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Equine therapy program heals hearts and mindsBy Kylene Scott Horses are therapeutic--therapeutic to look at, to ride and to work with. Winston Churchill is often quoted as to have once said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." Scott Stinemetz of Healing Hearts Ranch Inc., has discovered how therapeutic horses really can be and has put it to good use. Stinemetz, who graduated from Sterling College in 2003 with a degree in psychology, began working at the mental health center in Great Bend, Kan., following graduation. Around the same time, he also began working with and training horses. Eventually, he began to see how he could use horses as part of a therapy program for his clients at the mental health center. Eventually, he put his ideas together and created a plan incorporating horses into a mental health program. Word got out in the office, and three volunteers jumped on board to help him out. That was in 2005; by May 2008, Stinemetz was able to start working full-time at HHR. Equine assisted psychotherapy Equine assisted psychotherapy or EAP is therapy that uses horses as part of a mental health program. Stinemetz uses this type of therapy on emotionally disturbed clients, people with mental illnesses, those fighting drug or alcohol addictions, and those with family or marital issues. "It serves all types of mental illnesses," he said. At HHR, there are two licensed therapists on hand, as well as an equine specialist--all volunteers. Three people are present at many sessions, which normally last an hour. Prior to coming to the ranch for a session, a client either picks a horse to work with or one is chosen for them. Many of the clients have little to no horse experience. "A lot of the times, they pick their own horse," he said. At a session, a client does not have to even say a word. They come into the arena and are given a specific task with only the instructions to do the best they can with what they have. The therapist will observe the interaction, noting the body language. "We don't show them how do to anything, and tell them to do it to the best of their ability," Stinemetz said. "Then we observe the interaction." Stinemetz said if the horse, for example, turns away from the person and ignores him or her, they ask the client how this made him or her feel or how it relates to the client in real life. "As they begin to struggle with things, it begins to break down those walls," Stinemetz said. "And we allow them to come up with their own questions and answers." Having the clients in the arena, or even just around the horses, makes a huge difference in their willingness to open up and talk. "The horses really affect the clients," Stinemetz said. "Sometimes it's hard for them to talk (in a clinical setting)." In the case of child clients, parents really need to be involved, Stinemetz said. "We want the parents to be involved, and try to incorporate the whole family in therapy," Stinemetz said. "We don't just focus on the client." The therapy program runs roughly 90 days, he said, and he tries to limit it to that. "In 90 days, as a staff, we should have provided the tools to the client," Stinemetz said. "They have to take what they are given (and move forward)." Clients should have their goals in sight and work towards achieving them; however, if they need more than 90 days, they can continue with therapy as well as getting involved in the other programs HHR offers. "It's even a struggle for some to commit for 90 days," Stinemetz said. "Crying is an everyday part of therapy. When things get tough, we see people tend to slack off." But if the clients commit to change, the program does work. "The families have to know they need to be in, for whatever it takes," Stinemetz said. About HHR Healing Hearts Ranch is a charitable organization, which is sustained by donations, Stinemetz said. "We have just begun to charge for the therapy and horsemanship sessions," Stinemetz said. "It is a very minimal charge." The ranch serves the immediate area surrounding Great Bend, Kan., including the cities of Pratt, Russell, Lyons and Garfield. "We have a wide range of towns we cover in this area," Stinemetz said. "Most of it has come from word of mouth of our clientele." Most of the cost to feed and care for the horses is covered by donations. HHR has several sponsors and has received a couple of grants, Stinemetz said. One particular grant was used to purchase some saddles and tack for the horses. "We are trying to bring in more volunteers," he said. "We need to get a couple more people to be mentors, too." The future for HHR looks bright with Stinemetz at the helm. "We want to establish this as an effective approach to healing," he said. He would like to set up "satellite" ranches in the Larned and Garfield areas, as well as Rice County. This would allow therapists and the equine specialists to come to the clients instead