Simple Survival Guide
No one can deny that times are tough. When most of us operate on a shoe string budget to begin with, things can get tight. Just like horses, humans are incredibly adaptable and usually come out stronger on the other side of hard times. It’s all a matter of balance between operating the way we usually do and tough changes we have to make to survive. There are simple but effective actions you can take to get over the hump.
When we work in the field of Equine Assisted Activities, we tend to put so much of ourselves into it that we can’t help but be personally connected. We cannot forget to take care of ourselves as well as we care for our furry friends. Any survival guide should include ways to help us de-stress as well as protect our business. So first let’s look at ways we can keep our sanity:
1. Remember that this too shall pass. – That old saying should be plastered on everyone’s wall in the barn and in their office. In good times and bad, nothing lasts and the one thing we can count on is change. Nature teaches us that everything cycles and it is because of that cycle we exist. Just shifting your perspective towards some optimism will give us hope to keep moving down the trail toward the sunrise.
2. Don’t linger on the media. – We all know that the media will slant and hype up the news to peak our interest and snare us into watching. Even though we all know this, we still get sucked in and can’t help but have a response to the images and words that surround us on a daily basis. Turn off the news every once and a while and give yourself a break. The economic drama will still be there tomorrow. A good old fashioned distraction can shift your thinking.
3. Take a break- Just take a few minutes each day for yourself. We all hear this often but you would be surprised how few people actually do. Taking even 2 minutes to just sit and breathe, somewhere away from the computer can lower your blood pressure, create a more positive mood and shift your thinking.
Now on to the nitty gritty. How do we keep our centers afloat? Just by focusing on a few key actions can keep us moving forward. Make it a mantra to only work on one thing at a time. Trying to do it all at once will make it seem overwhelming and undoable. Break tasks into smaller bits and it won’t be as hard.
1. Get organized- Getting organized and taking an honest look at where you are right now will lay the foundation for a survival plan. There is a great program out there called Simpleology. It is a free software that helps you get your day organized and takes you through a simple process to recognize what things are really important and helps prioritize. www.simpleology.com. There are a ton of other free programs like this: www.jott.com, and www.evernote.com.
2. Barter- This is the most ancient form of business. No money is exchanged but rather services for the mutual benefit of both. Seek out other businesses that provide services you need and find out how you can trade a service in exchange. Providing a free open house to employees and families of a business might be a great way to get IT services, catering, t-shirts or signage. Be creative! If you’re doing your job right it’s also free marketing. Word of mouth is still your best friend and it costs nothing. And don’t forget to partner. Collaborate with other similar centers or agencies and pool your resources. Helping each other helps the industry.
3. Be smart about marketing- People are using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to get the word out. Spend some time surfing the internet for ways you can use these sites to promote your center. You never know who has money or services to give. Simply by expanding your reach you increase your odds of reaching the right people. It can be time consuming but it is free. There are tons of sites offering free trials to try their software or basic services for free. Sites like Survey Monkey offer a basic free service to gather information. (You can easily modify it to track volunteer hours.) Others like Constant Contact and Glooq offer a low cost email marketing software. Just search for free email marketing newsletters, free advertising, affiliate programs, link backs, web rings, community calendars , discussion groups and press release lists. If you’re not sure what all of that is, just type it into Google and start your education. It’s all very easy and can yield some good help.
4. Trimming the budget- Most centers have had to cut staff or reduce hours. Put the word out that you need more help from volunteers to replace those hours. You would be surprised how much people are stepping up to help out. Most staff volunteer more that they get paid for and they are no good if they are burnt out. Use your volunteer force to help fill the gaps. Offer incentives like free lessons for so many hours worked or free tickets to events you are holding. A lot of volunteers will work for chocolate! Look for free education opportunities. We all need continuing education hours and there are companies offering free teleseminars or cheap online courses. Local horse fairs and events also have free clinics. If you’re not sure which hours will count, check with NARHA or your professional organization.
