Spirit Horse Therapy and Kids
Spirit Horses’ specialized horsemanship integration program is uniquely beneficial for children of all ages. Primarily, they are utterly awed by the size of the horses. Then they are completely engulfed by the unconditional love horses exhibit toward their little charges. Watching them interact is a lovely and beautiful experience. In many ways, horses are doppelgangers of little children: loud noises frighten them, sudden movement is equally frightening, they want to feel safe, and they value trust relationships. To witness horses help children smile and relax is incredibly rewarding.
One 15-year-old girl in particular comes to mind. The minute she was released from Shodair Hospital (psychiatric care for children), her mother brought her to the ranch. She had bangs hanging over her eyes, hiding her face. She looked down at the ground, mostly. Her finger nails were chewed to the quick, the childish nail polish cracked and broken. I had her work with a particularly sensitive appaloosa gelding. It didn’t take long, but soon she was brushing the bangs aside and looking directly at the horse. And then, the smile burst out like sunshine in the morning! She left the ranch as a peaceful, contented, even happy girl. The power of the horse’s spirit and its healing capacity is without equal.
The small child here is autistic and has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. He found peace on the back of a little Rez pony.
Every summer for the past 15+ years, Wild Kids of Hawaii has arrived at the Wild Spirit Ranch with 15 to 30 middle school and high school-age children. These are truly kids who grew up on an island, strangers in a land that is wide-open, dry, and unpopulated. They love the freedom, as much a feeling as an understanding, they experience on the ranch. Each of them gets a horse experience. There are a few each year who have hidden anxieties that come bursting out during their process of creating a beneficial relationship with these huge healers. Often they suffer from insomnia. Horses put an end to that! Occasionally they have family problems unique to the child that become evident while interacting with Spirit Horses’ special healers. The problem nearly always resolves itself while the two beings are involved with each other. Also, some children will ask for additional time with the horses, recognizing how happy they feel when in contact with them. All in all, the Wild Kids love and benefit from experiencing the ranch and its horses.