Zia_Absar

For the Love of Horses

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by Zia Absar

Zia Absar

For the Love of Horses

written, designed, and photographed by: Zia Absar

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Dedication I dedicate this book to DreamPower and all the people who have been affected by therapeutic horsemanship.

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank DreamPower for letting me document them. Martha, Sandra, and Katie for letting me interview them. I would also like to thank my parents for driving me all the way to Gilroy to get this project done. And most of all, I would like to thank Martha McNiel for founding DreamPower and making many people’s lives better.

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Table of Contents Foreword

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Introduction

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Chapter 1: History of Therapeutic Horsemanship

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Chapter 2: Who is Affected with Therapeutic Horsemanship?

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Chapter 3: Types of Therapeutic Horsemanship

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Chapter 4: How is Therapeutic Hosemanship Affect People?

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Conclusion

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Foreword Everyone bonds with an animal at one point in their life. Your pet dog, your neighbor’s cat, or a fish in a pond. My first bond with an animal was a horse. I was five years old when my dad bought a ranch and we started horseback riding lessons. Every other Saturday we would go to the ranch and have a horseback riding lesson. I would get really excited and could not wait to go to the ranch the next Friday.

In our lesson, my sisters and I would groom, tack up, and ride our horse. We would brush our horse, Coco, so he would be pretty and clean. Sometimes we would even make some braids in his mane and tale. Then we would tack up Coco, by putting on his saddle and getting him ready to be ridden. After all the grooming and the tacking up, my favorite part would come, the riding.

I remember feeling so calm and in control when I rode Coco. Trotting was my favourite. I loved the wind in my hair and reins in my hands, feeling the movements of the horse. Even watching my sisters ride was fun.

But after a few years my sisters and I stopped our horseback riding lessons because of school and our busy schedules. I still occasionally go to our ranch and miss our riding sessions. All the fun times we had painting or bathing Coco.

Just recently I learned about therapeutic horsemanship and Dream Power. Right away, it intrigued me because I have experienced therapeutic horsemanship and I wanted to learn more about it. I wanted to learn about who this sort of therapy affected and how it affected them.

The first time I heard about Dream Power was at our ranch, where Dream Power is located. I went on their website and saw how they have affected people and how they can affect many others. I interviewed Martha McNiel, the founder of Dream Power, and heard some uplifting stories about clients and their lives.

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I have created this a book so I can spread awareness of this effective and uncommon therapy that can be used by many others. I wrote about the history therapeutic horsemanship, who it affects and how it affects them. I learned about many veterans and children with disabilities who take part in therapeutic horsemanship. All of these stories and memories are very empowering and influential and show how therapeutic horsemanship can benefit people who do not know about it.

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“There is something about the outside of a horse ... that is good for the inside of a man” -­Winston Churchill

Therapeutic Horsemanship Lesson 10

Introduction Your hair is flying in the wind, as your horse is galloping. You hear his hooves hit the road. Feeling the reins in your hands. Understanding the horse’s movements. Controlling your life for that one moment.

“There is something about the outside of a horse ... that is good for the inside of a man” (Winston Churchill). For a man struggling with his emotions, the company of a horse can become more than just a pet; the horse can become his motivation. Bonding with this horse can be a sanctuary all to your own. The horse can help with your physical, psychological, and emotional problems. It will make you realize there is a bigger world out there that has bigger problems than yours.

Martha McNiel, the founder of DreamPower Horsemanship, a therapeutic horsemanship program says, “Therapeutic horsemanship covers a very wide field. Another word they use for therapeutic horsemanship is equine assisted activities and therapies. Equine is the horse, or a donkey, mule or zebra. The activities can include horseback riding, and vaulting (gymnastics on horseback), driving, working on the round. These are different activities that you can do that could be therapeutic. The therapies are speech, physical, psychotherapy or occupational therapy.

Activities are for people with special needs, could be physical, emotional, mental, any kind of special needs. The goal is to learn skills, like riding (what DreamPower does) or to meet the therapeutic goals. Since DreamPower does equine facilitated psychotherapy, the goals are psychotherapy goals. The goal might be to have someone overcome depression, but they are doing it with the horses.”

