Healing through horses From the cover
What you need to know
1 Serenity Equine Services • Opened: 2020 • Horses: 10 • Clients: More than 700 kids served over the last five years • www.serenityequineservices.com 2 Sunny Creek Ranch • Opened: 2017 • Horses: 3 • Clients: Hundreds of clients served since opening • www.sunnycreekranch.com 3 Henry’s Home Horse & Human Sanctuary • Opened: 2014 • Horses: 27 • Clients : Around 500 veterans per year served • www.henryshomesanctuary.org 4 Unbridled Hope • Opened: February • Horses: 5 • Clients: Over 50 clients served since opening • https://unbridledhopetx.org 5 Cherokee Outlaw Ranch • Opened: 2022 • Horses: 27 • Clients: Around 50-60 children and 20 adults served since opening • www.cherokeeoutlawranch.org Entities that offer equine- assisted services in the Conroe, Montgomery area
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Equine-assisted services fall into three categories—therapy, learning and horsemanship, according to the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. PATH International is an organization focused on advancing the equine-assisted services industry, Communications and Marketing Coordinator Sara Conant said. “Anything that involves partnering with an equine to assist humans and giving a therapeutic benefit falls under equine-assisted services,” Conant said. Providers can vary in their services and client bases. Serenity Equine Services works only with youth, while a majority of the clients at Henry’s Home Horse & Human Sanctuary are veterans. Henry’s Home Horse & Human Sanctuary—like Sunny Creek Ranch and Unbridled Hope—is also all groundwork, meaning no clients ride the horses. “You move [the horses] through your own energy,” said Darlene Gagnon, interim CEO of Henry’s Home Horse & Human Sanctuary. “You don’t put a harness on a horse and pull them. … It really is emotional regulation in order to engage with the horse where they’re at to get them to do what you need them to do.” At Sunny Creek Ranch, equine therapy includes checking in with the horses, using props and trying to complete a task representative of issues such as boundaries within themselves and with others. Afterward, clients will talk through the exercise with a mental health professional. Meanwhile, programs at Henry’s Home Horse & Human Sanctuary include Self Care Saturday, a six-week introductory program; men’s and women’s groups; and Gallant Strides, a program for clients with traumatic brain injuries or other physical limitations.
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Equine-assisted services This refers to multiple services in which horses benefit people.
Therapy Counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychotherapy, speech-language pathology Learning
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of 58 treatment- seeking veterans with PTSD showed clinically significant change following an 8-session equine-assisted group therapy for PTSD, per a 2021 study by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Equine-assisted learning in education, organizations or personal development Horsemanship
Adaptive equestrian sports, adaptive riding or therapeutic riding, driving, interactive vaulting
NOTE: THIS MAP IS NOT COMPREHENSIVE. SOURCES: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY, LOCAL NONPROFITS AND BUSINESSES, PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THERAPEUTIC HORSEMANSHIP INTERNATIONAL/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
The impact
they’ve lived, what they’re experiencing,” Neely said. “But in here, they can say what they want because they know everyone here understands. ... And for many, this is their only opportunity to get out and mingle.” Improvement in children’s self-esteem, deci- sion-making skills and academic performance are benefits Kendall Serrato, co-founder of Serenity Equine Services, said she has seen in clients. “It’s so incredible the transformation that you can see in such a short period of time,” Serrato said.
“Some of the commentary that I’ve heard from our veterans is, ‘I’ll be here till the day I die,’” Gag- non said. “I’ve heard women veterans tell me, ‘You gave me my life back.’ I’ve heard their children tell me, ‘You gave me my mom back.’” Marla Neely, a licensed professional counselor at Sunny Creek Ranch, said she believes the social aspect of the therapy is also beneficial. “Many of [the veterans] have a tendency to isolate. … When they go out there, the typical pop- ulation has no concept of what they’re living, what
Local officials said they believe that emotional regulation is among the biggest benefits of equine-assisted services. “If you’re around a horse, even within 5 feet of them, you’re regulating with them,” said Shannon Novak, founder and director of Sunny Creek Ranch. “Your heartbeat is going to slow down whether you know it or not. So there’s a lot of magic in just being around them.” Other benefits include building confidence, low- ering anxiety and promoting focus, officials said.
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