Monday, November 1, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Equine Activity of the Day
Boundary Challenge
Population
This exercise is well suited to individuals, small groups and families.
Objective
The objective is to enable clients to recognize and protect a boundary. Each group or family will work in several different boundaries with their horse or horses.
Area Needed
This exercise works very well in a large arena.
Set up and execution of the exercise
Place a minimum of nine different boundaries in the arena. Some of the boundaries need to be small only accommodating one horse, some need to be larger so that the boundary will accommodate more than one horse, some of the boundaries need to be well defined and some need to be small and undefined. A variety of objects can be used to define the boundaries, a rope placed on the floor of the arena, hay bales placed in a circle, cones placed in a pattern, tarp placed on the floor of the arena, poles with solid wall structures and other similar objects.
Options
Place some temptations at various places in the arena, such as grain, apples or hay.
Have some people who are designated as resources or negative influences located at various places in the arena.
Basic Rules
Once the horse is comfortable in the boundary then the group or family will step out of the boundary and walk around the horse in every widening circles. After the participants step out of the boundary they may not touch the horse.
Participants have the responsibility to keep themselves and their team member’s safe at all times.
Maintain a safe distance from the other groups and be aware of the others horses, especially when changing boundaries.
Possible Discussion Questions
Did you work as a team to respect and protect your boundaries?
How or when did the horse first start to violate the boundary?
When did you recognize that your boundary was violated?
How did you feel about your boundary being violated and what did you do about it?
What was the horse’s boundary and how did the horse communicate its boundary?
Which boundary did you choose and why?
Who did the horse remind you of?
Things for the team to observe
What type of boundaries did the family or group select?
Was there a pattern to the boundaries they selected such as always a large boundary or always a well defined boundary?
Who were the leaders?
Who were the followers?
Who tried to disengage?
Who was most involved in the discussion after the session?
What did the boundary remind you of?
Population
This exercise is well suited to individuals, small groups and families.
Objective
The objective is to enable clients to recognize and protect a boundary. Each group or family will work in several different boundaries with their horse or horses.
Area Needed
This exercise works very well in a large arena.
Set up and execution of the exercise
Place a minimum of nine different boundaries in the arena. Some of the boundaries need to be small only accommodating one horse, some need to be larger so that the boundary will accommodate more than one horse, some of the boundaries need to be well defined and some need to be small and undefined. A variety of objects can be used to define the boundaries, a rope placed on the floor of the arena, hay bales placed in a circle, cones placed in a pattern, tarp placed on the floor of the arena, poles with solid wall structures and other similar objects.
Options
Place some temptations at various places in the arena, such as grain, apples or hay.
Have some people who are designated as resources or negative influences located at various places in the arena.
Basic Rules
Once the horse is comfortable in the boundary then the group or family will step out of the boundary and walk around the horse in every widening circles. After the participants step out of the boundary they may not touch the horse.
Participants have the responsibility to keep themselves and their team member’s safe at all times.
Maintain a safe distance from the other groups and be aware of the others horses, especially when changing boundaries.
Possible Discussion Questions
Did you work as a team to respect and protect your boundaries?
How or when did the horse first start to violate the boundary?
When did you recognize that your boundary was violated?
How did you feel about your boundary being violated and what did you do about it?
What was the horse’s boundary and how did the horse communicate its boundary?
Which boundary did you choose and why?
Who did the horse remind you of?
Things for the team to observe
What type of boundaries did the family or group select?
Was there a pattern to the boundaries they selected such as always a large boundary or always a well defined boundary?
Who were the leaders?
Who were the followers?
Who tried to disengage?
Who was most involved in the discussion after the session?
What did the boundary remind you of?
Friday, June 25, 2010
Equine Activity of the Day
Problem Box
Population
This exercise is well suited to individuals, small groups and families.
Objective
The objective is to engage students in the process of assessing the reasons they are in treatment.
Area Needed
This exercise works well in an arena. A smaller area can be used if the activity involves only one student.
Set Up and Execution of the Exercise
The student is asked to build a box using cones of various sizes. The box needs to be large enough to hold both the student and the horse. Next, the student is asked to choose a horse from a previously selected group of horses. The horses are already haltered with a lead rope. Next, the student will take the horse into the box and stand in the box with the horse. The student is asked to talk to the horse about “how I got into this box of problems”. The student will be asked to describe their thoughts and feelings about being in “the box of problems”. The student will explain to the horse the consequences they now face as a result of being in their box of problems. After completing their discussion with the horse, the student will be given a bucket of grain and the horse will be allowed to eat some of the grain. The student then places the bucket of grain outside the box and works to get the horse to stay comfortably in the box without the grain. The student then leaves the box and shakes the bucket of grain while keeping the horse in the problem box. The student is then asked to discuss with the horse “what temptations are keeping me in my box of problems”. After the completion of the activity the student is asked to feed the remaining grain to the horse and work on building a relationship with the horse.
