Indiana ranch uses horses to help at-risk youths

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) - Each of the five horses interacting with a group of 16 IU Kokomo students at Narrow Gate Horse Ranch has a story.

Soldier, a brown and white survivor of owner abuse, has pins in one of his ankles.

The scar on the neck of Reno, a male palomino, tells the story of the abuse he received from his father as a young colt.

Sabbath, a 30-year old prize-winning show horse, is blind in her right eye following an infection more than a decade ago, and Molly's spunk and attitude disguise her anxiety.

Then there's Deb, who spent much of a recent morning off in a corner, away from the others.

"Deb is the first horse we really used," Narrow Gate director Susan Zody said. "Her rider passed away, a teenage girl, so she was just out in a field, didn't really have a job. Now she has a job."

Deb, along with these other four horses, is part of the ranch's faith-based program, which provides opportunities for at-risk and under-sourced youth ages 7-18 through Equine Assisted Learning, a way in which kids can interact with horses and people in a relaxed and yet purposeful way, according to Narrow Gate's mission statement.

"The horses show you who you are. They are a mirror," certified equine specialist Heather Lawson told the IUK class recently.

Lawson, a master's level therapist with a mental health background, has been involved with this type of equine learning and therapy for 15 years. She has made several trips now to Narrow Gate, working with Howard County probation groups and The Crossing alternative school among others.

"They do amazing work here," Lawson said. "And it gives hope and encouragement and safety for so many kids."

The IUK class, a mix of majors, was on hand to observe non-traditional therapeutic models while participating in Equine Assisted Learning sessions as part of Brooke Komar's Introduction to Creative Art Therapy class. It's Komar's second year bringing a class to the ranch.

"Last year, three students actually changed their majors following the experience," Komar said. "Two became volunteers here because they were so impacted by the experience."

Now in its third year, the ranch is an inner city mission program using the horses as a conduit to foster discipleship with youth and their families.

Narrow Gate recently hosted a training seminar that was funded in part by a grant provided by the Community Foundation of Howard County. At the seminar, 11 volunteers and one student volunteer were certified in Faith Based Equine Assisted Philosophy, a specialized EAL technique.

"We have 11 instructors now, who are all still volunteers," Zody said. "Along with the board, we've probably got about 20 people who are volunteers."

The training was provided for volunteers interested in reaching out to the at-risk youth in Howard County.

"Over 4,400 kids in Howard County live in poverty," said Zody, noting that FBEAP is a creative approach to connecting with youth who are often reluctant to more traditional methods of building positive relationships. "It can be frustrating getting people to understand how big it is and how widespread it is."

In the first training session, students got to know the horses from a distance in a herd observation that began with three horses before a fourth and fifth were introduced.

As food was added to the mix and the horses began exhibiting their more dominant and submissive personality traits, Lawson asked the students . "Which horse are you?"

Lawson went on to ask questions like which horse the students could see as their mother, or as a sibling, or how the outcast horse feels as a conversation opened up on family dynamics and how that can affect personalities.

"I thought that was really interesting how the horses displayed their personalities," said junior Ashley Bowman, a medical imaging major with a minor in psychology. "They kind of connected with each other first before they came up to us."

Lawson asked what message the horses had for the students as they began warming up to the students separated by a gate inside the ranch's indoor arena.

At that point, Lawson asked the students how they get to know their clients, how they could know what their clients have experienced in the past.

"I think it might help me understand more of where a patient is coming from or better relate to them, especially if they start confiding," Bowman said. "Maybe if they come in with a broken arm it will help me identify if the family dynamic is okay, if there are any signs of abuse."

By the end of the first session, Lawson told the group they were beginning to understand equis, the language the horses speak, and asked what messages the horses had for them in this experience.

She then invited them to come inside the gate for a hands-on activity, asking them to approach the horse they felt connected to for a chance to help groom them.

"I think it really is an incredible experience," said Kate Rowe, a junior psychology major. "As Heather was saying, I think the horses have been mirroring a lot of people's emotions and have gone to certain people.

"I'm very interested in clinical psychology but I love the alternative therapies and I love holistic-based psychology practices, too. I'm really trying to expose myself to all these different alternative and holistic therapies and after just one day I can see how beneficial this is, the way our group members were sharing. And we're just a class, we're not a therapy group."

Lawson has a program called Reins of Hope, a ministry of Arcadia Christian Church where she is worship minister.

And if the training session was any indication, she might add some volunteers soon as a pair of students were waiting to talk with her after the class had ended.

"I'm just hoping to expand their horizons in the world of therapy, that they know there is more to offer than just traditional talk therapy," Lawson said. "Just to have their horizon expanded and to know that there's hope and encouragement. I hope they took away a message (Wednesday). The horses had a message for them."

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Source: Kokomo Tribune

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com