Ride To Pride Partnership, Inc.
of Las Vegas, New Mexico

The Equine Assisted Psychotherapy Program uses horses in the treatment of emotional health problems in children and adolescents. It is a short term, collaborative effort between a therapist and an equine professional. The program is designed to enhance attachment, raise self-esteem, and improve trust and communication with others. Used in conjunction with skilled conventional psychotherapy, it is a powerfully effective tool in assisting clients who are fearful, anxious, depressed, and angry. Equine Assisted Psychotherapy has been demonstrated to be particularly useful in cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), and Depression. Many of these problems are tightly interlocked with learning disabilities. Use of this type of therapy is not limited by age, gender or ethnicity and is often appropriate for the physically or mentally impaired. Therapeutic and educational elements can be blended into the high-energy fun activities that adolescents respond to. It reaches clients who are resistant to conventional office therapy.

Working with horses requires behavioral consistency in clients who have learned to think one way, feel otherwise, and behave in a manner unrelated to either. Therapists may not readily discern dissonance in the office, but the horse senses the incongruity and will display confusion until the client is consistent. The therapist is present in the arena to observe and appraise the client's behavior.

The combination of traditional verbal psychotherapy with equine assisted psychotherapy creates a dramatic increase in the percentage of clients who respond favorably to treatment. The increase in costs associated with the use of horses is offset significantly by the increase in successful outcomes. Typically, 89% of the participants in court ordered therapy programs commit additional violations during the treatment period. This drops to 47% for the participants in the Ride To Pride Partnership program.

Ride To Pride Partnership determines the degree of behavior changes, and verifies attainment of milestones and performance targets through monthly reports from the juvenile justice officers, reports from schools and parents, and staff meeting with counselors and equine professionals. Dramatic changes in dress and deportment are observed. Parents and teachers report positive personality changes in our clients. Families who were previously inaccessible engage in therapy.