Name: Bosnia and Herzegovina: The horse whisperer
Uploaded: 2025-11-04T10:49:46.277Z
Duration: 4 min 56 s
Description: Meet the woman who combines her dream of protecting Bosnian mountain horses and helping disabled children learn to ride.

Meet the woman who combines her dream of protecting Bosnian mountain horses and helping disabled children learn to ride.

Fojnica

Lamia Jigal, a breeder and physiotherapist in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is using the endangered Bosnian mountain horse for hippotherapy, primarily to support children with disabilities. She currently owns five horses and has developed a program that focuses on partnership between horse and rider, rather than traditional taming methods.

The initiative is still in its early stages, as hippotherapy is not yet covered by the national healthcare system. Supported by her family and local advocates, Lamia continues to expand her project, aiming to build a covered riding area and inspire the next generation, including her daughter, to continue this therapeutic work.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: The horse whisperer

Powerful, wild and endangered. The Bosnian mountain horse. Lamia Jigal wants to give them a future. She already has five, including a foal. I breed the horses. Some go on as therapy horses. Those that are unsuitable are kept for breeding. But Lamia isn't just a breeder, she's also a physiotherapist. Now she's combining therapy with riding, primarily for children with disabilities. But it's something of a first. Bosnian mountain horses are famous for their strength, but notorious for their stubborn streak. It's not about taming them, it's about the horse working with you. It's less a horse than a colleague, that's how I approach it. If they agree with you, you can work together, and they'll give you what you want. This is her first therapy horse, Miska. They're getting ready to welcome a new young patient. Look, take the blanket with the grip for the therapy, and make sure it fits. He's coming for the first time, so he won't use a saddle, that way he'll be in closer contact with the horse. The new patient, Gabriel, is rather daunted by the looks of things. The horse, the camera crew. It's a little overwhelming. But Lamia offers some gentle encouragement. Shall we have a walk with Miska? We won't ride yet, just walk. On foot. Finally, Gabriel is persuaded to climb on. He only rides a short way, but that alone is a big leap forward. A few days later, Lamia sends us a video of Gabriel's progress, looking more and more confident. Horseback or hippotherapy worked wonders for her son, says Mirsada Begovic. The entrepreneur has founded several aid organizations for children with disabilities, including a well-known therapy center in Sarajevo. Mirsada believes there should be much more hippotherapy. Hippotherapy here in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still in its beginnings. But if we work hard and raise its profile, it has a great future. But it's unlikely to hit the mainstream very soon. The healthcare system in Bosnia and Herzegovina only covers basic care, and that doesn't exactly include hippotherapy. Lamia's daughter is all in. At just 14, Aisha has her future figured out. When I'm done with school and my studies, I want to take over my mother's stable and do what she does now, have fun with the children and the therapeutic riding. That's my biggest dream. Her mother was just eight years old when she came to the Netherlands as a refugee. Right next door, a stable. Lamia says the horses helped her in overcoming her trauma. The Netherlands became her second home. Thirty years later, during the COVID pandemic, she returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina with her family. Here she could make her dream of hippotherapy a reality. She doesn't turn a profit yet, but her husband supports her. They're funding the project step by step. Next on the list, a covered riding area. You can see it rains a lot here. That's one of our problems. We'd like at least part of it covered, so we can work even in this kind of weather. Lamia is confident they'll make it happen. Because if there's one thing she shares with a Bosnian mountain horse, it's that unyielding, stubborn will.

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