of them having to travel to Great Bend. "Long term, we want to go across the state," Stinemetz said. "Most of our staff has been volunteer and, here recently, we were able to start paying the therapist for the session." "We are not here to make money, we are here to make a difference," Stinemetz said. "Everyone has the same vision." Additional programs Stinemetz has also implemented a mentorship program at HHR that is mainly for boys who do not have a father figure present in their lives. During the summer of 2009, he hosted about 20 boys. "If we were working that day, they worked. They rode, built fence and helped out," he said. "We went fishing, camping and shot guns." It was a release for the boys who mainly live in cities, and allowed them to get out of town and have someone to mentor them. HHR also offers a horsemanship class for riders five years old and older. It is broken into three sessions during the summer months. In 2009, Stinemetz taught around 20 to 25 people. "Most of them live in town and have absolutely no skills," he said. "I teach them to communicate with the horse, and everything they need to do to be able to have their own horse--the tools and skills to take care of it." Stinemetz also offers sessions with the horses for people dealing with anger management, social disorders and parenting skills. Recently, HHR has started to offer a program where people can "adopt" one of the ranch's horses for a monthly donation. "This is a way they can use our horse as if it were their own," Stinemetz said. Many of the programs are not limited to children, and adults of any age can participate in the horsemanship, group therapy or adopt a horse programs. Extreme Mustang Makeover Stinemetz is also a full-time horse trainer in addition to the therapy work. He takes in about six horses a month for training. He was also involved in the Mustang Heritage Foundation's Extreme Mustang Makeover in Fort Worth, Texas, in September. His horse competed in the Legends portion of the contest. The event pairs mustangs with trainers across the United States, giving them 100 days to train the horse and then compete. Stinemetz was paired with Felio, a jet-black mustang gelding. "Felio" means "friend" in Greek. The three-year-old gelding came from the Owyee region of Nevada, and Stinemetz picked him up from Pauls Valley, Okla., and said the horse was very wild. "He tried to jump out of the chute when they put a halter on him," Stinemetz said. "When I got him home, we just put him in the round pen and let him settle down for a few days." Stinemetz was able to get in the pen with Felio and eventually got a longer lead rope attached to the halter. Within a couple of hours, Felio was leading like a "broke horse," he said. "It took a week and we were riding," Stinemetz said. To prepare for the event, Stinemetz exposed Felio to a number of situations and had the horse around kids participating in the therapy program, out on trail rides, roping cattle, and pulling a wagon. "If any horse showed the diversity and training, it was him," Stinemetz said of Felio. Stinemetz and Felio placed fifth in the in-hand competition of the Legends portion of the EMM event in Fort Worth. The pair ended up 16th overall, following the riding section of the event. "He didn't do as good in the riding and wasn't paying attention," Stinemetz said. "As soon as he got in the arena, I felt him tighten up." Following the competition, Felio was adopted by Madeleine Pickens. All horses in the competition are adopted following the conclusion of the event. The Mustang Heritage Foundation announced Sept. 30 that Felio will be one of two mustangs that will be donated to Southern Methodist University in Texas. The mustangs will be presented during the SMU football game against Navy, Oct. 17 in Dallas. Stinemetz will be present during the presentation, riding Felio. Stinemetz was thrilled to have the opportunity to train Feilo and plans on competing in the next EMM in 2010. "They are good horses and need to be put to work," Stinemetz said of the mustangs. "They are athletic and good-minded and certainly trainable." When compared to domestic equines, Stinemetz was impressed with the ability of his mustang. "I think wild horses and horses raised in a pasture are smarter than anything raised in a pen," Stinemetz said. "They are constantly thinking." Although Felio was not the most athletic, as the mustang had a little Percheron blood in him, that made him bigger boned. "He was the fastest, most willing, most receptive horse to training. You'd show him two or three times and he'd know it," Stinemetz said. "He was the most diverse and most willing horse I've ever trained. He'd do anything I asked." For more information about the Healing Hearts Ranch Inc., visit its website at www.healingheartsranch.com. Kylene Scott can be reached by phone at 620-227-1804 or by e-mail at kscott@hpj.com.
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