The Rosie Project San Diego

Healing Has No Walls
Some experiences stay with you long after you leave the room. Last night, a group of us from Love On A Leash walked into Donovan prison and watched incarcerated men perform Romeo and Juliet. A production they learned and performed in partnership with The Old Globe. Reflections on Shakespeare was no just memorizing lines. These men reflected on their own lives, their own choices, and their own capacity for something different. It was honest. It was brave. It was art in the truest sense of the word. A special thank you to James, Erica, and the entire Old Globe team. The camaraderie and commitment they bring to this work is unlike anything I have ever witnessed. I left humbled and more certain than ever that healing lives inside every human being, waiting for the right conditions to emerge.

Get • ✨ Influential Women Spotlight: Laura Spielman ()✨

Laura Spielman is creating powerful spaces for healing, growth, and connection through equine-assisted learning and mental health advocacy. By combining compassion, clinical insight, and the transformative presence of horses, she continues making a meaningful impact on individuals and communities seeking hope, trust, and resilience.

This post is hard to write. But it would be harder to stay silent.
Most of you know The Rosie Project. What many of you may not know is that none of it would exist without Laughing Pony Rescue — where I began, where our horses found their home, and where Celia Sciacca has quietly saved more than 3,000 animals because she could not imagine doing anything else.
Right now, Celia is fighting for her life's work. And she needs our help.
In September 2023, an elderly dog named Piano was surrendered to LPR by a young woman who said she had lived long enough. Celia took her in. Piano was placed with Nerice, a beloved volunteer and hospice minister, who gave her warmth, safety, and a home where she was chosen every single day. Piano passed away from cancer surrounded by people who loved her completely.
Then a lawsuit arrived. Six weeks after the surrender, a second sister appeared demanding Piano back. The demand started at $30,000 and has since climbed to $250,000. They have named Celia and Nerice personally as defendants and are attempting to shut the rescue down entirely — and take their homes. The sister who surrendered Piano has never been held accountable. Her family refuses to produce her. She walked in, handed over a dog she said had lived long enough, and disappeared.
On one side: Jake Gillick, a single attorney who took this case pro bono because he believed it was right. On the other: a large downtown San Diego law firm with the resources to outlast and overwhelm.
This is David and Goliath. And David needs reinforcements.
Donate via Venmo to Laughing Pony Rescue under Charities. If you are an attorney or know one, please reach out at [email protected].
For Piano. For Celia. For Nerice. For every animal that still needs them.
Full story on Facebook.
https://laughingponyrescue.org/donate/

This post is hard to write. But it would be harder to stay silent.

Most of you know The Rosie Project. You know our horses, our programs, our belief that healing happens when humans show up honestly in the presence of animals who expect nothing less. What many of you may not know is that none of it would exist without Laughing Pony Rescue.

Laughing Pony Rescue is where I began. It is where The Rosie Project found its footing, its horses, and its home. Celia Sciacca, the founder, is one of the most quietly extraordinary people I have ever met. Rescue is not what she does. It is who she has always been. Over the course of her life, she has saved more than 3,000 animals, one at a time, because she could not imagine doing anything else. Right now, Celia is fighting for her life's work. And she needs our help. Celia believed in me. She gave me a chance. And now I want to give her the love, belief, and support she has always given to me.

In September 2023, a young woman arrived at Laughing Pony Rescue with an elderly dog named Piano. She had already been turned away by multiple rescues. She told Celia that if no one took her, Piano was going to the shelter, where a dog her age would almost certainly be euthanized. When Celia asked about the dog's future, the young woman's response was devastating. "She's lived a long enough life anyway." Celia took Piano in, she felt is was the only right thing to do so save the dogs life. It was the only time she had ever taken in a dog. She placed Piano with Nerice, a beloved LPR volunteer and hospice minister, who gave Piano everything she deserved. Warmth. Safety. A home where she was chosen every single day.

When Piano was later diagnosed with terminal cancer, she passed away surrounded by people who loved her completely. Nerice and her husband (86 years old) are still heartbroken. They will be for a long time. Piano had no microchip. The Humane Society scanned her. There was nothing to find.

Then the lawsuit arrived. Six weeks after Piano was surrendered, a second sister from the same family appeared demanding her back. The initial demand was $30,000. It has since climbed to $250,000, a number that is alleged to correspond precisely to the pass-through amount (to pay for unwanted horses) allowable under 501(c)(3) nonprofit law, as though someone did their research before filing.

They are not just suing for money. They have named Laughing Pony Rescue, Celia personally, and Nerice personally as defendants. They are attempting to shut down
the rescue entirely and take Celia and Nerice’s homes.

Nerice is a hospice minister nearing 80. She and her 86-year-old husband, who opened their hearts to a dying dog, are now being dragged into court for doing exactly that.

The sister who originally surrendered Piano has not been held accountable for a single day of this. Her family refuses to produce her, and we can’t find her. She walked in, handed over a dog she allegedly said had lived long enough, and disappeared. The family now alleges they wanted Piano back, though it is alleged they were not even living in the country at the time of the surrender. It is also alleged that in the period when they did have Piano, she was left in a crate for up to ten hours a day. This is what Laughing Pony Rescue is up against. On one side: Jake Gillick from Gillick Legal Services, a single attorney and animal lover who took this case pro bono because he believed it was the right thing to do. One person, fighting because he cares. On the other side: a large downtown San Diego law firm, staffed with associates and interns, with the resources to outlast, outspend, and overwhelm.

