ALA Horsemanship Boarding School Program - Part 2

ala_horsemanship_guidedFinally, much of the benefit of the horse lies in their ability to draw out the empathy and care of the students. Even struggling girls or trouble boys who struggle with human relationships generally develop a deep and meaningful relationship with the horse(s) they are working with. This relationship, like any other, must be maintained on a foundation of respect, trust, and patience, giving the student practice for forming and maintaining healthy relationships with people.

Horses often provide the best therapy for students, because they do not suffer from human fallibilities that a regular therapist must face. Horses are always honest, thus forcing students to become accountable for their actions. Students who refuse to admit responsibility of their problems will encounter many difficulties in working with a horse, suffering consequences naturally, not artificially. On the other hand, once students begin to admit their mistakes and search for ways to fix them, their equine partner naturally rewards them. By working with horses, students learn to be accountable for their actions and feelings and the way these affect others.

Christian Boarding Schools Specializing in Building Character through Positive Activities

Horses can also help students build important relationship skills. For most students, riding the horse is a huge issue of trust; they must be willing to trust the horse before they can be successful. This can bring up issues of trust that students are facing in their lives. Students who have been unwilling or unable to form positive, healthy relationships in their lives sometimes find their equine partner to be the first successful relationship they have ever had. This relationship can form a model for other relationships, teaching the student skills such as empathy and patience. As in a human relationship, successful riding and horse training require positive, healthy communication. Horses respond best to assertive body language and decisive cues, not the mixed signals that students often give. Eventually students learn that communication with the horse is two-sided, just as with people, and requires them to pay attention to what their equine partner is saying.

boys_cliffIn addition, by working around horses, students build a great amount of confidence in themselves as they learn how to work through fear, work towards goals, and strive for success. Helping students be successful is a very large goal of our program. Learning how to be successful with horses gives students the confidence and skills they need to work towards goals in other areas of their lives. We have had a number of students whose school career was jump-started by their enthusiasm for horses. Many of our students have also commented that riding horses is the best high they have ever had since using drugs. Experiencing the natural high of riding and achieving can lead students to look for this natural high in other areas of their life, leading them away from drugs and other negative influences.

Academic study: Kim Quarnberg will be presenting Ensminger's Equine Science curriculum. This book work will encompass all facets of horsemanship including history of the horse, breeds, identification and conformation, concepts in genetics and reproduction, nutrition, feeding, health, horse management, behavior and even business management and career training/opportunities.

Horsemanship skills: Using the Equine Activities the students can build and enhance their Positive Peer Culture, use groups activities to work on many different issues such as developing the ability to recognize, protect and setting boundaries, working together in a team, resolving conflict and problem solving, all using different exercises with ground work horse skills.

boys_cliffService Work: The ALA students will also have hands on service work. This will allow the students to use their academic study to work in tandem with their off site community service work. It will help to reinforce what they will be learning here at the academy to practical application in the field. Grooming, feeding, cleaning stalls, saddling, bridling, etc., will be just some of the examples. They will also be able to observe routine medical care and specialized horse care and grooming.

Your son or daughter's completion of all three components will entitle them to one full academic credit towards their high school graduation.
This Horsemanship Program will be a great addition for the ALA Girls Boarding School and the Boys Boarding School.

 

Return to ALA Horsemanship Boarding School Program - Part 1
 



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