Programs

:: Whinnians Youth Riders

:: Equine Assisted Youth Therapy

:: Equine Assisted Psychoherapy

:: Whinnian’s Youth Riders
Whinnian’s accepts a small number of private students for participation in our program including our horsemanship program through the levels, including certifications of levels and involvement in our horseshow schedule. We try to create a broad spectrum program helping each child grow in levels of personal responsibility for their horse and horsemanship in a setting as much like having their own horse as possible in a friendly, safe and welcoming environment. All of our programs are underpinned with the development of good character, sound personal values, and lasting life skills. Whinnian’s instructors are certified by the national certifying body, Certified Horsemanship Association, for safety, knowledge and competency in riding instruction.

Cost:
Whinnian’s Equine Assisted Youth Development is a no cost program for qualified children and youth in situations where the need for and value of this type of experience is clear, and resources to provide it are not available. It requires a weekly attendance commitment of up to one year, transportation to the stable, and caretaker support of the child’s involvement.

Whinnian’s Youth Riders is a weekly horsemanship program with a suggested donation of $35 per lesson for private lessons and a donation of $25 per lesson for groups of 2 to 4, based on availability. Show participation for participants is free.

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:: Equine-Assisted Youth Development
A Christian-based, youth ministry of Christ the King Church, is a volunteer-run horsemanship education program in Aurora, Colorado dedicated to reaching youth - whose lives have been damaged through abuse, neglect and violence, as well as the many other challenges of growing up in today’s world.

It is a flexible, 4-level program of private and small group horsemanship training that provides ample time for youth mentoring, bonding and friendships; directed by a nationally certified riding instructor with several years of youth work experience.

What horses do for kids!
Despite the lure of their beauty and power, to a young person, a horse is the epitome of a problem that is too big to handle. Their size can be daunting; their "having a mind of their own" can be intimidating and frustrating. Yet, this is what makes working with horses such a unique challenge..No other athletic endeavor requires such empathy, caring for a living thing in an interdependent way, as opposed to inanimate equipment which can be locked away when you’re done.

There is no other "equipment" that nickers back when it gets to know and trust you. There are few other athletic disciplines that demand such total, full-body communication, or that demand working with a partner so intimately as riding a horse. This is the unique gift of the horse-human bond.

The organized equestrian sport requires the development of planning skills, foresight and concentration. Riding is credited with lengthening the attention span and concentration in youth, and improving sensory integration skills. Lessons in spatial respect, cooperation, and giving respect to get respect are horse-rider lessons that are equally important for success with people. It teaches cooperation with another, while standing your own ground. It requires the cultivation of the "rider" mentality, rather than the "passenger" mentality.

"Horses by virtue of their unique combination of bold and timid, strong and fragile, offer a child an opportunity to be both powerful and gentle, to find the difference between leading and forcing. Horses require a young person to set boundaries in dealing with them."* It demands discipline, perseverance, and watchfulness. All of these gifts train attitudes, life skills, personal disciplines and world views that come bundled up with the love and friendship of a horse - an unparalleled motivator for a child or youth who becomes infected with "horse fever" - an "adolescent disease" being lost in our cities’ youth.

The discipline of riding horses is so ideal for youth mentoring, healing and values development. Through the non-judgmental eyes of a horse, we can create a more positive individual. A once-angry, hurting youth can come to see that he can change his life by changing his behavior with the help of a faithful friend, a horse; becoming a more stable and productive person in our society, keeping sight of the powerful God-given role that the horse-human bond has played all throughout history.

Cost:
Whinnian’s Equine Assisted Youth Development is a no-cost program for qualified children and youth in situations where the need for and value of  this type of experience is clear, and resources to provide it are not available. It requires a weekly attendance commitment of up to one year, transportation to the stable, and caretaker support of the child’s involvement.

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:: Equine Assisted Psychotherapy

Horses + Healing + Hope
Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy is an experiential, hands-on approach similar to adventure based therapies such as ropes courses. The added benefit is the relationship with a powerful and gentle animal. Clients experience the size and power of the horse as "a problem too big to handle"

Clients can benefit from this experience in the following ways:

• gain confidence
• overcome fear and frustration
• contain anger
• increase empathy
• learn to take responsibility
• learn to communicate clearly with their horse and others
• problem solve new ways to relate to their horse
  and people in their life
• use teamwork to overcome obstacles

Equine Therapy is highly effective and impacts clients in powerful ways!

• Horses naturally demand trustworthiness as well as teach clients to trust. This helps clients rebuild the trust vs mistrust stage of development.
• Horses will only respond and relate if emotions are contained and a sense of safety is maintained. This demands that clients be considerate of some living thing other than him/herself. This builds empathy skills.
• Horses act as mirrors to human behavior. Clients often re-enact typical relationship patterns with their horse .The therapist is able to watch and reiterate the interaction as well as ask where does this pattern surface in their life. The next step is to assist the client in problem solving new ways of relating and applying this to current life situations.

The next step is to assist the client in problem solving new ways of relating and applying this to current life situations.

Horses naturally provide an unconditionally accepting and calming presence while clients touch, groom, watch, interact, ride and doctor their horse.

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