5. Diversify your programs- Now might be a great time to offer some new programs to the community. Collaborate with a parks and recreation department or girl scout group. You can offer one time educational, badge or field trip programs and supplement the bottom line. Revisit the classic school programs and hosting specialty clinics. Think about what your community might need and get creative. Horses are great that way. You can create a program on anything and relate it back to horses. Create a class on jewelry making with horse hair through an arts organization or do a physics project related to the force and momentum of a jump (call a physics teacher for that one). Search the internet for local social and cause based organizations and create custom on site or outreach programs for them. Have mini will travel! Some of these programs require other insurance and training so due diligence on your part.
6. Keep asking- Even though donors aren’t giving as much, they are still giving. If you don’t ask, they won’t give. Keep going forward with grants and remember that proposals that include multiple agencies collaborating will have a better chance.
No matter how bad things get you don’t have to give up. Walt Disney had a great saying:
"Around Here, However, We Don't Look Backwards Very Long,
We Keep Moving Forward, Opening Up New Doors And
Doing New Things, Because We're Curious...
And Curiosity Keeps Leading Us Down New Paths."
He was a master at innovation and creativity. His ability to reinvent and push past barriers is a lesson we can all learn from. Lastly but most important we can’t forget what drives us to sacrifice so much of our lives to do this work. The horse intrigues us, it guides us, inspires us and challenges us. Above all else, it provides hope. Sometimes tough circumstances have a way of stripping away the muck and revealing what is really important.
Blair McKissock MSEd,
Blair has been a therapeutic riding instructor for over 10 years and is the co-founder of ehorseducation.com. You can also find information on her coaching business at resourcegoddess.com. Check out the web site for more free resources and information.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Why the horse?
Why the horse?
This is the question that keeps me going. It is something I don't think anyone can answer with exact certainty but we can theorize.
Horses have long beast of burden and companion to humans. Traced back to the works of Xenophon (350 BC), horses were used not only for war, agriculture and transportation but were even used as rehabilitation for soldiers injured in battle. Today we face more challenges with the advent of technology reducing human interaction, exposure to violence at a young age and an increase in children born with disabilities or developing emotional and behavioral challenges throughout their life. With a humans intrinsic attraction to nature (Wilson, 1993) we can create an effective treatment tool for numerous populations through interaction with horses. Through the growing body of research, there is substantial support for why the horse can be so effective in treating more population than any one drug or single intervention.
Physical Benefits
A horse moves creating forward/back, side to side and rotational movement causing a rider to be constantly thrown off balance. This in turn causes the rider's muscles to contract and relax in an attempt to regain balance. The contraction and relaxation reaches deep muscles not accessible in regular physical therapy. The rhythmical movement of the horse is similar to the human motion of walking teaching rhythmical patterns to the muscles of the legs and trunk in the rider. “Since horseback riding is enjoyable the rider has an increased tolerance and motivation to lengthen the period of exercise. The increased use of muscles strengthens them.” (Davis, 199) Muscles of the legs are also stretched when sitting on a horse riding with and without stirrups. This movement stimulates the nerves and muscles in the body improving head and trunk stability and upper extremity function in children with cerebral palsy. This study out of Washington University suggests that not only can the movement improve functioning but that the outcomes are still present several months after they have stopped riding. The motion and heat of the horse, not only aid a rider's blood circulation and reflexes, but also gently exercise the rider's spinal column, joints, and muscles. The horse's three-dimensional movement provides a combination of sensory and neurological input that can be used to address a variety of disabilities. These movements can not be duplicated by traditional exercise or by exercise machines which typically only work on one muscle group at a time and can't produce body movements in a natural, rhythmic, and progressive way.
Cognitive
The diagnosis of developmental disabilities has grown steadily over the years. One in every 150 children is diagnosed with autism. Along with Autism we now find ourselves confronted with an alphabet soup of disorders. According to Dr. Russell Barkley, and expert in ADHD, 1 to 3 children in every classroom there are diagnosed with ADHD and that up to 4% of the total adult population is also ADHD. With such high rates it is imperative to find treatment interventions to improve functioning. Participating in activities with horses can not only improve attention and motivate but their unconditional love creates an atmosphere of acceptance for fragile self esteem. In an article by Doolittle (1997) mental functioning is not transmitted verbatim from teacher to student but it is the result of a social experience. Vygotsky believed that an individuals immediate potential for cognitive growth is limited by what they can accomplish independently, and on the upper end by what they can accomplish with the help of a partner. Paired with the experiential nature of therapeutic riding, horses can help bridge the gaps in learning. Through the simple act of brushing a horse the midline of the body is crossed activating the corpus-callosum in the brain in stimulating the centers for learning. Riding stimulates the tactile senses both through touch and environmental stimuli. The vestibular system is also stimulated by the movement of the horse, changes in direction and speed. The olfactory system responds to the many smells involved in a stable and ranch environment. Vision is used in control of the horse. The many sounds of the ranch help to involve the auditory system. All of these senses work together and are integrated in the act of riding. In addition, proprioceptors are activated, resulting in improved spatial awareness. It is because of this factor that horses can be extremely effective for children with Autism.
