The Pony Express Equine Assisted Skills for Youth Program

The Pony Express provides opportunities for at risk youth ages (12-18) to experience Equine
Assisted Learning (EAL) through partnership with horses.

In our rapidly changing and technology-driven society, today’s youth are drifting farther away
from the practical and natural world. Our six-week program is an opportunity for young people to
develop new skills, while creating awareness and connection in relationships. With the help of
horses, participants develop skills that incorporate multiple forms of communication.

Our program incorporates different learning styles for the unique minds within our community. In
the process of learning how to connect, care for, and partner with horses, participants build
confidence, self-esteem and resiliency, in a safe and judgement-free environment.
In our EAL Skills for Youth program, we follow processes that achieve safety and connection
with horses. Participants learn how to read, honor, and respond to the energetic field that
horses (as prey animals) are uniquely sensitive to. A horse’s need for congruent and coherent
communication creates safety and connection in partnership with humans.
This encourages us to better understand and befriend our own autonomic nervous system (ANS), whose job it is to
keep us safe.

From over four decades of experience working with horses and youth, we have developed a
unique curriculum that includes scientifically studied exercises proven to have a positive effect
on the ANS of both humans and horses. Through our curriculum, participants are guided to
increased awareness and given skills to recognize authentic, congruent behavior. Participants
will develop specific tools to apply in everyday life and relationships. One of these tools is
learning the importance of breath and the role it plays in helping us to stay present and aware
(grounded and regulated in our nervous system) while in partnership with horses. Horses are
champions of neuroception and are gifted in detecting the attitudes, emotions, psychological
states and behaviors of people they interact with. As such, the lessons learned in a horse arena
both on and off the back of a horse, also apply in the arena of real life.

This program will:
· Engage participants in hands-on learning opportunities
· Educate participants in new ways of being, doing, and knowing
· Enrich participants through connection, relationship, and community
· Expand one’s awareness and ability to build resiliency and promote personal growth
through partnership between horses and humans

Objectives
At the end of a six-week course, participants will:
1. Have an awareness of, and be able to identify the state of their ANS system (autonomic
nervous system)
2. Be able to apply three breathing/grounding exercises
3. Be able to connect with, catch, and halter a horse, utilizing proximity responses
4. Be able to safely lead a horse, with the horse’s consent and agreement
5. Be able to safely tie and groom a horse while accurately reading, honoring, and
appropriately responding to the horse’s body language
6. Be able to safely work in partnership with a horse, utilizing shared leadership skills
7. Be able to properly saddle and bridle a horse, as well as master beginning level riding
skills
8. Be able to communicate effectively with other team members
9. Be able to communicate effectively with the public, and develop mutually beneficial
relationships within community
10. Be able to make & keep commitments that require one to be physically and mentally
present and engaged. Hands-on experiences will impart vital skills and know-how!

Horses for Healing and Resiliency Program

We are pleased to announce that The Pony Express Equine Assisted Skills for Youth will be offering Horses for Healing and Resiliency Program pending funding approval. The focus of this program is to create a safe place for youth ages 12- 18 years of age dealing with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, to work with horses and receive their therapeutic benefits. We currently offer this program to our clients at Muir Wood Teen Treatment Center and Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital. We hope to have the opportunity to bring the benefits of this program home to The Pony Express Ranch soon.

The power of our horsepower helps humans to learn how to perform at their personal best, even in the worst of times. In the horse’s relational behaviors, we see what is commonly referred to as “mirroring.” Mirroring behavior is a clear demonstration of the horse’s ability to read and respond “in kind” to the energetic field they are perceiving. As prey animals, with limited verbal language, the ability to mirror serves to keep the herd united and contributes to the safety of all. By engaging in mindful interactions with horses, we awaken and develop these skills in ourselves. Horses give instant and authentic feedback that inspires change and encourages transformational growth to occur. Our Program is designed to give participants the opportunity to engage in a healing space with horses to experience peace, practice self-reflection, and develop resiliency.

