Heritage
Provo, UT

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Adopt A Horse program at Heritage

It was late one afternoon, and Jimmy, a student in the equine therapy program at Heritage, was spending time with his adopted horse, Scout. He was teaching Scout to be comfortable with the body clippers. Jimmy had been working on this task for weeks - little by little gaining Scout's trust. He was showing a great deal of patience and concern for his horse. He wanted his horse to feel safe, and to be comfortable with the task.

As time went by, Scout let him get closer to him with the clippers turned on. Then he let him touch him on the neck and body with the clippers running. Before long, Scout was standing still and relaxed, while Jimmy ran the clippers down his horse. Weeks of patient, consistent, persistence paid off.

Right from the beginning, Jimmy was drawn to Scout. Scout was a horse that lacked confidence, trust, and training. Week after week, Jimmy looked forward to his chance to go to the barn to visit his horse Scout, and to build his relationship with him. He would spend time caring for the needs of his horse, training his horse, grooming him, talking to him, cleaning his stall, and just hanging out. This experience ended up proving to be extremely beneficial for both Jimmy, and his horse.

Continue the story here:

http://www.heritagertc.org/the-power-of-adopt-a-horse-for-students-who-struggle-with-attachment/?utm_source=
Adopt+a+Horse+&utm_campaign=Adopt+a+Horse&utm_medium=email

Heritage School is a non-profit residential treatment center in Provo, Utah, that specializes in treatment of mood disorders and students diagnosed on the autism spectrum.