Therapeutic horsemanship uses horseback riding, groundwork, vaulting, and bonding with the horse as therapy. This uncommon form of therapy is exceptionally effective in physical and psychological therapy and should be used by many more people who do not know about it.

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Martha McNiel, founder of Dream Power 12

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Chapter 1 History of Therapeutic Horsemanship Therapeutic horsemanship has been around since ancient Greece, around 600 BC. The first study of horsemanship as a therapy was in 1875. Cassaign, a French physician, used horseback riding for the treatment of many different conditions. He concluded therapeutic horsemanship is a helpful treatment for brain disorders by improving posture, balance, and joint movement. In addition, therapeutic horsemanship also showed psychological improvements.

In 1948, therapeutic horsemanship was brought to Scandinavia through Lis Hartel, an accomplished horsewoman. She was hit by the disease poliomyelitis, which paralyzed her legs. After going through surgery and physiotherapy, she started to walk with the help of crutches, but she was still not able to ride a horse without the help of others. This motivated her to begin daily supervised riding sessions to improve her muscle strength and coordination, so one day, she would be able to ride independently again. In 1952, she overcame her challenge and won the silver medal in the Olympic Games for horseback riding. Then, she collaborated with Ulla Harpoth, a physical therapist, to use horses as therapy.

The Community Association of Riding of the Disabled brought therapeutic horsemanship to the United States and Canada in 1960. This was “...a form of recreation and as a means of motivation for education, as well as for its therapeutic benefits. In 1969 the Cheff Center for the Handicapped was established in Michigan, and remains the oldest center specifically for people with disabilities in the United States. The North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) was founded in 1969 to serve as an advisory body to the various riding for the disabled groups across the United States and its neighboring countries. NARHA provides safety guidelines and training, certifies therapeutic riding instructors, accredits therapeutic riding centers according to its own high standards, disseminates information, and offers low-cost insurance to its member organizations” (History of Therapeutic Riding).

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Therapeutic Horsemanship Lesson 15

Therapeutic Horsemanship Lesson 16

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Chapter 2 Who is Affected by Therapeutic Horsemanship?

Therapeutic horsemanship programs can be effective for war-veterans, children with disabilities, and teenagers with emotional or behavioral issues. When veterans come home from the war, studies show that one in five of them has symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, traumatic brain injury or a combination of the three. Working with horses helps veterans strengthen their bodies and relax their minds. It also strengthens the soldiers’ muscles and helps them regain balance and confidence.

Mac Tamhais is a veteran diagnosed with PTSD and is participating in therapeutic horsemanship.

“MacTamhais spent an hour with Mel, a gentle, chestnut-colored gelding. ‘What I basically do is groom the horse, clean its hooves and walk with him,’ MacTamhais said as he slowly ran his hands along Mel’s spine. Mel is a good listener. ‘There’s no negative feedback. There’s nobody saying you need to do this and this and this,’ MacTamhais said. ‘I’m just able to talk and vent and get it out to where it’s not on my mind anymore.’ MacTamhais, a locksmith from Hurst, has done more traditional types of therapy. But “talking with the horse is what’s helped me the best,” said Lyons.

Children with disabilities also benefit a lot from therapeutic horsemanship. Martha McNiel, the founder of DreamPower Horsemanship, shared an empowering story about a little girl benefiting from therapeutic horsemanship. “This was a girl who was 9 when we met her. Her father is in prison for life, for sexually abusing her and her sister, and probably some other kids. She was in a residential program for children because she had very severe emotional problems. She had been molesting other children in foster homes because of what had been done to her. When we met her she was a very disturbed little girl on a lot of medications and did not have a good looking future at all. So, her Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) brought her to DreamPower because she liked horses and they were looking for something that she could do, that she liked. She liked to ride.

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When she came to us, she was also very smart. She was running away from school about once a week.