Emotional
Dewey hypothesized that putting a person in an unfamiliar environment will result in a psychological shift creating an opening for learning. Interacting with animals in general can create a greater sense of wellbeing decreasing blood pressure and increasing endorphins. The unconditional love and the achievement while riding can increase self esteem. The bond created can improve functioning in people with emotional challenges.
Even in a country where technology provides what we need at the push of a button, there is still a large percentage of people who do not possess the skills to succeed in life. Recent research supports the value of horse interaction as being dramatic in the healing process. Levonson contends that animals can act as transitional objects that act as a defense against anxiety reducing emotional tension. In programs with absentee Dad’s, horses become a bridge upon which they can build a new foundation for bonding. In the age when children spend up to 7 hours a day playing video games and watching TV, their ability to interact socially becomes diminished. Horses can be a way to create attachments in promoting successful relationships.
So why the horse?
Adelde Von McCormick has spent a lifetime as a psychotherapist studying why horses can have such dramatic effects on people. In their book “Horse Sense for the Human Heart” they discuss several case studies related to equine assisted interventions they have witnessed. Their experience shows that the horse creates an upheaval in a person psyche. Whether this is due to the flight of fight response is not clear. Human and horses have shared the most unique relationship in nature. Predators and prey working together. Horses have the capacity to fight off mountain lions and could certainly fight off a human is they chose to. But for some reason they work with us. They allow us to ride them, care for them and sometimes mistreat them. Sometimes they turn and fight but the instances are so few it begs the question why. This relationship is showing to benefit humans in more ways than one can express. Horses are so different than dogs in cats in the way we interact. “Horses quickly anchor us making it difficult to escape from some of the basic realities of our existence. Around them we are confronted with existential truths and with matters of life and death…” Life around horses is real and immediate. They respond to our body language and reveal what we are truly feeling. Their size and power grab a hold of our attention captivating us and make us pay attention for our safety. As we master our fear and skill working with them we gain a greater sense of accomplishment and confidence in our ability to handle situations outside of the barn. They force us to release our old habits and look for new ways of thinking. They prevent us from becoming complacent in our actions as we can get hurt. The minute we think we know everything they like to remind us that we don’t.
This is the question that keeps me going. It is something I don't think anyone can answer with exact certainty but we can theorize.
Horses have long beast of burden and companion to humans. Traced back to the works of Xenophon (350 BC), horses were used not only for war, agriculture and transportation but were even used as rehabilitation for soldiers injured in battle. Today we face more challenges with the advent of technology reducing human interaction, exposure to violence at a young age and an increase in children born with disabilities or developing emotional and behavioral challenges throughout their life. With a humans intrinsic attraction to nature (Wilson, 1993) we can create an effective treatment tool for numerous populations through interaction with horses. Through the growing body of research, there is substantial support for why the horse can be so effective in treating more population than any one drug or single intervention.
Physical Benefits
A horse moves creating forward/back, side to side and rotational movement causing a rider to be constantly thrown off balance. This in turn causes the rider's muscles to contract and relax in an attempt to regain balance. The contraction and relaxation reaches deep muscles not accessible in regular physical therapy. The rhythmical movement of the horse is similar to the human motion of walking teaching rhythmical patterns to the muscles of the legs and trunk in the rider. “Since horseback riding is enjoyable the rider has an increased tolerance and motivation to lengthen the period of exercise. The increased use of muscles strengthens them.” (Davis, 199) Muscles of the legs are also stretched when sitting on a horse riding with and without stirrups. This movement stimulates the nerves and muscles in the body improving head and trunk stability and upper extremity function in children with cerebral palsy. This study out of Washington University suggests that not only can the movement improve functioning but that the outcomes are still present several months after they have stopped riding. The motion and heat of the horse, not only aid a rider's blood circulation and reflexes, but also gently exercise the rider's spinal column, joints, and muscles. The horse's three-dimensional movement provides a combination of sensory and neurological input that can be used to address a variety of disabilities. These movements can not be duplicated by traditional exercise or by exercise machines which typically only work on one muscle group at a time and can't produce body movements in a natural, rhythmic, and progressive way.
