Over 750 participants attended the conference, and many dropped by the Horse Sense table to learn about the benefits of Parelli Natural Horsemanship for therapeutic horsemanship programs. As one of the first presentations of the conference, Shannon spoke on "The Role of the Horse in EFP/EFL" to a standing-room only audience of over 250, discussing the importance of assessing horses for this special kind of work. She introduced both Parelli's Horsenalities™ and the 7 Games™ as key ways to assess suitability of horses for any therapeutic horsemanship program. Many conference attendees expressed delight to see Parelli represented at the PATH conference, and were excited to see i nformation specific to their needs & to meet professionals fluent in therapeutic horsemanship.

Richard and I are so excited to attend the PATH International Conference in Kentucky next week!  You can download the itinerary /schedule for the Conference here.

I am also part of the Pre-Conference workshop on "How to Build Sustainable and Successful EFP/EFL Practices" (held on Tuesday, Nov 8th) as well as a presentation "The Role of the Horse in EFP/EFL Work" (held on Thursday, Nov 10). 

We hope we get a chance to connect with you!

In that vein, Brenda and I continue to make progress on the new Horse Sense book, which is all about integrating natural horsemanship concepts into the training of Equine Specialists & the care and support of therapeutic horses. The book includes results from a nationwide survey and dozens of interviews with top Equine-Assisted professionals, as well as my own musings, thoughts and ideas about our field, our profession, and the horses we love. There’s so much material, in fact, that we found our original timeline far too ambitious; we’ll spend the winter finishing the book for publication in 2012.

So far, one big highlight of the whole process was interviewing Linda Parelli for the book back in February. We already knew about her work as a teacher and master translator in the Parelli program; our discussion on how horses have motivated Linda to change and grow as a person was fascinating. She has hundreds of examples of how she’s seen horses change people through the Parelli curriculum. It was amazing to see how interconnected Parelli Natural Horsemanship really is to the Equine-Assisted world.

It was also a great honor to be asked by Pat & Linda to assist in writing the section “Exploring The Horses’ Role in the Counseling Dynamic” for Kay Trotter's upcoming book, Harnessing the Power of Equine Assisted Counseling: Adding Animal Assisted Therapy to Your Practice. We submitted our work to Kay back in March, and haven't heard any more about it since then. It looks like a wonderful book, and I'm excited to see the finished product. Well done, Kay!

Richard and I also continued to refine our Parelli-based Natural Horsemanship curriculum for the field this year, teaching workshops in late 2010 & in 2011, at the Horse Sense farm, at Prescott College in Arizona, and in England, showing practitioners how to better understand horse body language, psychology, and behavior while demonstrating how specific aspects of Parelli Natural Horsemanship can be utilized in Equine-Assisted work.

We also held our first annual Parelli & EA Practices symposium in April at the Horse Sense farm. We then spent the summer teaching clinics for both Equine-Assisted professionals (to introduce them to Parelli) and for Parelli folks learning about Equine-Assisted practice. We’ve found more and more people getting excited at the cross-over opportunities!

And we spread the word about Equine-Assisted work through various Parelli forums over the past 12 months as well. We participated in the Parelli Rendezvous in Jacksonville, Fl in October 2010, and had a feature article appear in the May issue of the Parelli Savvy Times. July found us at the Conyers, GA Parelli Jamboree, followed by the big Parelli Summit in September. In each case we manned an information booth and had dozens of enthusiastic conversations with Parelli students about Equine Assisted Practices.

Meanwhile, Richard is growing an active teaching schedule as a Parelli 2-star Junior Instructor, with regular clinics in Tennessee and at the Horse Sense farm in Western North Carolina. It’s exciting to see his practice grow!

On Saturday August 7th, Horse Sense hosted its first ever yoga event! Welcoming Yoga turned out to be a beautiful morning on the farm!  We practiced leaving technology behind for a few hours and really allowed ourselves to fully embrace the amazing natural world. With plenty of acreage to explore and abundant wildlife (not to mention horses), we managed to fit in a full Tibetan Heart Yoga and a walk in the labyrinth.

