California Riding Magazine • August, 2010

The Power to Heal
A former reiner takes on a new
mission as a therapy horse in Woodside.

by Paige Hill

My trusted friend and mount, Jay Power.

The hardest decision of my life was to donate my trusted friend and mount, Jay Power, to the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy in the Bay Area’s Woodside. I had promised I would never sell him and that I would keep him until his back dipped lower than the Grand Canyon.

He was supposed to cart my future kids around and stay in my family forever. We had shared so much since I bought him as my reining horse eight years ago, including thrilling patterns on the West Coast reining circuit and earning our team numerous buckles and ribbons. When he got bored of the reining gig we ventured into the Level 1 Jumper rings at many A-rated shows with help from trainers Toni and Colin McIntosh at McIntosh Stables. You could swear he was a steeplechaser the way he charged around the course with his ears jammed forward.

Then Jay tore his coffin joint and had to endure a year of rehab while I was away at college. It was then I faced a dreadful situation of what to do with my serviceably sound Quarter Horse. With my family feeling the financial drain from the bad economy, I had to find Jay Power a new home and job.

Like many horse owners in this situation, I was not just heartbroken, I was panicked. There was no way I would sell my horse because he was only sound with easy flatwork, and was prone to re-injury if ridden over rough terrain. He also needed specialized shoeing to stay sound. Life as a trail horse or pasture ornament was not an option for him. I couldn’t sell him to just anyone, and I was scared someone would offer him a “free home” and he’d fall into the wrong hands.

Jay enjoying his day off.

Because he was the most broke horse I have worked around, I prayed he might find a job as a therapy horse. I heard that The National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy, or NCEFT, was looking for a horse for their program. As we toured the beautifully renovated dairy barn, huge indoor arena and perfectly manicured landscaping, I thought it was a piece of heaven.

As we toured the outside obstacle course and watched a therapy session I learned about the Center’s programs. NCEFT is a non-profit organization. With the help of donations, they provide top-of-the-line care for their riders and the horses that have the most important job of any equine. The Center offers interactive vaulting, therapeutic driving and has programs for veterans and active duty members of the Armed Forces. Since 2007, NCEFT has healed both active duty personnel and veterans through the Palo Alto Veterans Association. I spotted a plaque dedicated to a marine that received treatment there. At that time, my boyfriend was deployed in Afghanistan, and I knew then this would be an amazing job for Jay. I also knew the staff and volunteers would treat Jay as their own while he was there. So, we took a huge breath and gathered Jay’s supplements, brushes, tack and favorite cookies and handed the reins over to executive director Gari Merendino and his team to see if he had the right stuff to be a therapy horse.

Jay begins his journey to a rewarding career.

Sliding Stops to Small Steps Forward

The transition from show horse and trail horse to obedient therapy horse took a very long time, and had some ups and downs. Because of his reining training, Jay Power had great brakes. Unfortunately he was so tuned in to his rider’s weight changes, he had to learn to keep going even if someone was unsteady and giving him mixed signals. After a year of rehab for an injury, Jay also was somewhat energetic from the long lay off. The staff had to lunge him and put him on the hot walker to get his excess energy out. My family and I were so impressed with the time and effort the NCEFT team took with him. Few places would have had the patience to work with my horse the way they did. The trial period took nearly six months before he was trained enough for his new career, but after that time he became an official part of the NCEFT program.

Jay handily tackles Level 1 Jumpers in Bend, OR

Therapy work can be a rewarding second, or in Jay’s case, third career. Owners looking to donate their horse to a therapeutic riding program must be realistic in gauging their horse’s suitability. Few fit the therapy horse mold and, with special riders, no chances should be taken. “We choose one horse out of 50 for our program,” says Merendino. “We tend to want horses in the 15-hand range that can hold and maintain a safe walk, trot and canter. We also want a horse that has a good range in all these gaits. We like to have a variety of horses, with different body types, gaits and speeds to give clients different kinds of movement. This aids in their therapy and the healing process.”

Although Jay was an ideal candidate because of his calm disposition and smooth and easy way of going, there were some training issues that came up during his transition to therapy horse. His reining background made him accustomed to having little to no contact to maintain forward motion. Combine that with his laid back and even sluggish way of going under saddle, making him go and stay forward was a challenge and is still a work in progress. Although six months seemed like a lengthy trial period for a therapy horse, it actually was average for an outstanding therapy program like NCEFT. Once NCEFT accepts the horse into their program, they support that animal for the rest of its life, which is a big undertaking for a non- profit organization.

A therapy horse with some serious brakes.

I visited Jay recently. He was enjoying a day off, relaxing in a hilltop paddock in the summer sunshine. When I walked into his paddock and gave him rubs and kisses he was the picture of contentment: his coat slick and his body muscled out. The Center’s director, Merendino, and several volunteers told me how much of a joy he is on the ground, on weekly trail rides and during sessions. Gauging the smiles of his riders, I got a feeling Jay is not the only one happy with the arrangement. I no longer carry a guilty feeling of not keeping Jay for myself. I am instead so happy to give him the opportunity to help others like he helped me growing up, and to provide him a relaxing place to finish out his career. I suggest that anyone with a suitable horse consider giving them a chance to become professional healers for those who really need them.

For more information on the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy visit www.nceft.org.

Paige Hill is an intern at California Riding Magazine. She has trained and shown in hunter/jumper and reining disciplines, and has worked for racehorse breeding farms and the yearling sales in Lexington, KY. She is finishing up her degree in Communication Studies at University of San Diego to pursue a career in journalism.