Horses that Heal

From the preferred choice in airport reading, People magazine, comes a wonderful story about the power of horses to heal physical and emotional scars. The current issue has a feature about the 160 acre ranch that Joyce Sterkel runs in Eureka, Montana to help adoptive children deal with emotional problems that can arise from the neglect they experienced as babies. Of course you have already surmised that horses play a pivotal role in the recovery of many of these children.

Apparently of the approximately 20,000 foreign adoptions each year, a small number of children suffer from emotional wounds that emerge as they grow up and try to acclimate to their new families. "For these children," says Sterkel, "the world has not been a safe place. They feel they have to be in control all the time. I try to change that."

Anyone who has ever spent time around a horse soon knows that their size alone gives them a powerful edge in the control department. Children that come to Sterkel's ranch learn to ride and care for horses and to be kind to living beings. For many, the physical motion of horseback riding has a calming effect, according to Sterkel's son-in-law, horse trainer, Bob Acora who also notes: "Kids can't overpower the horses; they have to learn to get along with them."

I'm reminded of Kelly Sumner, the second grade teacher from Sandusky, Ohio who had her class write letters to Barbaro when he was hospitalized at New Bolton Center. She was the only one in her school who did this and many of the other teachers thought she was "nuts", but she wanted to teach her students about compassion and kindness for animals. "Some kids don't come with everything they need," she told me. "This is something we needed to teach."

Bravo to heroes like Sterkel and Sumner who recognize the power of horses to heal, inspire and help create caring individuals. Who can argue with that?