Josie and Kendall are already considering how to make the next yoga experiential on the farm even more engaging and relaxing. Certainly more time with horses is on the agenda for future events. We practiced Mountain Pose and Virabhadra'sana in the mare pasture and had some hands-on time with the herd of five, but with all the lessons horses have to teach us we could have spent the whole day (or a lifetime) just connecting with them. Check back for future on when we will do this again!

If you are interested in the next Welcoming Yoga, click here to email us & we'll connect with you as soon as it's scheduled!

Horse Sense & PATH have been crossing "paths" a lot lately, as Horse Sense has been in the process of expanding our program offerings (therapeutic riding is in our future before the end of 2011)! A few months ago I was invited to be a part of a committee for EFP at PATH, and have really enjoyed connecting with and sharing ideas with this amazing group of folks. Next I was asked to contribute a business section to the new Starting your own EFP practice book--which I happily did--and I'll be presenting this year at the PATH Int conference in Kentucky, both as part of the pre-conference and the regular conference! I really look forward to making many new friends and reconnecting with many I haven't seen in years. Hopefully you'll be among them! --Shannon

(Below is the formal press release announcement of the name change posted on www.horsechannel.com)

The organization formerly known as NARHA has taken on a new moniker to better describe its mission

The professional organization that promotes equine-assisted activities and therapies to improve the lives of people with disabilities has a new name: the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH International.) Formerly NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped Association), PATH International better expresses the scope of the 42-year-old organization whose 6,300 therapy horses and 3,500 instructors serve 42,000 children and adults with physical, mental and psychological challenges at 800+ member centers around the world.

The PATH International board and members chose the term therapeutic horsemanship because it more accurately conveys the organization’s numerous disciplines. PATH International centers now offer equine-facilitated psychotherapy and learning, therapeutic carriage driving, interactive vaulting, hippotherapy, competition and programs for leadership, team building and stable management.

Therapeutic horsemanship also encompasses a wider spectrum of disabilities and needs that a skilled therapy horse and certified instructor can address to help clients improve their cognitive, emotional, social and/or behavior skills. In addition to many physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, paralysis, stroke and traumatic brain injury, PATH International centers work with those with autism, attention deficit disorder, anxiety and depression and have targeted programs to help at-risk teens, injured veterans and military personnel, seniors with Alzheimer’s and victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

By incorporating the terms international and professional in its new name, PATH International reflects its global growth, as the association now has members on all continents except Antarctica. Individual and center members in countries from Brazil, Spain and the Netherlands to Israel, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and China continue to join PATH International for its excellent certification and accreditation programs and reputation for high-quality safety standards.

The professionalism of PATH International programs is matched by the expertise of its 8,000 members, half of whom are certified as PATH International instructors. Some members are also physical, occupational, speech language pathology or mental health therapists; others work closely with health practitioners to benefit their clients. Many centers partner with hospitals, schools, the Veterans Administration and rehabilitation, residential and adult day care centers.

The association’s tagline best expresses the work that its centers, staff, volunteers, equines and donors accomplish: Ensuring excellence and changing lives through equine-assisted activities and therapies. For more information, high-resolution images or to find a center near you, visit www.pathintl.org.

As a global authority, resource and advocate for the equine-assisted activities and therapies industry since 1969, the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH International) creates, maintains and improves quality and safety standards for the industry. At more than 800 member centers worldwide, over 42,000 children and adults find a sense of independence through involvement with horses. In addition to therapeutic riding, a center may offer any number of equine-assisted activities including hippotherapy, equine-facilitated mental health, driving, interactive vaulting, trail riding, competition, ground work or stable management. More than 30,000 volunteers, 3,500 instructors, 6,300 therapy horses and thousands of contributors from all over the world help people at PATH International member centers.

Our Skill Cards have been available for just a few months, and the feedback has been amazing. Because the Skill Cards are designed with a brief amount of text, you will be able to work with your client in a language that best suits them and/or their situation.

Generally, when we work with the Skill Cards, we have "fence time" before we go into the day's activity. During this time, we explore the card as we check-in by the fence before going into the arena or pasture with the horses. We ask each client to read the card in the order in which the information is presented: Title of Skill, Horse Fact and then Human Information.  We ask the client if s/he can relate to the card and if s/he can share a personal experence demonstrating what is described on the card.

