Journey to become a PATH Instructor

the waiting game….

Well here I am at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Program in Old Lyme, CT.   Currently, I am waiting to find out if I will receive my certification to become an official therapeutic riding instructor at the registered level. It’s just about 4pm and I’ve been waiting since 10:30 this morning, when I did my teaching evaluation. It’s certainly been a long four days.  The past few days have been jam packed with information about disabilities, teaching techniques, volunteer training, how to select a therapy horse, how to create an effective lesson plan, and so on. Who knew, when I left MN over six months ago that I would end up here?  I decided during my time at Green Chimneys that I was going to start the journey to become a certified therapeutic riding instructor.  It has been sort of an intense, (and sometimes stressful) process to get here but I am so glad I have stuck with it.  The moments of joy that you get working with kids and horses are worth the stress and hard work.   Truly, horses are therapeutic in many ways.  Not only does the physical motion of a horse benefit its rider, but there are many emotional, social, and mental benefits as well.

Horses live only in the moment.  Sure, they remember the past and things that have happened to them, things they have learned, but the future does not stretch out in their mind before them as it does for us.  As prey animals, they exist in the present to stay alive and thrive.  Therefore, when we interact with horses, they bring us more fully into the present as well.  To communicate with and work with horses, we must be aware of their body language and our surroundings.  We must listen to them and what they are telling us in the moment.   Anxieties, worries, and stresses about the future fade into the background as we focus on the horse. 

Horses do not judge or label people.  They do not care how many times you have screwed up in the past, they don’t think of you as that kid with ADHD, or that kid with Down syndrome. They will not put certain expectations on you or set certain limits on you based on theses labels.   It doesn’t matter what you have, where you have been, or what you have gone through.  What does matter is that you treat them with respect and kindness in the moment.  These reasons and more have inspired me to pursue work with horses in a therapeutic setting to help others find healing.