This is David and Goliath. And David needs reinforcements.

We are asking for two things today. First, if you can, please donate. Every dollar goes directly toward Laughing Pony Rescue's legal defense. Every dollar that goes toward attorneys is a dollar that cannot go toward the next animal that needs saving. Donate via Venmo to Laughing Pony Rescue under Charities. Second, if you are an attorney or if you know one, please reach out. Jake is one person up against a firm with full infrastructure behind it. If there is anyone in the legal community who believes in what Laughing Pony Rescue stands for and wants to help, we need to hear from you. Please send a direct message or contact us at [email protected].

Laughing Pony Rescue did not create this situation. They responded to it with compassion, just as they do to everything. Please help us protect them. Share this post. Donate if you can. Reach out if you have legal experience. And if you have never visited Laughing Pony Rescue, this is your introduction to an organization that deserves every bit of your love.

For Piano. For Celia. For Nerice. For every animal that still needs them. Piano deserved better from the family that abandoned her. Celia and Nerice deserve better from all of us.

Yesterday at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, Otter, Dogwood, and Brownie walked into a space where something quietly extraordinary happened.
Participants began with breathwork as a foundation for their own nervous system regulation. They learned how to approach a horse with intention, how to be present with them, and what it means to work within a framework of consent. They practiced the Masterson Method® Bladder Meridian technique — and as the horse released tension, so did they. They found connection and leadership through lead walking, discovering what it feels like to move alongside a 1,000-pound animal with confidence and calm. They left with pride.
The men who stood in that space showed up fully, honestly, and with open hearts. One shared that programs like ours make him want to heal — that they make him believe in himself. He was not alone in that feeling. We felt it from everyone there.
This is why Healing Has No Walls exists. To give people tools that are real, skills that transfer, and the experience of being met without judgment — by a horse, and by themselves.
Second chances are not just possible. They are happening. Right here.
Evidence-based. Horse-centered. Always.

Horses do not lie.
They respond to your actual physiological state. Your breath rate. Your muscle tension. The gap between what you are feeling and what you are showing. They register all of it before you are conscious of it yourself.
You cannot fake it. You cannot perform your way through it. The walls have to come down. And when they do, something shifts.
A horse that is free to leave and chooses to stay is communicating something real. A horse that is held in place is not communicating anything, except that it has no choice.
This is not mystical. It is biology.
Horses are hardwired for connection. They are looking for it constantly. We just have to get quiet enough inside to let them find it.
Happy horses. Safe humans. Always.
Full piece on substack. https://open.substack.com/pub/lauraspielman/p/they-could-have-walked-away-they?r=qhf92&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

equineTherapy healingHasNoWalls evidenceBased horsesOfInstagram mindfulnessWithHorses equineWellness horsesMatter

Some weekends change you quietly.

This past weekend I had the privilege of spending three days riding and learning alongside Mark Rashid and Crissi McDonald.

The work was deep, the horses were generous, and the lessons will stay with me.

My partner Dutch was patient, honest, and present in ways that reminded me why this work matters. He carries the kind of quiet authority that only comes from a horse who truly knows himself. No performance, no agenda, just steady and warm and completely there. He taught without words and led without force, and that kind of presence has a way of teaching you things about yourself you didn’t know you needed to learn.

What he showed me over those three days is something I will carry into every session at The Rosie Project: balance comes with connection, and connection comes with trust.

Mark’s approach weaves the principles of Abaido into the riding experience in a way that feels less like a technique and more like a conversation. A conversation worth having over and over again.

Thank you Mark, thank you Crissi, thank you Gray, and thank you Dutch. 🐴🤍​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ See you in October if not sooner.

Today marks 18 years since I lost my sister Jenny. She turned 29 the day before she died.

Jenny struggled with mental illness, and she fought hard. She had experienced equine therapy at one point in her life, and it reached her in ways other things hadn’t. There were therapists that helped and made a difference, and there are some that didn't. That stayed with me.

What took her was not a crisis of her own making. She was over-medicated by a doctor my family trusted with her life. She did not die by su***de. She died because the system that was supposed to protect her failed her.

Losing Jenny set me on a path I never expected. It led me to advocate for mental health awareness and to show up for others in every way I can.

Mental health care can be life-changing and life-saving, but please, advocate fiercely for yourself and for the people you love.

Research your doctors. Ask hard questions. Get second opinions. Trust your gut when something feels wrong.

Jenny deserved better. So does everyone who is still fighting.
💛

Fifty women. Three stations. One unforgettable morning.

Yesterday at Katy’s Farm in Alpine, we welcomed an incredible group of 50 women for a rotating morning experience that moved through the body, the breath, and the heart.

One group worked alongside our horses, practicing presence and learning what it feels like when your inner and outer world finally match. One group joined Nicole for breathwork, dropping into stillness in a way that only happens when you slow down long enough to let it find you. And one group spent time with the baby goats, because sometimes healing looks like pure, uncomplicated joy. Then they rotated. And did it all again.

This is what The Rosie Project was built for. Not a program. Not a curriculum. A felt experience that stays with you long after you leave the barn. Thank you to every woman who showed up yesterday with an open heart. We felt it.