Her friends, and these guys are like eight or nine or ten years old, they would go to the school office and go through the “Lost and Found,” pretending to look for a jacket. And, what they were really doing was stealing the money out of the pockets in the jackets. They would steal the money, go to store nearby, buy candy, sit on the field across the street from the school, and watch the sheriffs come look for them. They were doing this all the time, so she was always getting in trouble.

We have a rule, that to get to ride, you cannot: hurt yourself on purpose, hurt anybody else, or hurt an animal. So, for this little girl, her name was Katie, we had to add another rule. And, this rule was that you could not run away. If you ran away before your session, you could not ride the horse, you could still come and do some groundwork. But, you could not ride the horse. And this little girl loved to ride.

Once we made that rule, she was so motivated to ride the horse, that she completely stopped running away. She was with us for three years and then she went to an adoptive home. She actually got adopted and this year she is a senior in high school and is graduating with straight As. She got adopted by a wonderful family, and she is off all her psychiatric medication. I know that DreamPower had a lot to do with that, because the reason she stayed at Chamberlain Children’s Center and did so well was because she liked horseback riding.

She was really motivated to ride, and that actually changed her behavior, her grades improved, everything improved because of her affiliation with us. She’s going to college, she’s still doing great.”

Troubled teens can also benefit from therapeutic horsemanship. Teenagers that struggle with mid-level to severe emotional and behavioral issues come for equine therapy. Their struggles range from drug addiction to an unstable home life. These teenagers are frequently unresponsive to counselors, but actually open up and talk to the therapy horses. Studies have shown, spending 10 to 15 minutes with a loving animal “increases the amount of endorphins that are released into the body and decreases the levels of a chemical called cortisol which is a hormone that controls stress and arousal” (Animal Assisted Therapy).

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Therapeutic Horsemanship Lesson 20

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Therapeutic Horsemanship Arena

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Chapter 3 Types of Therapeutic Horsemanship

There are many types of therapeutic horsemanship. The first is therapeutic riding, when you ride the horse. In a session of therapeutic riding, a client starts by sitting properly on the saddle, with the right posture.

One of the trainers helps guide the horse, while the instructor starts stretching with the client.

After all the stretches are done, the client takes the reins and guides the horse. The instructor has 4 different colored rings and 4 different colored cones. The client has to steer the horse in the right direction to pair up the right colored ring with the right colored cone.

There is groundwork therapeutic horsemanship. The groundwork is the unmounted work such as grooming and tacking. Katie, a volunteer at Dream Power, says, “You have to learn the basics. How to brush a horse, how to put a halter on it and how to walk it and back it up on the ground before they get on it” (Katie). After you learn all of this, you begin riding.

Another form of therapeutic horsemanship is vaulting. Vaulting is gymnastics on horseback. The rider does flips and jumps while on top of the horse. This can also be done on a vaulting barrel instead of a horse.

Bonding with horses is also another part of therapy. Just riding a horse makes you bond with the horse because of all the trust you put into it. If the horse helps you overcome a disability or a disease, the horse becomes your friend and your companion. The patients are able to bond with the horse and socialize with others who have the same illness (Equine Assisted Therapy).

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Hitching Post 24

Vaulting Barrel

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Chapter 4 How Does Therapeutic Horsemanship Affect People?

People benefit from therapeutic horsemanship in many different ways. They become a whole new person because of the psychological, physical, emotional, and mental benefits of therapeutic horsemanship.

There are many psychological benefits of therapeutic horsemanship. First, it brings a sense of well-being to the client because of the freedom from hospitals, therapy rooms, and doctors’ offices. The therapy also increases interest in the outside world because the client feels less confined from their disability. The client is also more daring because he or she learned to master their fears through riding. He or she also discovers the control they have over their life. The horse also teaches patience, self-discipline, and emotional control. The client discovers the control they have over their life. (Equine Assisted Activities).

The positive physical benefits of riding a horse include increased muscle strength, improved balance and coordination, and improved respiration. This is achieved from all the stretching they do while riding the horse.

