Hooves, Hands, & Heartbeats

For a small group of youth in YBGR’s Intensive Outpatient Addiction Counseling Program (IOP), Friday is Equine erapy day. Licensed Addiction Counselor Vanessa Bell and the kids join Equine Specialist Mackenzie Warren and the YBGR horses at the Bill & Anita Jones Equestrian Center. Together, Vanessa and Mackenzie help the youth develop tools and techniques to help them better manage their mental health issues to avoid relapsing after they discharge from YBGR. “We provide programs addressing the entire spectrum of addiction, from prevention services for youth who are feeling pressure from friends or are dealing with addiction at home, to those who have experimented with substances, the most common of which are alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana,” says Walter Shore, Director of the Chemical Dependency Services at YBGR.

When Emily came to the Ranch last summer, she didn’t feel like she had a problem. She thought her parents sent her to the Ranch as punishment, but after several weeks, she started to see that maybe they were right.

“I struggled with depression and anxiety. I didn’t fit in with my peers and didn’t think that life was ever going to get better. Getting high or drunk let me escape. I felt like I was making friends and fitting in, and I thought that is what you do in a small town when there isn’t anything else to do. I now know that my parents sent me here to save me,” says Emily.

Emily worked hard in the IOP program, and things really started to improve when she bonded with Archie, one of the Ranch horses. “It was so easy with Archie. It was like he knew what I was thinking and feeling even before I did. We just clicked,” explains Emily.

Vanessa and Mackenzie would set up scenarios with the horses to help the kids think about what life after discharge might be like. One of Emily’s favorites was to imagine the gate out of the arena was ‘relapse,’ and they would draw a line between the gateposts. Emily had to work with Archie to keep him from crossing that line and going back to his herd. She had to figure out what worked for him, and it allowed her to think of things that would help her not cross that line. Emily loves to paint, take pictures, and read, and those are all better ways for her to manage her emotions.

Working with Archie, Emily created a plan for herself with things that she could do when she was depressed or anxious. Yet the thought of discharging and leaving Archie was scary for Emily and for her parents.

“Emily had such a good relationship with this horse, and every time she called home, he was what she wanted to talk about. We could tell that she was worried about being home and not having Archie to rely on. We had the land for a horse and wanted to give Emily the best chance at success so we offered to buy Archie, but of course, he still has a lot of work to do at YBGR and other kids to help, so we couldn’t,” says Emily’s mother, Tana.

The family was able to work with Mackenzie and Vanessa and visit the Ranch before Emily discharged. ey took a ton of photos for her so she could remind herself why she wants to stay sober. Emily’s parents are also looking into getting her a horse of her own.

Emily’s current plans are to finish high school and go on to college to be an LAC, specializing in equine-assisted interventions. “I want to give other kids the help and the hope that YBGR gave me. I will be back, but as a staff member, not a patient!”