Next, we ask the client to describe elements on the card in their own words, and to share any questions they have. This allows us to gauge how thoroughly the client understands the meaning of the card.  Typically, we focus on one card per session, often offering the client a selection of skills they can choose from for the day's session.

What makes this set of skill cards so valuable is that they are universally appropriate. Actually, when facilitating with these cards, you may well recognize that these skills are not just for your participants. They can remind you of your own areas for growth and development, and help you continue to improve as an EAP-L facilitator.

Want to learn more about our Skill Cards or ready to order Skill Cards? Super!  Learn more and/or place your order here! 

The young knight rides off to face danger on his strong steed, while the fair maiden dreams of her prince coming to save her astride a beautiful white mare. While horsey fairy tales are romanticized, there is no doubt that there exists a real connection between young people and horses. It’s one of the reasons that equine assisted therapy proves so effective when working with troubled teens and kids.

For us here at Horse Sense Business Sense (and I know for many, many of you reading this), utilizing horses to help us reach those youth is one of the major blessings of our work. You may say we’re passionate about horses and kids. Our industry is one that lets us make a real, lasting difference in the lives of the young clients we serve.

But. (And isn’t there always a but?)

There are myriad ways that your therapy business connects with clients – specifically young clients. There are just as many ways, in fact, as there are therapy modalities. While some follow Epona theories, others use therapeutic riding . Still others swear by natural horsemanship and traditional cognitive based therapies.

There are many paths.

Our communities can become insular. We each get all caught up in whatever theories or practices we are most comfortable with, that other ideas get eaten up, chewed to bits and spit out as false or less useful. It seems to be common in the horse industry in general, no? Dressage divas look down on western riders, jumpers think eventers are crazy and rodeo studs are the only “true” cowboys around.

What if we took off the blinders?
What if we took a good, hard look at the great work our colleagues are doing, and embraced the benefits and teachings of each tradition, bringing their lessons to our own work? Think how much MORE we could help those young clients of ours.

Well, if we want to encourage collaboration, there’s no place to start like our own back yards, right? SO, we’re doing just that.

We’re bringing together a group of some of the most insightful, experienced and highly regarded equine therapy professionals out there for our second annual Horses and At-Risk Youth Symposium – and we’d LOVE for you to join us!

It’s being held June 24 to 25, right here on the farm. We’re even throwing in a special pre-symposium workshop on the 23^rd. There’s just too much good stuff to get into two days!

Here’s just a taste of who is coming and what we have planned:

• Rupert Isaacson, founder of the Horse Boy Method, will be sharing the story of his own family, and how he found that horses make a profound difference in the lives of kids with autism spectrum disorder.
• Linda and Don Zimmerman will be discussing eating disorders and equine assisted psychotherapy. Thousands of young women (and men) suffer from eating disorders across our country each year, and EAP can make a real, positive difference in helping them on the road to recovery.
• Karen Frederick will look at how the equine assisted therapy industry can use solid research to demonstrate to a sometimes skeptical scientific community that horse therapy really does work. While we all know it’s true, it can be hard to argue EAP’s case without solid evidence – so let’s not sell ourselves short!

This is just a taste of all the good stuff we have planned. For the full program and registration information, visit horsesensebusiness.com/youth-symposium/.

And, most importantly, let’s all put aside our differences and come together for the good of our kids. They are so worth it. 

In 2007, Horse Sense first developed its Trailblazer Program as a way of uniting EAP/EAL Trailblazers out there into a "herd," so we could explore the unchartered territory together, sharing our purpose and direction. Throughout the years, we've learned about what kind of learning platforms work best for generating consistent support from peers and colleagues. We've also become more focused on providing thorough support and education for those wanting to learn more about horse psychology and natural horsemanship. With this information, we decided to restructure the Trailblazer Program into what it is today.

The exciting new elements we've added to the Trailblazer Program are the MasterMind Groups and the Trailblazer-only telecalls focused on supporting Equine Specialists & the horses they care for.

