In a move that ranks up there with the tabloid headline “celebrities, they’re just like us”, actress Dana Delany used horse therapy to conquer her fear of, well, horses. Known for roles in China Beach and Desperate Housewives, the 66-year-old Delany appears in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Tulsa King. In the new critically-acclaimed series (created by Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan), Delany portrays a horsewoman named Margaret. But in order to play the part, she has to actually ride and work around horses, of course.
Delany recently told a reporter that she had a bad experience as a child that made her afraid of horses. “When I was a kid, a horse rolled on me, and I just have this fear,” she told Vulture TV writer Jen Chaney. “So here’s my little story: Chloe Webb, who was in China Beach with me, has become a horse therapist. She uses horses to do emotional therapy, and she’s fantastic at it.”
According to the story, Delany went to Webb, who works out of a stable in Malibu, for a session. Webb did groundwork with Delany and a horse, explaining how horses are intuitive and sensitive to our emotions, the basis of equine therapy the world over. Delany said that once she understood this and spent time with a horse, “I just started weeping like a baby. And I felt this kinship with this horse because she’s saying, you know, women are prey too and this is how we’ve had to survive and use our emotional intelligence. And so I just thought, Oh my God, the horse is as scared as I am, and I really got over it. I ride in the show!”
Horses, as we well know, are the best therapy.
Fun fact: Sylvester Stallone is a lifelong horseman and polo player, and he met series creator Taylor Sheridan at a horse show at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Both Stallone and Sheridan are hardcore reining fans and ride and compete in the sport on and off camera.