Now that is a funny thought, to be owned by the therapist! LOL  I figure I need them to do their work, but they need my horses and talent to use them.  I just need to get them to see how neat it is. 

Approaching the Therapeutic Riding centers about using their program for therapy might be best handled by showing them some information first.  I know the Strides magazine of NARHA has articles about Equine assisted therapy and mental health.  Their program is different in some ways, or so I seem to think it is.

Some centers are not interested in expanding due to the work load they already have and don’t understand that this doesn’t involve so many volunteers, infact, it would not involve any.

Don’t give up seeking a way to get horses in your treatment.  I think that NARHA has some scared of the work.

After attending the “untraining” in Las Vegas NM, I came home and changed the way I did some of the TR lessons and regular lessons; More of setting them up to figure things out.  I felt it really helped the kids learn and retain better.

If you have read any of the Love & Logic books, then you can see how horses can help kids with critical thinking skills.  It is not entirely “mental health”, but then again, it might keep them in the right track to avoid not knowing how to make sound choices in life out of the arena.

Jeanne Stucker

www.hobbyacres.homestead.com

www.srci.homestead.com