Horse Therapy - Hannah

Today is Saturday, and Julia and Michael went with the Young Men and Young Women to the beach. So the boys and I did some "horse therapy" with Jonah's principal, because who can't use a little therapy every now and then?

The principal, José, is also a psychologist who helps children overcome challenges. For example, if a child has physical disabilities in his legs, the child can ride the horse and because of the plasticity of the child's brain, the gait of the horse can stimulate and teach patterns, essentially training the child's brain. This can in turn strengthen the child's legs. (Granted, all this is my interpretation of our attempts at communication despite the language barrier.)

So to begin, José taught the kids that even though the horse does not speak English or Spanish, we can communicate with her and she can understand us. It's the same with people, he said. Even though you can't speak a lot of Spanish, he told them, your classmates and teacher at school understand a lot more than you think they can, because they read your body language and facial expressions.

He had the children put their faces just a few inches away from the horse's snout and breathe on her like they were fogging up a window. That way she could smell them and learn to recognize them.

Jonah breathing on the horse

José had the children touch the horse on various places, and crawl underneath her. He pointed out the horse's body language which showed she was paying attention and getting to know them. He told the kids that when someone approaches a horse, the horse wants to learn if it's a friend or an enemy. Herbivores, he said, tend to have eyes on the sides of their heads. But carnivores tend to have eyes on the front of their heads, so when horses first see us they might see us as a carnivorous predator and want to fight. But if we are calm, if we give the horse a chance to know us, we can teach it that we are a friend. Then it will follow us and ride with us.

The horse following Dylan, first with a rope, then without a rope.

The kids then got to ride the horses. They learned to do most of the balancing with their legs, while using their hands to guide the horse. They sat on their knees, trotted, rode backwards and side-saddle, and even stood up. Being with the horses had a very calming effect on everyone, and the kids really seemed to enjoy it.