The Healing Effect of Horses on Teens at Turn-About Ranch
By Jane St. Clair
Working with horses can have a healing effect on teens suffering from anxiety and other mental health disorders. Equine-assisted therapy encourages teens to focus on the well-being of another while realizing that their moods and anxieties affect other creatures.
Turn-About Ranch, a residential treatment center for teens in Escalante, Utah, features equine-assisted therapy (or hippotherapy) prominently in its treatment program. Teens who attend the ranch are dealing with such disorders as anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol addiction, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Attention Deficit Disorder.
The horses provide a way for teens to learn how to cope with their disorders while providing a calming effect on the teens. Riding a horse forces a person to think about not falling off instead of focusing on himself. Once riders realize that their thoughts and anxieties affect an animal’s mood and movement, riding becomes a form of biofeedback. The rigorous physical exercise of riding can also make the teenagers feel healthier and sleep harder, providing a renewed sense of well-being.
Treatment at the Ranch
Turn-About Ranch provides treatment to teenagers ages 13-17. From their very first week, residents have their own horse and learn how to care for a 1,200-pound animal. They study horse anatomy and safety, and learn how to ride in arenas and trails. Once they have mastered trail riding, teens spend their days on horseback, herding cattle like modern-day cowboys.
Hippotherapy is just one piece of the therapeutic program at Turn-About Ranch. A team of professional therapists works with the teens on a daily basis to help them address their unique issues one-on-one. An educational staff offers full academic courses accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, as well as vocational training in subjects like automobile repair, building trades and computer skills.
Turn-About Ranch is near some of the most beautiful scenery in the American West, including the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and Bryce Canyon. Residents at the ranch enjoy hikes and visits to these parks, as well as many historic sites relevant in Native American history.
Although the average stay at Turn-About Ranch is less than 1 year, the facility has a long record of successful outcomes for teenagers who need help through the sometimes difficult years of adolescence. Many of the students had tried other approaches to recover from their problems and found success only when they came to Turn-About Ranch.
When they return home to their families, the teens often tell their counselors how much they miss life on the ranch, and the special animals that played such major roles in their healing.