Bovine Assisted Therapy Program
The newly instituted Bovine Program at Aspen Ranch might better be called the "Cowboy Program." This will be an advanced program that students can achieve after they have earned their saddle (see the Riding Program page.)
This program will allow the students to continue to develop their horsemanship skills as well as broaden their horizons as to other activities they might continue to pursue once they leave the Ranch and go home.
Some of the activities that are planned include those you might find at any rodeo:
- Team roping requires an amazing amount of coordination and cooperation between the individual riders and their horses, and also among the team members.
- Breakaway roping is an individual roping event where the rider and horse have to work together to rope a calf.
- Team penning involves a team of three riders on horseback working under a very short time deadline to separate three numbered cattle from a herd.
- Team sorting is similar to team penning but the goal is to move a certain number of cattle into a pen in a specific order, also under a time deadline.
As one might imagine, some of these activities can be incorporated as Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy (see EAP Web page). They don't fall strictly under the EGALA guidelines, but the intent and results will likely be similar. For example, the team activities described above can be used as team-building activities.
Aspen Ranch is in the process of acquiring a special group of cattle. The goal is to find some that have already been roped in competitions and are used to being handled. This will put less stress on the horses and the students. They will be Corriente cattle, a Mexican breed that is smaller, doesn't require as much feed and will tolerate the roping program for a longer period of time.
There is a possibility of students who reach a certain level participating in some off-campus activities such as clinics and seminars, and possibly even competitions and high-school rodeos.
Another component of the Cowboy Program will be to get the students involved in some of the less glamorous elements of cattle ranching. They will be able to help with vaccinations, worming and that sort of thing. Students will also likely be assigned chores in order to be eligible to work with the cattle.
Based on an Interview with Chad Lyman, Aspen Ranch Equine Instructor/Coordinator