RadKid.Org Blog

While reviewing Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment yesterday, I had intended to go more into depth about equine therapy, and particularly its use in the treatment of attachment issues. However, I was pushed for time, which is another way of saying that I’m married and can no longer make decisions for myself. There’s a downside to everything, I suppose.

I first became aware of equine therapy as a treatment for attachment issues when one of our nephew’s social workers, whose last name I can no longer recall but whose first name was Jill, went into business for herself, setting up an equestrian treatment program as a component in the treatment of a variety of issues, including RAD. I’ve moved a couple of times since then, and was unable to locate the advertising flyers she left with me, and couldn’t find her program online, or I’d have reviewed her program instead, being familiar with its founder.

While it appears to be an excellent program, Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment was not the first such program, and is certainly not the only one. Terena Thomas, daughter of Nancy Thomas, founded a program by the name of Hooves for the Heart in 1988, and continues to operate the program in Eagle, Colorado. Terena is a co-author of Dandelion on My Pillow, Butcher Knife Beneath, which she wrote with her mother and sister, Beth Thomas. She also authored a complete manual for her equine therapy program, the research leading up to it, teaching tools, and three DVDs to guide someone interested in setting up a similar program. Entitled It’s Not Just Horsing Around with Defiant Kids!, it is no longer available on Amazon.com but can be purchased through Nancy Thomas’ site. This program, I believe, served as the basis for Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment, which doesn’t take anything from either program.

Additional information can be obtained from the Equine Facilitated Mental Health Association (EFMHA, itself a section of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, Inc. (NARHA), which has provided equine assisted activity and therapy (EAAT) programs in the United States and Canada through its network of nearly eight hundred member centers.

If you were to Google “equine therapy” you’d find several similar programs throughout the country. To limit the results to those used in conjunction with attachment therapy, you might want to Google “equine therapy” + “attachment” .

– ken

From time to time, I will be featuring a program, center, camp, book, or individual therapist specializing in reactive attachment disorder or attachment therapy. Sometimes, this will be something that I am personally familiar with; while at other times, my review will be based upon information received or otherwise available, perhaps from a web site.

Today, I will be featuring two programs since they are administered by the same people. I am not personally familiar with either Camp for Broken Hearts or Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment, although I am somewhat familiar with the use of equine therapy in the treatment of reactive attachment disorder.

Camp for Broken Hearts

Operated by Frances Taylor (Director) and Christie Fisk (Co-Director), the last camp session was held at Camp Overton in Rock Island, Tennessee from October 12th through October 17, 2008. However, their web site indicates that they have purchased land in Woodbury, where they plan to construct a new, and presumably permanent, camp site.

Camp for Broken Hearts is designed specifically for families who are raising children suffering from reactive attachment disorder, not so much as  a treatment facility but as a place where parents won’t be solely responsible for their child’s behavior. When a child acts out, he or she will be removed by the camp’s trained staff, permitting the parents to continue on with whatever activity was in progress. The child’s consequences, then, will be the child’s consequences rather than the parent’s. Families will be able to relax and have fun, with support available for both parents and children.

Unlike other camps, children will remain with the parents rather than socializing with other children, since the more the children play together, the less they are trusting and bonding with the parent.

Camp for Broken Hearts hopes to provide an environment that encourages families to make memories together while enjoying the support of trained staff and other parents who share many of the same struggles.

The 2008 session cost $1,000 for a family of two, with an additional $250 for each additional person.  Their web site can be reached at www.campbrokenhearts.org.

Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment

Equine therapy has been shown to be helpful as a component of attachment therapy. Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, located in Tennessee, and offering a therapeutic riding program useful in the treatment of reactive attachment disorder and other attachment issues, as well as a variety of other problems including:

• Autism
• Depression
• ADD /ADHD
• Bipolar Disorder
• Tourette Syndrome
• Sexual Misconduct
• Asperger Syndrome
• Self Esteem Problems
• Conduct Disorders (OCD)
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Each course is tailored to the special needs of the child, intended to provide increased self esteem, enhanced body awareness, better balance, longer attention span, improved listening skills, improvement in self control, enhanced sensory integration, joyful memories, and fun.

LAHA owns several therapeutic horses, with others in training, and accepts donations of horses so long as they meet the criteria for the program. The criteria are available on the LAHA web site, as well as a downloadable contribution form. Donations to the organizations of money or horses are tax deductible.

Leigh Ann’s Horses for Attachment is located in Woodbury, Tennessee. Their web site can be found at www.leighannshorses.org/.

– ken