It is a hot Oklahoma day on a Friday. Too hot for boys at The Genesis Project and the horses they’ve come to see at Nexus Equine in El Reno. It’s a cool down day on this visit.
Every other week, the boys travel about an hour to interact with horses and Equine’s skilled team for equine therapy, a program designed to connect boys to the healing presence of horses.
On this day, the team has set up a giant inflatable complete with palm trees and a slip and slide underneath. The boys are relaxing and getting a break from the heat, but the lessons they experience continue even without the horses.
It is a time to reflect on the successes since the program began in October thanks to a grant from the oil field company, Flogistix.
As director of equine operations at Nexus, Jessica Gleason sees a noticeable difference from when the boys first arrived until now. She sees how the boys at Genesis can be aggressive and impulsive due to the trauma they’ve experienced due to abuse and neglect.
“We get to see their progress. We get to see them succeed. It’s better than what I expected,” Gleason said.
The biggest success Gleason has noticed is how the boys and horses work together to regulate their emotions.
“The horses help with that because if you are having emotional turmoil, the horse will sense that and get away from you. If you can regulate your emotions, the horse is willing to work with you. So the horse is a really good emotional thermometer,” she said.
Emotional regulation is just one of the benefits of equine therapy to help our boys manage their behaviors. The program also teaches them to deal with fear. As boys who have experienced abuse and neglect, they know that emotion well. They learn that horses have trust issues and behavioral triggers just like themselves.
Genesis therapists say the interactions between horses and the boys also teach a child to be caring and nurturing and how to recognize the needs of others. Gleason said the boys also learn how to care for horses, ride in the saddle with different techniques, and to interact with horses so that they work together.
“Whenever the child relaxes, the horse relaxes, and the energy just flows synergistically between the two. And you can see it when you’re watching. It literally is like; there it is right there! And that is what we love to see.”
Gleason said the horse knows it is in session and must use its brain to figure out what the child wants to do. She works with the child to refine how he’s sending the signals, then the horse will respond with actions that indicate the situation is okay, that it is correct. Communication strengthens, fulfilling another goal for the boys.
“So the biggest thing that I’ve noticed is that by spending time with the horses, they actually trust the horse, which in turn, translates to them trusting us. And that is a big thing,” she said.
Gleason said the communication translates into the boys’ daily lives.
“We do believe that these interactions are going to impact them long term,” she said.
Trust building is a key component of a trauma-informed environment. When trust is formed, breakthroughs in therapy can happen.
As Gleason sees the boys becoming more successful, the Nexus staff loves to hand out a weekly award. One boy beamed after being recognized for success with emotional regulation, communication with others, having compliant behavior and showing consistency. For those who know him, this was a big deal.
At Genesis, we appreciate this holistic approach to behavioral healthcare. It is a community partnership that works well thanks to the great staff at Nexus Equine. There’s a lot more to this kind of horsing around than one may realize. The boys have several more weeks left and we look forward to seeing even more progress.