The idea behind the MasterMind groups is to form into small groups to focus on specific needs for you and your company. By regularly coming together and brainstorming about the nuts & bolts of running a business, you'll be able to learn and share with others in the field, needing help with the same things. These MasterMind groups will cover marketing, getting paid, contracts, program design & development, etc.

There are 2 very important people who are helping us deliver these MasterMind meetings, so we can keep the groups small and offer more than one at a time. We want to extend a special thank you to Stephanie Bowman, from Turning Point, LLC in South Carolina and Kathy Taylor, from HerdWise in Texas. Without their collaborative spirits and shared desire to help, we wouldn't be able to offer our Trailblazers so much good stuff! Thank you both for ALL you do!

In the past incarnation of the Trailblazer Program, we did offer Trailblazer-only telecalls but they were often focused on business development - a topic we've decided is more appropriately addressed in small, interactive groups rather than single occurrence telecalls. So now we are offering telecalls that focus on the heart of everyone's EAP/EAL business: the Horse. It was finally time to take the reigns and be sure that our Trailblazer members could learn more about assessment and suitability of horses for EAPractices, as well as get a deeper education about horse psychology, herd behavior, and horse and human body language. Shannon and Richard are devoted to keeping any herd healthy in mind, body and spirit, and want to share their passion and educate!

This new program is only a month old, and we are beginning to pool together some interest for the MasterMind groups and schedule upcoming telecalls. If you want to learn more about what this membership includes, you can click here to read up on it.

We are exciting about the future of Trailblazers - of all the Trailblazers in this field, bringing their own ingenuity and inspiration to this growing field. Thanks for being a part of our larger herd, and steering us all in a good direction.

Josie Mosser
Business & Marketing Director

We have worked to learn the best ways to help our clients. But, sometimes we get to work with a client or group of clients who test our skills – who push us outside of our normal comfort zone, and challenge us to think up new ways to facilitate the therapy process.

On our farm we were blessed to work with just one such group – a particularly challenging group of teen boys who had found themselves in a juvenile detention center. Perhaps not surprisingly, these boys weren’t all that interested in the traditional therapy process.

When they got in the ring with the horses, they didn’t want to talk about their feelings or experiences – they weren’t really too down with verbal communication much at all. Traditional modes of talk therapy were clearly out.

So, we were faced with the challenge of how to help these teens work through their often deeply troubled issues in some other way. If we wanted to help them, we were going to need to think outside the traditional therapy box, even the “traditional equine therapy box”!

Out of that work, we developed our new Skill Cards, which I am so pleased to be able to share with you. Through trial and error, we learned from these boys that one of the best ways to reach them was to focus on a specific task that required them to get outside of their own heads a bit. They didn’t need to talk about their feelings for the sake of talking, but they did need to focus on a specific skill or concept, outlined on their skill card.

As these Skill Cards evolved, each card talks about a particular personal skill that these boys may have been learning how to deal with, such as understanding their anger or paying attention to their physical environment. There was a link between that skill and a horse fact, with information about how skill might apply to them in real life. So, for “understanding your anger” the horse fact gave a hint about how horses express their anger or fear, and then information about how humans may best process their emotions as well.

The boys would then think about (and inevitably end up talking about) how that skill card and horse fact related to them and their personal situation.

The cards proved remarkably effective at breaking through to our boys from juvie – so effective that we figured they might be helpful with our regular clients as well!

Those boys taught us that by thinking outside of the box and being a little creative, we could help even more people.

Our new skill card set is the result of our trial and error process. We took those initial 15 cards that were created for the boys and developed a full set of 50 cards, which we are incredibly proud of. They can be used with a wide variety of therapy & learning clients to address a whole range of issues and personal skills.

We took the cards to the EAGALA conference in March, and we had a fantastic response.

And now, they are available to all of you! And the best part is that the proceeds from these cards go to our Scholarship Fund, which supports organizations or people who want to work with us but can’t because of limited resources. When you buy a set of cards, you will not only get a valuable resource to use in your own therapy practice, but you will be helping others as well. We’ve had really remarkable results so far, and I know you will too.

Interested in getting your own skill card set for your therapy & learning program? Fabulous – click here.