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Our Equine Therapy Vision
Someone said, “The best thing for the inside of a person is the outside of a horse.” Horses are strong, beautiful, and powerful. They resist pressure. They do not respond well to anger, frustration, and impatience. They are understanding, willing to forgive, and eager to please. Horses beg for a relationship with people. But, they need it on certain terms, just as people do. The foundation of every relationship is listening with an inner ear. If you will listen, a horse will teach you how to get along with others and with yourself.
When I was five my Dad bought me a pony. Flicka was my first best friend. Then there was Buck, Sugar, Pretty Gal, Freckles, Springer, Easter, Baby Gal, Jean, Baby Doll, Rocky, Mercury, Cora, and a host of other horses that I can see in my mind’s eye but whose names have escaped me. But, the relationship, the learning about life, and the love for the animals are embedded forever in my heart.
For more than twenty years of working with children in social agencies and in private practice I heard stories of the lives of physically handicapped children being molded and enhanced with equine therapy riding programs. The healing power of a relationship with a horse is indescribable. My desire has been to develop an equine therapy program for emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their parents, but not a riding program. My desire is to focus on the relationship between people and horses. The skills needed to effectively relate to a horse are the same skills needed to relate effectively with people. The skills a parent needs to relate to her child are the same skills a person needs to relate to a horse.
Miniature horses are the perfect tools for equine therapy. They tend to be social, playful, easily trained, and are far less intimidating to children than a full sized horse. Weighing in at less than 200 pounds and standing less than 32 inches tall, minis are more the size of a Labrador retriever, or a Doberman.
Our vision is to maintain a comprehensive miniature horse therapy program that enhances healing in hurting people and encourages relationship skills for better living. We are able to utilize Prince and Glory for presentations at schools, churches, and social service organizations. We are also utilizing them in parent/child relationship groups. A miniature horse can seize a child’s heart and speak in a language I cannot speak. A well-trained therapy horse can help heal hurts we cannot see, and give a relationship we cannot give. Prince and Glory are our two therapy horses. They are both registered in the American Miniature Horse Association and the American Miniature Horse Registry.
Find out more about our horses in The Story Of Glory & The Healing Power of a Horse Named Rocky
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©2003 Dan Kirkland, LPC