HEALING WITH HORSES
OSNABURG TWP.
On the theory that the outside of a
horse could heal the inside of a juvenile offender, Stark County Juvenile
Court employees tested some unusual therapy Friday afternoon.
Psychologist Jerry West of Massillon
and Pamela Smith, a veteran horsewoman and owner of Serenity Springs Equine
Center, have joined forces to take psychotherapy for at-risk youngsters out
of the clinical setting and into the pasture.
West, whose experiences with horses
was minimal and with juveniles considerable - and Smith, whose skills were
just the opposite - are offering equine-assisted psychotherapy to teach
troubled young people appropriate boundaries, coping skills, understanding
physical and emotional reactions, how to face fears and challenges, problem
solving, teamwork, leadership skills and self esteem.
The partners are certified in
equine-assisted psychotherapy through the Equine Assisted Growth and
Learning Association.
Friday afternoon, Stark County
Juvenile employees gathered at Serenity Springs Equine Center to see what
young offenders might experience in lieu of incarceration.
"I need four volunteers," Smith told
the group assembled under a canopy adjacent to a pasture where four horses
grazed. As four women straggled hesitatingly through the gate, Smith
handed each of them a halter and lead rope and told them to choose a horse,
slip a halter on its head and lead it back to her. They were instructed not
to speak.
Their colleagues watched closely as
each woman approached a horse from the rear, made here way to its head and
then puzzled over how to lift that head away from the grass long enough to
slip the halter on. Three of the four succeeded fairly quickly though even
the novices among the spectators could see that some of the halters had been
put on in such a way as to obstruct the horses' vision, hearing and general
good humor.
"How do you feel about that?" West
asked a young woman who had been the first to bring a haltered horse back.
"Good," she replied.
"What did you think might happen out
here?" he continued.
"That maybe the horses would run away
from us," answered another. "But I know I don't have this on right. The
horse can't be very happy about it. I wouldn't be if someone put my bra on
backwards."
Laughter erupted from her co-workers.
In answer to another "How are you
feeling?" question from West, one woman was succinct. "Hot and ignorant."
The next challenge took six court
employees into the pasture where a small jump had been set up. They were
instructed to get a black gelding, Sevens, to go over the jump, all without
talking among themselves or to the horse and without touching the horse.
Sevens was having none of it. One member of the group stood by the jump,
patting her thighs as one might to summon a dog. Sevens, his peripheral
vision better than his human pursuers, began to take flight each time they
approached.
Men, woman and horse were completely
confused, not to mention tormented by flies.
Quietly, Smith began telling the
group something about their equine partner.
"Horses don't lie. All their actions
are honest. They are nonjudgmental and they respond to your body movements.
If you watch, you'll see that," she said.
Young offenders enrolled in the
program, she said, will spend less time riding than on the ground working
with horses. The goal is not to produce equestrians but better human beings.
A horse's size and inability to communicate verbally engages participants,
encouraging them to assess situations from different perspective.
The same therapy that can help
juvenile offenders fit productively into society also is used in corporate
team building sessions, the instructors said.
West and Smith have contacted
juvenile court staffs in Stark and surrounding counties to present the
program for at-risk youth 11 through 20 charged with offenses such as theft,
drug, alcohol and tobacco use; domestic violence, unruliness and truancy.
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