CARROT RIVER 鈥� There are many opportunities out there for youth to learn leadership skills 鈥� but not many are taught by horses.
The EmPower U Equine is a a six week program where enrolled youth had to learn to navigate obstacle courses with a 1,200 pound horse as a team member.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 include the horse, then that鈥檚 when you get a reaction, because the horse needs to feel like they鈥檙e a part of the team, that the kids are strong leaders, that the horse can trust the kids,鈥� said Shannon Dickey, a certified equine assisted learning facilitator. 鈥淭hat builds self-confidence,鈥�
Ten youth completed the program, which was held at the 麻豆传媒AVern Cross Arena near Carrot River, on April 24.
The program is designed in a building block model, each skill leading to another. The first week focused on building relationships. Other skills included communication, body language, negotiating, leadership and problem solving and focus. The obstacle courses were made to reflect the lesson of the week.
The final week of lesson were about focus. The horses were used to teach the youth how to build relationships with people.
鈥淚f they can make friends with a 1,200 pound horse, it helps them to build confidence to go to school to make friends or step outside their comfort zone and meet new people to gain confidence in themselves,鈥� Dickey said.
The obstacle course designed to teach youth about focus had red lights and green lights that youth had to keep and eye on 聽while dealing with a room full of distractions.
鈥淎s a team, somebody always had to be watching to see if it was a red light or green light,鈥� Dickey said.
Around the course, there would be objects such as a mailbox.
鈥淚n life there are going to be lots of things you have to encounter, that you have to sort through when you鈥檙e focusing on a goal. Each one of those obstacles is designed to help them to really focus, and that was the goal this week.鈥�
Dickey said if the horses don鈥檛 trust, respect or believe the youth is a good leader for them then they won鈥檛 obey the youth or even move.
鈥淗orses are prey animals, so they don鈥檛 have to be with us. We鈥檙e actually predators. Horses are prey, they鈥檙e flight animals and their natural reaction is to leave us if we don鈥檛 bring certain qualities to the team.鈥�
Barbie Harder, another facilitator, said the horses only know how to be themselves.
鈥淭hey feel kind of what鈥檚 going on inside of a person and when something isn鈥檛 balanced or isn鈥檛 right within a person, the horses react,鈥� Harder said.
She added that this gives the instructors the opportunity to step in and ask why the horse is doing that, so that the youth can change themselves to make their situation more successful.
鈥淭he teachers in the program are horses, we鈥檙e just the facilitators,鈥� Dickey said.
Adrian Maynard was one of the youth who took part in the program.
She said she learned mostly about communication and focus. Her favorite part was the horses.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 kind of with everything I do: horses,鈥� Maynard said. 鈥淪omeone asked me if I had fun and I鈥檓 like, 鈥榙uh鈥�.鈥�
