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Home > Archive > Sep 27, 2007

Horse Sense Keeps Kids, Adults out of Trouble
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Horses have been utilized throughout history as modes of transportation, agents for performing work and even means of recreation for their human counterparts. But could horses also be used for rehabilitative therapy?
Bob Bergren, St. George, of the Dual King Ranch says yes, and since 2001, he has been helping individuals change their lives through equine-assisted learning and equine therapy.
“It's a very good way to learn awareness skills in a safe environment,” Bergren said. “Another thing that makes it really powerful is when the clients leave, they keep on thinking about what happened and what they were doing, which creates a very positive and powerful, residual value.”
Individuals who come to the Dual King Ranch learn life skills, leadership and positive behaviors as they work with the horses and other animals there and take part in various classes and programs. Bergren employs a curriculum at his ranch known as “The Heart of Success,” which revolves around four core values – trust, respect, responsibility and hard work.
“We work on many other values, as well,” he said, “but we always go back to, 'What is the heart of success?' and how each value relates to trust, respect, responsibility and hard work.”
Bergren has worked with both youth and adults at his ranch throughout the years and has seen a great deal of success with the equine programs, but he's quick to point out that equine therapy isn't clinical therapy.
“I don't represent myself as a therapist or misrepresent what I do,” he said. “Equine therapy is like a dump-all, catchall bucket. Anybody that works with horses and people, it's referred to as equine therapy. I don't misrepresent what I do, but it is very therapeutic.”
Among his efforts at the Dual King Ranch, Bergren currently works with individuals from the local felony drug court and family dependency court, helping them change behaviors and learn life skills as they go through the court system.
“I was brought into drug court as a component to deal with some of the real hard cases and individuals who were really struggling or were ready to be sentenced to prison terms for their drug use,” Bergren said. “They were actually kicking too many people out of the program, and they were being sentenced to prison terms. They were looking for alternatives to see if they could save some of these individuals from being sentenced.”
Equine programs at the Dual King Ranch became alternatives for some of the individuals facing jail time. Bergren began getting referrals from drug court and the family dependency court, and the referred individuals began participating in the equine assisted learning program. Every Saturday, individuals in the program put in a full day's work at the ranch, beginning around 6 a.m. and finishing at 4 p.m. They perform a variety of tasks throughout the day, from cleaning corrals to grooming, feeding and working with the horses and other livestock.
Working with horses is particularly effective for these individuals, Bergren said. A person with anger issues or poor communication skills, for example, can be teamed with a young, flighty horse. If the person gets angry or impatient as they're working with the animal, the horse immediately responds to those emotions and will react.
Most clients in the program soon begin to recognize that their actions and behaviors, whether positive or negative, directly affect the horse and their success or failure in working with the animal, he said. Clients also begin to recognize their own issues in the animals they're working with and notice behaviors in the horses – such as defiance or stubbornness – that they personally struggle with. Comparisons are drawn between the animal behavior and human behavior and discussions take place individually and in groups throughout the program.
“They can see right up front, on a firsthand basis, how their behavior impacts others and the environment that they're in,” Bergren said. “You can't lie to the horse. You can't manipulate the horse. The horses have a sense to respond honestly to your behavior. You need to learn patience, have good, clear communication skills and learn not to give mixed messages.”
So far, Bergren has worked with 33 people through this program, and 27 of those have successfully completed the program and been integrated back into the drug court system in good standing.
“The percentage is extremely high. The ranch program has over an 80 percent success rate with the drug court and family dependency court clients,” Bergren said. “It (the program) doesn't get them off the drugs, but it helps them change their behavior. What is that behavior? Is it the inability to be able to assert yourself, to stand up to peers? Is it low self-esteem? Is it the inability to communicate? So those things are identified, and then they're worked on, on both an individual basis and in groups.”
Soon, the Washington County School District will similarly utilize the equine life skills programs at Dual King Ranch. The equine learning programs will become a small component of a new, district-wide effort called Grant to Reduce Alcohol Abuse in Student Populations, or GRAASP, funded by a million-dollar federal grant to address delinquency and drug and alcohol abuse in WCSD students.
“We are looking for alternatives to expulsion and suspension,” WCSD Coordinator for Special Programs Chris Snodgress said. “They (the students) have some options to continue their education and work on life skills. That's what it's all about. It's what they're missing – it's the life-skill piece – being responsible students and character and study habits. This is an opportunity where they can actually be working in a life skills program and better preparing themselves to go back into the school setting so they can be more successful there.”
Students who have been suspended or expelled from school will soon have the option of participating in the equine-assisted learning programs at Dual King Ranch. Like the individuals in the drug court system, the students will take part in classes and programs at Dual King as they simultaneously work and take on responsibilities at the ranch. They will be at the ranch six hours a day, five days a week while enrolled in the program.
“Everybody starts out equal, and they're given an opportunity to show what their level of trust and responsibility is,” Bergren said. “They start out with very slow groundwork with the horses. We check their responsibility levels by letting them do chores here on the ranch. We see how much respect they have for themselves, others and the environment that they're in here at the ranch, and then based on that, they're given additional responsibilities, which would include doing more extensive work with the horses up to the possibility of even riding. Riding is a privilege, and they need to earn the privilege.”
Equipment and supplies will also be available to students in the program so they can learn and practice such skills as welding, woodworking, agriculture and horticulture.
“We're not trying to replace what the schools are doing – they're doing a good job,” Bergren said. “But if we can get a kid interested in something, then when he's integrated back into school, hopefully he's got something to work towards and grab onto when he gets back in, so he can set some goals for himself.”
The program through the school district should be underway by mid-October, Bergren said, and he is currently acting as a community liaison for the advisory committee for the overall GRAASP program.
Bergren also hopes, at some future point, to form a victims advocacy program for young children at Dual King Ranch, complete with a petting zoo for the kids and a playhouse.
“We're going to provide a fun, educational and safe environment,” he said.

For more information about programs at the Dual King Ranch, call Bob Bergren at 673-0163 or visit www.dualkingranch.com.

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