt admitted he didn’t
know what to expect the first time
he went inside a correctional insti-
tution.
“I had never visited a prison in
my entire life,” he said. “After one
visit, I knew this was where I was
meant to be.”
For more information about
Hohstadt’s animal therapy program,
go to triplebfoundation.org.
———
Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@
eastoregonian.com or 941-966-
0810.