By Pat Payne
and Horses Mix?
Do Oil For this Colorado equine-assisted therapist, the answer is an emphatic “yes!”
rural Weld County, is passionate about using horses to help what he calls ‘wounded humans’ regain their personal power. He’s equally passionate about finding a way to fund his work that doesn’t depend on insurance companies so his services can be available for all who need them. He’s found a way to do both, thanks to local business people who know the value of giving back to their communities.
R
USING HORSES TO HEAL Richard’s work combining traditional ther- apy with the Trakehners his wife breeds dates back to 1998. He calls it the Wounded Human Project. (See the article in Warm- bloods Today, July/August 2014, “From Fear- ful to Fearless.”) “Basically, it’s a psychoeduca- tional program to effect change in emotion- ally wounded humans, using the size, power and unconditional love of horses,” he explains. “For victims of all kinds, it is all about empowering people and that is what highly-socialized horses are capable of doing.” For Richard, it is a point of pride that clients support the
services they receive by donation, with a sliding scale recom- mended donation based on income. He wants to make sure that anyone who needs his services can afford them. The program began in a burst of inspiration while work- ing with a female client who had been sexually abused by her two older brothers. Emotionally devastated and strug- gling to recover, she was thrilled to have a chance to ride one
22 March/April 2017
ichard and Judy McMahan have a dream. Two dreams really, and they are not letting go of either one. Richard, a therapist and counselor in Colorado’s
of the McMahans’ horses and reconnect with the animals she had so loved to ride in her younger years. “I wanted to empower her,” Richard explains. “That experi-
ence of learning to ride all over again changed her life.” But he also realized that allowing clients to ride as part of their therapy was a slow process. It was as much about mastering the physical skills of riding as it was about the empowerment experience of working with horses. As a result, he began to let clients work with his family’s horses from the ground instead of the saddle. The results, he says, were awe inspiring. “With strong positive connections and
experiences, human beings have the power to heal themselves,” he explains. “Personal power is the opposite of anxiety, the oppo- site of depression, the opposite of PTSD.” “Meeting the horses eye to eye, heart
to heart, we are allowing the horse to teach the humans about themselves,” he continues.
In an aside, he says he believes this is why the horse
industry continues to grow: riding on an amateur level is fueled by people who are so strongly drawn to horses and the power they both represent and offer their humans. Currently, Richard and his organization Human Interper-
sonal Services, which includes the Colorado Therapy Horses and the place where it all happens, G.I. Joey’s Training Center, are devoting much time and energy right now to reaching
Top: The therapy Trakehner horses help people of all ages and backgrounds. Above: Richard and Judy McMahan.
Jill Bailey / Flare of Art Photography
Jill Bailey / Flare of Art Photography
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