edward
02-20-2009, 12:13 AM
Taking the Reins: Training with horses helps students work out some of their own difficulties
By Sherry Youngquist
JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: February 18, 2009
YADKINVILLE -- Devin Atkinson leads a horse around hula hoops, over a swimming noodle, and finally, around a barrel. If he makes a mistake, he starts over. It makes him think about what he has done.
"You have to teach the horse, not just talk to them," said Atkinson, 12, who is in seventh grade at Yadkin Success Academy, a school for at-risk students. "You have to be nice to them and respect the horse. When you work as a team, it's better than working alone."
Atkinson and other middle-school students are a part of Yadkin Family YMCA's Support Our Students, an after-school program that focuses on at-risk youth. Each week, they meet at Hughes Equine Energy near Yadkinville.
Anna Matthews, who is in charge of the program, set up an equine-assisted learning program for the students in August with help from a state juvenile-justice grant for about $74,000. She has a background in equine therapy.
The students have either developmental or behavioral problems, and working in teams is difficult for them, said Amy McNeil of the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina in Winston-Salem. When they go to the center, they are assigned a task to do with the horse, but they must do it following specific directions and work as a team.
No one rides the horses. Instead, the students learn to take care of the horses and clean up after the them. They also use the horses during team-building exercises, such as taking the horses through an obstacle course.
Horses are prey animals, and they are very sensitive to everything that is going on, said Doreen Hughes, a psychiatrist who runs Hughes Equine Energy on her family's farm. They are social, herd animals and seek relationships, she said.
They also are large and powerful and can be quite intimidating. These factors, she said, result in learning opportunities for students and can help build self-confidence. "Then they don't have to act out," said Hughes. She is certified by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, a national organization that trains mental-health professionals and others who work with horses
The program has 50 students. Some come from Yadkinville Elementary School, which goes to eighth grade, and the rest from the Yadkin Success Academy.
Levi Underwood, 14, said he would usually go home and play video games alone after school. Going to the equestrian center is a chance for him to get outside and be with other students. "I used to hate horses. Now I like them," he said. Atkinson also usually plays video games but has discovered that working with other people feels better. "It's better than working alone. When you're alone you don't have anyone to help you," he said. "I did something more than beat a game. I did something valuable."
Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at syoungquist@wsjournal.com.
By Sherry Youngquist
JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: February 18, 2009
YADKINVILLE -- Devin Atkinson leads a horse around hula hoops, over a swimming noodle, and finally, around a barrel. If he makes a mistake, he starts over. It makes him think about what he has done.
"You have to teach the horse, not just talk to them," said Atkinson, 12, who is in seventh grade at Yadkin Success Academy, a school for at-risk students. "You have to be nice to them and respect the horse. When you work as a team, it's better than working alone."
Atkinson and other middle-school students are a part of Yadkin Family YMCA's Support Our Students, an after-school program that focuses on at-risk youth. Each week, they meet at Hughes Equine Energy near Yadkinville.
Anna Matthews, who is in charge of the program, set up an equine-assisted learning program for the students in August with help from a state juvenile-justice grant for about $74,000. She has a background in equine therapy.
The students have either developmental or behavioral problems, and working in teams is difficult for them, said Amy McNeil of the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina in Winston-Salem. When they go to the center, they are assigned a task to do with the horse, but they must do it following specific directions and work as a team.
No one rides the horses. Instead, the students learn to take care of the horses and clean up after the them. They also use the horses during team-building exercises, such as taking the horses through an obstacle course.
Horses are prey animals, and they are very sensitive to everything that is going on, said Doreen Hughes, a psychiatrist who runs Hughes Equine Energy on her family's farm. They are social, herd animals and seek relationships, she said.
They also are large and powerful and can be quite intimidating. These factors, she said, result in learning opportunities for students and can help build self-confidence. "Then they don't have to act out," said Hughes. She is certified by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association, a national organization that trains mental-health professionals and others who work with horses
The program has 50 students. Some come from Yadkinville Elementary School, which goes to eighth grade, and the rest from the Yadkin Success Academy.
Levi Underwood, 14, said he would usually go home and play video games alone after school. Going to the equestrian center is a chance for him to get outside and be with other students. "I used to hate horses. Now I like them," he said. Atkinson also usually plays video games but has discovered that working with other people feels better. "It's better than working alone. When you're alone you don't have anyone to help you," he said. "I did something more than beat a game. I did something valuable."
Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at syoungquist@wsjournal.com.