Courage to ride, heal
Equine therapy works wonders
PRAIRIE GROVE — Courage Therapeutic Riding Center offers students of all abilities the opportunity to connect with horses while learning important life lessons.
The nonprofit offers equineassisted activities and therapy to a wide range of individuals, from young children to adults. They serve children from across Northwest Arkansas, including Siloam Springs, with conditions such as autism or ADHD, as well as those with cognitive and physical delays. They also work with at-risk youth and children in the foster system who are recovering from life traumas.
The center was founded in March 2016 and moved to its current location at 12922 Hogeye Road in Prairie Grove last November. It serves 12 to 15 clients a week during the school year, and many more over the summer months. Ozark Guidance and other local agencies partner with the riding center to reach the population they serve, said Jessie Kersh, programs director.
During equine therapy sessions students may work with the horses on the ground or on horseback. Clients play games with the horses while working on their communication skills, learning life lessons and increasing their confidence.
Equine therapy is unique in several key ways, according to Lexi Kerr, operations director. Horses don’t talk back or judge like humans do, and they are incapable of being anything except for completely honest, she said. Being around horses and feeling the rocking motion of the horse also have a big impact on children with sensory processing disorders, she said.
Kerr explained that many children with autism self-sooth by rocking back and forth. Riding a horse provides that rocking motion so the individuals can focus on other tasks such as learning letters, colors or math facts.
Many students might struggle with a lesson plan and get in trouble because they can’t focus while sitting in a classroom behind a desk, but once they are on a horse they can easily complete the same lesson plan, explained Karen Davis, executive director of the organization.
The same principles are true for children learning coping lessons during mental health counseling sessions, Kerr said. There is even research that shows that the movement of the horse helps clients create new pathways in the brain and resets emotional regulation, she said.
Students start their lessons by spending 15 or 20 minutes grooming their horses before doing groundwork using natural horsemanship principles or saddling up. Life skills such as patience, non-verbal communication and confidence are woven throughout the experience. For example, during grooming time, instructors may talk to students about the importance of selfcare.
Young students start out with a volunteer handler leading the horse and a volunteer walking on each side of them to make sure they keep their balance. They graduate to working independently, and advanced students even try jumping or doing gymnastics on horseback.
Many of the riding center’s clients are young children with anxiety disorders, Kersh said. They begin to learn empathy because as they work with horses and learn to read their body language, they begin to think about what the horses are feeling, she said. For example, they might learn that if a horse shows a negative reaction to its girth being tightened, it may be feeling pain or discomfort.
Sometimes the entire family, including parents, gets involved in the therapy sessions. Moms gain confidence and assertiveness from working with horses alongside their children. They also get a chance to see their
children, who may struggle in other areas of life, experience success, Kerr said.
Ashley Phillips of Siloam Springs and her son Grayson have been coming to Courage Therapeutic Riding Center for about six weeks. Phillips explained Grayson, 8, has been diagnosed with autism and that the therapeutic day treatment school he attends in Siloam Springs recommended he try therapeutic riding.
“He loves it,” Phillips said. “He loves horses and he gets really excited about going.”
During his sessions, Grayson practices riding and giving the horse commands to stop, walk and trot, Ashley said. At the same time, the instructors play learning games with him. Not only does Grayson enjoy the time spent with the horses, he also loves working with the instructors, she said.
Phillips also comes to the center for her own separate sessions.
“I get one hour where I don’t have to be focused on anyone else but myself. As a mom with an 8-year-old with special needs and a rambunctious 4-year-old, I don’t get much time to myself. It’s nice to take a breather and work with horses,” Phillips said.
Phillips works with the horses, both on the ground and in the saddle. She especially enjoys meditating on horseback. Her instructor walks her horse around on a lead rope for 10 to 15 minutes as she closes her eyes and focuses on the sensation of the horse moving and the sounds around her.
The time Phillips spends with the horses on Mondays helps her prepare for the week ahead, she said.
“It’s a really awesome place and I’m really glad that I found it,” Phillips said. “There are some great women working out there and some really awesome horses.”
Davis, Kerr and Kersh are all three certified through Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. PATH International, which has been around since the late 1960s, sets the safety standards for equine therapy, as well as standards for equine welfare and facilities. The organization also established therapeutic riding techniques, Davis said. In addition, Kersh is certified by Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, a global organization more focused on mental health therapy.
Kerr and Kersh met in Intro to Equine Class at the University of Arkansas and did a project on therapeutic riding. After college they continued separately to get their certifications. Over time they stayed connected and eventually started the riding center. Davis, who was Kersh’s mentor in becoming PATH certified, came on board about six months ago.
“She’s been doing this for 17 years so being able to bring her on board was a huge blessing,” Kerr said.
Kersh and Kerr said they started the program to share the magic of horses with others.
“At some point everybody that finds any sort of peace with horses wants to share it with other people,” Kersh said.
When Kersh was a little girl she was passionate about riding lessons, then getting a horse of her own. Whenever she was stressed or upset, she always turned to her horses.
“There was just something about horses that was like magic to me, it was what did the trick,” she said.
When Kersh was in college she volunteered for a therapeutic riding center in Russellville, where she saw a little boy with autism say his first words on horseback. It was then that she realized the power that therapeutic riding has.
Each of the program’s six horses has a distinct personality and caters to a certain niche of students, Kersh said. Students can work in an indoor arena sheltered from distractions and inclement weather, or outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine in a round pen. A large outdoor arena is coming soon.
An army of volunteers supports the instructors. The organization has up to 25 active volunteers at a time, many of which are University of Arkansas students. Not all volunteers work hands-on at the farm, many help with other areas such as web design, fundraising or advertising, Kerr said. Volunteers that do work with horses and clients go through an extensive training process to prepare them for the task.
Cassaundra Reaves, of Springdale, said her six children who range in age from 13 to 2, have been coming to the riding center for the past year. This is the first time her children have had an opportunity to be around horses and she described the impact as “Awesome.”
When Ozark Guidance suggested her oldest daughter, who has always loved horses, try equine therapy, she requested that all her sons get involved as well. Even though they’ve grown up in town, they do phenomenally better in the more open and free environment on the farm, she said.
“(They’re) amazing,” Reaves said. “They work with them on everything from math, reading and spelling, to stop and go.”
Each child has their own focus and goals at the center Reaves said. Her daughter practices skills such as jumping, gaining confidence from learning to control a horse. Her son Evan, 9, has been challenged by tasks such as doing gymnastic poses on the horse, which help him learn to concentrate on what he is doing, she said. Meanwhile, her five-year-old plays games that help him bolster his academic skills.
Reaves’ oldest son, John Michael, 12, said working around animals makes him feel calm. His younger brother Evan, 9, dreams of having a horse of his own someday. It’s hard for him to decide whether he likes riding or just being around horses better.
More information about Courage Therapeutic Riding Center is available at www. couragetrc.org or on the organization’s Facebook page.