Horses for Healing and Resiliency Program offers participants opportunities in these areas and more:
Access Awareness and the Art of Being Present
Build Connection
Create & Hold a Safe Space for Healing to Occur
Cultivate Relationship with Self and Others Through Authentic and Congruent Behaviors
Demonstrate Consistent Leadership Behavior
Develop Trust and Resiliency
Embody Compassion, Curiosity, and the Ability to Listen to Understand
Experience Knowing through Intuition
Facilitate Change by Doing Something Different
Hold the Intention of the Exploration Process
Improve Communication
Practice Mindfulness and Peaceful Non-Judgement
Regulate Energy and Emotion
Cost
Horses for Healing & Resiliency Program will be offered in the Spring of 2021. Sessions will be available mornings from 9:00-11:00 or afternoons from 1:00-3:00. Participants will come once a week for six weeks. Pending funding approval there will be no cost to participants. Snacks, Drinks, and hand sanitizer will be provided. Participants will need to wear close toes shoes.
We honor CDC social distancing requirements. Masks are not mandatory. No dogs allowed. No cell phones permitted during clinic hours.

The Pony Express Adventures with Equines Program

Howarth Park pony corral closure opens new opportunity at The Pony Express Ranch!

For the last 39 years our summer season has been filled to the brim with all things Howarth Park. This summer will be different. Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 restrictions we regret to say that The Pony Express pony corral at Howarth Park will be closed. But as the saying goes, when one corral gate closes, another one opens.

We are pleased to announce that The Pony Express will be offering Adventures with Equine’s Program beginning June 8th. Experience hands on learning and leadership skills in the healing atmosphere of horses, combined with the beautiful outdoor space of The Pony Express Ranch. Our Program is designed to give horse lovers ages 10-18 years of age an experiential equine experience of a lifetime.

Partnering with horses offers unique opportunities to build awareness, create connection, and develop trust and relationship in a safe place without judgement. Providing us with a mirror into our energy and emotion, horses give instant and authentic feedback that inspires change and encourages transformational growth to occur.

Horses ask that we get out of our heads, into our bodies, and off our technology. Only then can we be present, focused, and engaged while grounded in our heart and horse space. In the process, horses give us a leg up and onto the path to becoming the best version of ourselves possible. Space is limited so sign up now for Adventures with Equine’s and turn this into a summer to remember. For more information email Linda at pxpress1@gmail.com. Thank you!

In order to make the most of one’s unique gifts-talents, characteristics, and abilities- an individual needs to learn from the past, value and live in the present, and create their own vision and future to ultimately “leave a hoof print.” Horses help us to identify on all these levels. Adventures with Equines offers participants opportunities in these areas and more:

Access our Emotional Intelligence
Build Awareness
Create Our Vision
Cultivate Connection
Develop Trust & Respect
Encourage Curiosity
Facilitate Change
Improve Communication
Grow Confidence
Promote Self-Esteem
Demonstrate Integrity

Daily Activities
Morning Meditation
Meet the Herd
Mindful Grooming
Boundaries without Barriers
Reading the Energetic Field
Rock Back and Sigh
Moving with Energy
Regulating Our Emotions
Energy in Motion
Roles we Play- Understanding the Hierarchy of the Horse & Human Herd

Daily Schedule
9:00 AM Participants Arrive
9:15 – 9:45 Check In Review of the days activities as well as reflection on the day prior
9:45- 10:15- Morning Meditation- In the Field with Horses
10:15-10:45- Mindful Grooming
10:45- 11:15- Exercises in the Round Pen- Boundaries, Taking Space, Energy Awareness
11:15-12:00- Exercises in the Arena-
12:00- 1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Learning to Saddle & Bridle
2:00-4:00 Riding in the Arena, Lunge line for beginners, walk, trot, canter
4:00-5:00 Feeding horses and debrief, reflection of day’s events…

Costs
Adventures with Equines Program will be Monday -Friday beginning the week of June 8th and running through the week of August 4th. The hours will be 9:00-5:00 @ $500.00 each week. Payment is cash or check made payable to The Pony Express Equine Assisted Skills for Youth. Participants will need to pack a lunch. Snacks, Drinks, helmets, and hand sanitizer will be provided.
Participants will need to wear close toes shoes (preferably riding boots) and comfortable riding pants.
We will honor social distancing requirements. Masks are not mandatory. No dogs allowed. No cell phones permitted during camp hours.