Wild Teens, Wild Horses: Troubled Teens Get a Fresh Start by Taming Mustangs
By Meghan Vivo
It takes a lot of patience and hard work to train a mustang. Just ask the students at Aspen Ranch, a residential treatment center for teens in Loa, Utah, that helps adolescents learn emotional regulation and communication skills by training these powerful animals.
In addition to a riding herd and an equine hospice program for teens struggling with grief and loss issues, Aspen Ranch houses a herd of mustangs. Adopted from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the mustangs come to the ranch “as wild as the Texas wind,” says Brandon Burr, LCSW, the clinical director at Aspen Ranch. The horses have never been haltered, saddled or led, and present a real challenge for even the most experienced horse trainer.
Stubborn Teens, Stubborn Horses
Mustangs - free-roaming feral horses that are managed by the BLM - have been used therapeutically with prisoners in correctional facilities to teach them patience and empathy. Training these young, wild horses also has tremendous therapeutic value for defiant, aggressive and rebellious teens. Whereas teens tend to become withdrawn and non-communicative in traditional talk therapy, equine therapy encourages teens to let down their guard and open up.
“The mustang program pairs hard-headed teens with hard-headed horses,” says Kevin Knutson, LPC, NCC, ECP-B, the executive director at Aspen Ranch. “The students train the mustangs to be ridden, and the mustangs teach the teens self-discipline, patience and the benefits of approaching others with a softer, more gentle approach.”
“Aggressive, defiant teens have learned that they can get anything they want using the skills they have, which are force, intimidation and domination,” adds Burr. “Mustangs don’t respond well to hostility, forcing teens to become aware of how they come across and use less threatening methods of dealing with the horse.”
Taking a New Approach
Horses are prey animals, which means they see everything as a threat, especially people. Mustangs have even more defense mechanisms by nature of living in the wild. Those defense mechanisms and fears have to be broken down before anyone is able to ride them.
Teens participating in the mustang program at Aspen Ranch quickly realize that their usual way of dealing with challenges won’t work. The more aggressive and frustrated the teen gets, the more skittish the horse becomes. Horses don’t respond to the negative forms of communication like bullying or manipulation that defiant teens often use. Working together and respecting the horse yields better results than fighting the horse.
The only way to successfully approach and train a mustang is through controlled body language, clear communication and adept problem-solving. Teens have to calm down and think about how to get the horse to behave the way they want. Trust can only be established by speaking softly, being gentle and gradually getting closer to the animal - concepts that are foreign to many troubled teens.
An Ideal Match
Defiant teens relate particularly well to mustangs - the “troubled teen” of horses. “Even the most aggressive teen will feel intimidated by a 1,000-pound horse,” says Burr. “Being around such a powerful animal levels the playing field.”
Often, underneath a mustang’s fear and aggression is a horse with a great temperament and the potential to be a wonderful companion. With enough time, patience and motivation, the mustangs can join the main herd to be used as a domesticated horse. Once a mustang calms down, it can be an excellent riding horse.
In many ways, the same is true of a rebellious teen. Underneath the defiance is fear, which can be overcome to allow a smart, thoughtful teen to shine through. With the help of the mustangs, teens who were once out of control can learn to show affection, cultivate trusting relationships and communicate in positive ways.
Although teens may see the mustang as a “dumb animal” at first, over time they form a relationship with the horse, which makes them more motivated to re-evaluate their behaviors. The experience of giving affection to horses that others have given up on helps teens realize their own potential. When they feel confident in themselves and the horse, the seeds of a trusting, honest relationship are sewn.
Training a mustang can be a confidence-boosting experience. The students at Aspen Ranch take immense pride in the horse they helped to train as well as their own accomplishments. Rather than getting into fights or bullying other kids, teens earn the respect of other teens by gaining the trust of a wild horse.
For more information about Aspen Ranch and the benefits of equine therapy, please call (877) 231-0734 or visit www.aspenranch.com.