Horses truly are amazing.  They act as mirrors, reflecting back what they receive through the participants emotions and behaviors.  The horses will respond to anxiety and fear if approach by someone feeling anxiety or fear.  The youth that participate in the Mending fences often have discovered how to manipulate others around them through lying, stealing, bullying, yelling/swearing, and a whole range of negative behaviors.  When the horse is presented with these behaviors, the youth suddenly discover these actions become completely ineffective.  Horses respond to body language and nonverbal communication.  The participants quickly learn that their mood and nonverbal communication are very powerful in the arena and they will soon come to understand that they are very powerful “out in the real world” as well. 

 

The horses don’t know how to judge people based on their appearance.  They could really care less if you buy your clothes at a Thrift Store or at the most expensive store in town.  They don’t care if your hair is long or short, or if you are tall or short.  This non-judgmentalism allows the youth to become more comfortable with who he or she really is rather than worrying about physical characteristics.  It may be the youth’s first time not being judged but purely accepted for who they are. 

 

As the participants build a relationship with a horse, he or she will, typically, begin to display empathy in and out of the arena that did not exist in the youth’s human relationships.  This empathy will slowly overflow into their human relationships as they learn how to use this new skill and become more comfortable with who they are.

 

What is one of the most common reasons teenage youths rebel? Control.  They feel old enough, wise enough, and big enough to make their own decisions and to control their own life.  They rebel against outside control: school control, parental control, peer control.  When they enter the arena they bring their insecurities and desire to control things with them.  The size of the horses will force the youth to confront their fears and insecurities of those participants who are timid or anxious.  Learning how to build a relationship with a large animal and getting them to listen to simple commands instills great confidence, especially over those youth who feel they have no control over most things in their life.

 

Horses Change Lives, mend fences and bring life back into focus.  Life just looks different when you look at it through horses eyes!

 

Try Mending Fences Today!