The patient improves his or her balance and coordination through balancing on top of the horse and steering the horse. (Equine Assisted Activities).

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Sandra, a client’s mom at DreamPower says, “...she [her daughter] is a little more outgoing, she has more control over the horse, because they are teaching her to steer. When she was really little, she liked to open and close doors, because she had control over opening and closing the doors. Here with the horse, she is able to have more control over her environment and everything. And she’s getting some good exercise. Alex, the teacher, and the side-walkers are all interacting with her. They are able to work around her disability and let her get some good exercise. Finally, she’s actually starting to steer, and you see little things of how she is growing and improving” (Bohlin).

‘Sun Tui, who developed the horse therapy for people with psychological problems, said: “It recognizes in them the real truth of who they really are.”’ The horse teaches patience, self-discipline, and emotional control. (Equine Therapy for Ex-service People).

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“It recognizes in them the real truth of who they really are.” -­ Sun Tui

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Conclusion Martha, the founder of DreamPower, tells the story of how she came about to found DreamPower, “The real reason that it started was 9/11. When 9/11 happened, I was working in San Francisco, I had already spent 3 years searching the field. And I had spent three years, you know, researching on how to get this going. I had decided I didn’t have enough money, I didn’t have enough time, I couldn’t do it. And 9/11 happened, I always drove back and forth across the Golden Gate Bridge every day, and at that time the Golden Gate Bridge was lined with tanks and with guys with machine guns. Because they all thought the Golden Gate Bridge was going to be hit next.

“Every day when I drove through the bridge I thought the bridge was going to blow up, like everybody else did, too. I imagined myself going and standing in front of God. And God was going to say, ‘Did you not understand why I put you on this earth?’ I would say, ’Oh no, God, I understand completely. You put me on this earth because you wanted me to have a therapeutic riding program.’ Then God would say, ‘Why did you not get around to doing that?’ I would say, ‘Because I didn’t have enough time, I didn’t have enough money.’ That would be a very poor answer, and I decided that I was not getting any younger, in fact I was getting older. It was either find a way to do it, make it happen, or just shut up and quit talking about it. So that spring, in April of 2002 I moved down to San Martin to start DreamPower” (McNiel).

Martha started DreamPower 10 years ago and has helped many people defeat their different challenges in life. This uncommon therapy helps a wide range of people, from veterans to teenagers. Many people who do not know of therapeutic horsemanship can benefit from it. For example, people addicted to drugs and alcohol can be greatly affected by bonding with a horse. A horse will never judge you because of your mistakes. This may seem weird, but having someone who will listen to your story without judging or talking back is hard to find.

“Horses are naturally intuitive and can tell when someone is feeling stressed out or repressing feelings,” Knox, an experienced trainer, said. “They’re a one-time lie detector test,” she said. “And that’s one of the best ways to utilize the horses” (Tarrant). Bonding with a horse for therapy seems strange, but it is remarkably effective in showing improvements and should be used by many more people.

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Bibliography “Animal Assisted Therapy for Troubled Teens.” Equine Therapy. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.equine-therapy-programs.com/troubledteens.html>.

Bohlin, Sandra. personal interview. 19 February 2012.

“Equine Assisted Activities.” Stable Life Home Page. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.stablelifeinc.org/equinetherapy.html>.

“Equine Therapy for Ex-service People.” West Sussex Gazette (8 Feb. 2012). - Equestrian. 8 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk/news/equestrian/equine_therapy_for_ex_service_people_1_3500242>.

“History of Therapeutic Riding.” Stable Life Home Page. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.stablelifeinc.org/historyEAT.html>.

Katie. personal interview. 15 March 2012.

Lyons, Meghan. “The benefits of therapeutic horseback riding.” LILIPOH Winter 2012: 70+. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

McNiel, Martha. personal interview. 4 February 2012.

Tarrant, David. “Veterans Bond with Horses in Therapy Program.” Lubbock Online. 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. <http://lubbockonline.com/texas/2012-02-06/veterans-bond-horses-therapy-program>.

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