Basic Rules
Students must treat the horse with care and concern.
Students have the responsibility to keep themselves safe at all times.
Students need to maintain a safe distance from other groups.
Students need to respect confidentiality of any information that is discussed by others.
Possible Discussion Questions
Did your horse listen to you?
What did your horse do that made you feel the horse was or was not listening to you?
Things for the team to observe
The team should observe the interaction between the student and the horse. Does the student appear to be talking to the horse? What is the horse doing? Does the horse seem to be responding to the student discussion?
Population
This exercise is well suited to individuals, small groups and families.
Objective
The objective is to engage students in the process of assessing the reasons they are in treatment.
Area Needed
This exercise works well in an arena. A smaller area can be used if the activity involves only one student.
Set Up and Execution of the Exercise
The student is asked to build a box using cones of various sizes. The box needs to be large enough to hold both the student and the horse. Next, the student is asked to choose a horse from a previously selected group of horses. The horses are already haltered with a lead rope. Next, the student will take the horse into the box and stand in the box with the horse. The student is asked to talk to the horse about “how I got into this box of problems”. The student will be asked to describe their thoughts and feelings about being in “the box of problems”. The student will explain to the horse the consequences they now face as a result of being in their box of problems. After completing their discussion with the horse, the student will be given a bucket of grain and the horse will be allowed to eat some of the grain. The student then places the bucket of grain outside the box and works to get the horse to stay comfortably in the box without the grain. The student then leaves the box and shakes the bucket of grain while keeping the horse in the problem box. The student is then asked to discuss with the horse “what temptations are keeping me in my box of problems”. After the completion of the activity the student is asked to feed the remaining grain to the horse and work on building a relationship with the horse.
Basic Rules
Students must treat the horse with care and concern.
Students have the responsibility to keep themselves safe at all times.
Students need to maintain a safe distance from other groups.
Students need to respect confidentiality of any information that is discussed by others.
Possible Discussion Questions
Did your horse listen to you?
What did your horse do that made you feel the horse was or was not listening to you?
Things for the team to observe
The team should observe the interaction between the student and the horse. Does the student appear to be talking to the horse? What is the horse doing? Does the horse seem to be responding to the student discussion?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
New Sable Colt
One of our bay roan mares had a Sable colt this morning. I am in Virginia Beach with Drew Mills at senior nationals, so my wife & Baylee had to take care of him.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Qualities of a good Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Activity
Qualities of a good Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Activity
1) A good activity maximizes the power of the horse and keeps everyone engaged in the process
2) A good activity allows the equine team to increase the intensity of the activity or decrease the intensity of the activity based on the needs to the clients
3) A good activity is adaptable to a wide range of clients and can be used with individuals, families or groups
4) A good activity will create the opportunity for emotional growth
5) A good activity is simple and safe
6) A good activity uses a metaphor throughout the activity
7) A good activity is beneficial to both the client and the horse
1) A good activity maximizes the power of the horse and keeps everyone engaged in the process
2) A good activity allows the equine team to increase the intensity of the activity or decrease the intensity of the activity based on the needs to the clients
3) A good activity is adaptable to a wide range of clients and can be used with individuals, families or groups
4) A good activity will create the opportunity for emotional growth
5) A good activity is simple and safe
6) A good activity uses a metaphor throughout the activity
7) A good activity is beneficial to both the client and the horse
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Our Horse Herd
Our horse herd starts with two AQHA stallions, Sables Dashing Guy and ID Country Bartender. The broodmare band stays around 10 or 12 mares, is made up of mostly race breed mares that are proven winners and black type producers. The focus of our herd is to raise ranch, rodeo and using horses. We want only the top bloodlines with the best minds and conformation. We also use our horses for the Equine Therapy Program for CARE. All of our babies are handled a lot, they all have solid foundations so they can go any direction from trail or ranch horses, then into 4H or the rodeo arena.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Sables Dashing Guy
We have a super nice son of one of the best barrel racing sires of all-time Frenchmans Guy. We have a few colts for sale out of him, so if your looking for a barrel prospect let me know. We have a filly and a gelding that are two year old and they already have maybe 45 days riding. We also have a few yearling's, two of the yearling's dam's are triple A with over a 100 SI.
Another Work Day
Spent the day working on an EAGALA presentation, also had a little meeting with the owner of Falcon Ridge Ranch. Falcon Ridge is going to breed one of their best mares to all-time leading barrel sire Dash Ta Fame.
I will be glad when the mud is all gone!
I will be glad when the mud is all gone!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
My World
Yesterday I worked with a group of teenage girls, we did a equine activity called "My World". One student built her world with two grain sacks and a steer head. She told us the sacks represented her body which is divided because part of her still wants to be a little girl while the other part wants to make bad choices. She put the steer head on the other side of the arena, telling us that she lost her mind.
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