Cognitive
The diagnosis of developmental disabilities has grown steadily over the years. One in every 150 children is diagnosed with autism. Along with Autism we now find ourselves confronted with an alphabet soup of disorders. According to Dr. Russell Barkley, and expert in ADHD, 1 to 3 children in every classroom there are diagnosed with ADHD and that up to 4% of the total adult population is also ADHD. With such high rates it is imperative to find treatment interventions to improve functioning. Participating in activities with horses can not only improve attention and motivate but their unconditional love creates an atmosphere of acceptance for fragile self esteem. In an article by Doolittle (1997) mental functioning is not transmitted verbatim from teacher to student but it is the result of a social experience. Vygotsky believed that an individuals immediate potential for cognitive growth is limited by what they can accomplish independently, and on the upper end by what they can accomplish with the help of a partner. Paired with the experiential nature of therapeutic riding, horses can help bridge the gaps in learning. Through the simple act of brushing a horse the midline of the body is crossed activating the corpus-callosum in the brain in stimulating the centers for learning. Riding stimulates the tactile senses both through touch and environmental stimuli. The vestibular system is also stimulated by the movement of the horse, changes in direction and speed. The olfactory system responds to the many smells involved in a stable and ranch environment. Vision is used in control of the horse. The many sounds of the ranch help to involve the auditory system. All of these senses work together and are integrated in the act of riding. In addition, proprioceptors are activated, resulting in improved spatial awareness. It is because of this factor that horses can be extremely effective for children with Autism.
Emotional
Dewey hypothesized that putting a person in an unfamiliar environment will result in a psychological shift creating an opening for learning. Interacting with animals in general can create a greater sense of wellbeing decreasing blood pressure and increasing endorphins. The unconditional love and the achievement while riding can increase self esteem. The bond created can improve functioning in people with emotional challenges.
Even in a country where technology provides what we need at the push of a button, there is still a large percentage of people who do not possess the skills to succeed in life. Recent research supports the value of horse interaction as being dramatic in the healing process. Levonson contends that animals can act as transitional objects that act as a defense against anxiety reducing emotional tension. In programs with absentee Dad’s, horses become a bridge upon which they can build a new foundation for bonding. In the age when children spend up to 7 hours a day playing video games and watching TV, their ability to interact socially becomes diminished. Horses can be a way to create attachments in promoting successful relationships.
So why the horse?
Adelde Von McCormick has spent a lifetime as a psychotherapist studying why horses can have such dramatic effects on people. In their book “Horse Sense for the Human Heart” they discuss several case studies related to equine assisted interventions they have witnessed. Their experience shows that the horse creates an upheaval in a person psyche. Whether this is due to the flight of fight response is not clear. Human and horses have shared the most unique relationship in nature. Predators and prey working together. Horses have the capacity to fight off mountain lions and could certainly fight off a human is they chose to. But for some reason they work with us. They allow us to ride them, care for them and sometimes mistreat them. Sometimes they turn and fight but the instances are so few it begs the question why. This relationship is showing to benefit humans in more ways than one can express. Horses are so different than dogs in cats in the way we interact. “Horses quickly anchor us making it difficult to escape from some of the basic realities of our existence. Around them we are confronted with existential truths and with matters of life and death…” Life around horses is real and immediate. They respond to our body language and reveal what we are truly feeling. Their size and power grab a hold of our attention captivating us and make us pay attention for our safety. As we master our fear and skill working with them we gain a greater sense of accomplishment and confidence in our ability to handle situations outside of the barn. They force us to release our old habits and look for new ways of thinking. They prevent us from becoming complacent in our actions as we can get hurt. The minute we think we know everything they like to remind us that we don’t.
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