01
On the ground
Grooming, leading, a pause when the horse says no. A clinician in the hour. Helmets and consent. No stunts.
Equine therapy for teens in residence
Work with horses that will not be managed by a story. Presence, trust, and regulation without a worksheet.
- 30–90 days
- Ages 12–17
- 24/7
What this is
A partner that does not buy the performance
Horses respond to the body you brought, not the story you told in group. Equine work here is facilitated, ground-based, and tied to the treatment plan. Presence, boundary, trust. We do not put a flooded teen on a horse to prove courage. We do not sell a sunset.
What this hour is for
- 01
Talk that has stalled
A teen who can perform insight and not change. The horse does not clap for the insight.
- 02
Trust that will not start with people
Trauma, a house that was not safe. A large animal that is honest can be a first relationship that holds.
- 03
A body that lies in a chair
They say they are fine. The horse says they are not. Regulation becomes visible.
- 04
Boundaries they cannot keep
Too close, too far, a yes that was a no. The work is the space between two bodies.
- 05
Anxiety that needs a job
Grooming, leading, a task with a heartbeat. Attention that is not a thought record.
- 06
A teen who will not do “therapy”
Sometimes the first honest hour is not in a sitting room. We still debrief. This is not a field trip.
In the week
How it shows up here
On the deck, in the studio, on the trail — the body first, then the story. Never a crafts hour tacked on.
02
In the debrief
What the body did. What the horse did. What that has to do with the table at home. The hour is not over at the gate.
03
Back in the house
Staff know the target. A boundary they practiced with a horse gets practiced at dinner. The two rooms talk.
The work
How we use it
A clinical tool, not a spa add-on. It sits beside individual therapy. It does not replace it.
- Core of the plan
Ground work first
Presence, lead, stop. Mounted work only when it belongs. Courage is not the point. Contact is.
A clinician in the hour
Not a trail guide with a therapy label. The plan is clinical. The horse is the partner.
Tied to family
Boundaries and trust show up at the table. We bring the hour home in language parents can use.
Tied to trauma pacing
If the size of the animal floods them, we stop. Flooding is not the method.
- When needed
We skip it when it does not fit
Allergy, terror, a medical no, a teen who is not ready to leave the house. Individual therapy still leads.
Your part
You are not booking a ride
Equine work is a method. Treatment includes you so the boundary they practiced can survive the kitchen.
Is this just horseback riding?
Ask what the hour targeted
Trust, space, a body that told the truth. We will say what it is for — and that it is not a trail ride.
Hand them over and wait.
Hear the debrief
Family sessions get the pattern, not a photo. You are not waiting in the parking lot.
Figure out Sunday later.
The first weekend home
A written boundary for the table. We practice it before discharge — not after a cliff.
Length of stay
30
days in residence, by progress
Most stays land between one and three months. We do not pick a discharge date before the work is ready.
90
This work sits inside the stay
Equine sits inside the stay as a weekly hour for the teens who can use it — not every week for every teen. Thirty to ninety days is the house. The horse is one room in it. Aftercare is a next therapist, not a barn membership.
- The first two weeks are for a fit and a first hour that holds — not a forced breakthrough.
- Most teens finish in one to three months. Some stay longer. We do not pick a discharge date before the work is ready.
- Aftercare is part of the stay: a written plan, a next team, and check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days home.
When to call
Do not wait for a cliff.
If talk has stalled — or trust will not start with people — call. We will be honest if this house is too much, or not enough, and if equine belongs in the plan.
Often arrives with