Animals & Us
Sue Spence
Sue Spence turned her own refuge with horses into a program that teaches at-risk young people to regulate their nervous systems through presence and body language.
Support services
You don't have to be in crisis to call.
Sue Spence spent her childhood asking for a white pony. She didn't get one until she was 14, but by then she'd already discovered what horses gave her that people couldn't: a space where her autism and anxiety didn't make her feel wrong. When school bullying became unbearable, her horse Lady was there. When breast cancer hit at 40, Sue's first instinct was to move to acreage and surround herself with horses during surgery and recovery. A small white pony named Mindy stood beside her on the patio while she healed, sensing what she needed without being told.
Years of work with natural horsemanship clinics taught Sue something crucial: when she dropped her racing anxiety and stood still, horses responded. The cowboys she trained with had a stillness she'd never felt. She learned to breathe, to soften her shoulders, to project calm through her body language. For the first time in her life, the anxiety that had followed her for decades began to lift. She realized her autism wasn't a flaw. It was the reason she could read horses the way they read the world: through sensitivity, vigilance, and body language. She understood them because they understood her.
When at-risk young people started appearing on her property, Sue saw what was possible. A hyperactive girl and a shut-down girl working with her ponies. A boy from the justice system who hadn't smiled in years. A trauma survivor who hadn't spoken since she was nine. Sue taught them horsemanship, but what they learned was how their own body language shaped the world around them. Four thousand young people have now come through her program across Australia and New Zealand. Her book reached Queen Elizabeth. But Sue's real measure of success is simpler: young people finding their way back to school, to work, to trust, to themselves.
Every story here belongs to the person who lived it. They said yes to sharing it, and we sat with it carefully before it went up. Nothing here is exaggerated and nothing is used without permission. Read how we handle these stories ↗
Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