Help through horses: King’s Stables provides equine therapy for King’s Home children and other nonprofits

Nestled several miles off the hustle and bustle of U.S. 280 near Chelsea is a farm with a primary service of helping people. King’s Stables is home to an equine therapy program for the youth at King’s Home as well as other nonprofits and people in the community in need.

The program began in 2014 and has been led by Alison Kuhn for over three years. With a love of horses from a young age, she has worked with them in some capacity since she was a teenager. She obtained a psychology degree and went on to work in therapeutic riding.

Along with volunteer coordinator Brooke Bailey and barn manager Anne Bell, Kuhn runs a variety of programs at King’s Stables, which include equine-assisted activities, therapeutic riding and educational opportunities. In addition to working with the 80 King’s Home youth residents, they also serve outside nonprofits including the WellHouse, eating disorder groups, safe house groups, along with homeschool classes, educational field trips and company team building. Participant ages range from three to adults.

WHY HORSES?

A horse’s herd is its community, and the way they communicate with each other within their herd is similar to the way people communicate, giving equine therapy many benefits. Horses help teach people how to express feelings, handle problems, and open the lines of communication.

“We look for horses that have had lots of experience riding in the past,” Kuhn said. “For most of them, this is their retirement job. Most have either competed in the past, taught lessons or have a special history that helps youth relate to them. The horses really have to love what they do.”

Many of the program’s participants have never been around a horse. While some aren’t interested in participating at first, Kuhn says they set a small achievable goals and work towards them. It may begin with just standing next to the horse and petting it, which many times leads to wanting to ride it.

Therapeutic riding is mounted horseback riding for the purpose of contributing positively to cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being of people with disabilities through the teaching of horsemanship skills, while ground sessions include an activity in which the group has to achieve goals by communicating and working together.

“The horses help with communication, trust, relationship building and managing emotions,” Kuhn said. “Those are things the horses naturally do, not something that has to be forced.”

“The major thing horses do is cause you to live in the moment and you can stop and focus on what you are doing right then.”

Another program at King’s Stables that Kuhn is passionate about is employing some of the King’s Home youth. They usually accept between one and three boys that have graduated from high school and teach them job training skills that will help them once they move away.

“We are able to spend a lot of time with them, mentor them and talk about life goals,” she said. “They typically work here for at least six months and learn skills like how to show up on time to work, think for themselves, complete a timesheet and show initiative. If they do a good job, I can write a recommendation letter to go with their resume. It gives them a step up when they leave to have that job experience.”

FUTURE GOALS

King’s Stables’ goal for 2020 is to break ground on a new barn. After experiencing extensive growth over the past several years, the current barn is no longer meeting the needs for the program. There aren’t enough stalls for all the horses or space for large groups, the ground inside the barn is uneven and participants in wheelchairs are unable to enter the tack room which gives them the chance to be more independent.

“A designer is working with us to redesign the entire area to make it more of a facility,” Kuhn said. “It will include grading, additional parking, an office and bathrooms.”

Their fundraising goal is $250,000, and corporations, companies and individuals are welcome to donate. Kuhn is also working on writing grants and King’s Stables will host their second annual derby party in May.

Volunteer opportunities are also available. In addition to working with the horses, help is needed in other areas, including graphic design, photography, grant writing and more. For more information on their programs, or to donate or volunteer, visit kingsstables.org.