"A 'mini' Perspective on Equine-Assisted Therapy"
By Tanya Welsch, MSW May 2002
There is a saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." But what if life gives you a miniature horse for a therapeutic riding program? In the case of Chili Bean, this miniature horse will have much to teach humans about resiliency, tenacity and preconceived ideas while humans will have the chance to nurture, socialize, and give back to him, all without a single turn at riding. Chili Bean is a miniature horse who was found neglected, underfed, and sharing a pasture with an equally neglected alpaca and a deceased llama.
When humane investigators were notified, they discovered that the animals' owner was suffering from Alzheimer's and was planning to move to an alternative living environment where the animals would not be allowed. The Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation took Chili Bean and the alpaca for veterinary care and after approximately twelve years of living as a stallion, Chili Bean was gelded. Aside from oozing sores, a matted coat, and badly overgrown hooves, both animals recovered quickly with sound nutrition, vaccinations, and wormings. With Chili Bean's physical care accomplished, attention and care was now devoted to ground manners, halter breaking, and general handling activities.
It was at this point that he was discovered by an avid horsewoman who had always wanted a miniature horse as she was surrounded by hunters and jumpers in almost all of her daily activities. Chili Bean soon found himself at a wonderful barn with his own stall, daily turnout, and the chance to socialize with a wide variety of other horses, dogs, and even a pot-bellied pig. Chili Bean may be small, but he is certainly no pushover. At his new home, he continues to demonstrate the same tenacity and strength that kept him alive for the first twelve years of his life by holding his own with the other horses. He can escape from one horse to another pasture by squeezing under the bottom slats of the fence, can kick and bite in defense against the taller horses, and can also run underneath them and slip away before many of them know where he has gone.
Chili Bean was selected to participate in an equine-assisted therapy (EAT) program conducted by Minnesota Linking Youth, Nature and Critters (MN LYNC). During the twelve weeks of the program, eight young men participated in a variety of psycho-educational activities with Chili Bean, a pony, and three other horses. The program is not to teach these young men how to be expert riders, rather, we intended to impart concepts such as cooperation, self-esteem, empathy, diversity, reasoning and communication skills. In order to survive, Chili Bean has to become numb and shut out his environment. Energy had to be conserved if daily care was not provided. Being a horse was not an option as making it from day to day was Chili's only concern. Likewise, some of the human participants in the MN LYNC program can identify with these same self-preservation and survival skills. Together, Chili Bean and these students discovered that sometimes, lemons come in the form of new patterns of behavior that can be learned when life gives each the appropriate tools and opportunities.
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