Becoming A Therapy Horse

How do you get your horses to do what they do?  That is a question that we are asked everywhere we go.  The quick answer is trust. 

Shadow, the son of Sundance.

When a Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horse arrives for a visit he works with someone that he trusts completely.

  Our horses need to feel comfortable in new situations and adapt to sounds and sights that would frighten most of their equine friends. 

Joe Camp working with Magic.  She is a little horse but responds to Joe the same way as her large equine relatives do.  We are so thankful for the many, many hours Joe devoted to our program and horses as a teacher and friend.

Canine movie star Benji takes Magic inside City Hall to meet the mayor as documentary filmmakers work on a movie.

Learning the skills needed to be a therapy horse takes at least two years and there is always something new to learn.  The training program is challenging for both horses and handlers.

 Our therapy horses must be able to go up and down stairs, ride in elevators, walk on unusual floor surfaces and carefully move around hospital equipment.  They have even traveled on airplanes!   We never force our horses to do anything.  They are treated with kindness and respect and choose to work with us and have a relationship with us.

 Our horses do not feel stressed or fearful in new situations because they have a safe leader to count on.

      Magic did a photo shoot with Luke the elephant for our "Reading Is Magic" program. This is a photo of trust!

 Circus had just met these five barking Dalmatians for the first time and handled the new situation with confidence.  Therapy horses need to meet unexpected  situations with confidence.

When people meet our therapy horses for the first time they immediately feel the gentleness, calm spirit and confidence.

Therapy horse Milky Way.

Starting Therapy Horse Training

                                  Photo of Stardust from Horse Illustrated Magazine

 Stardust is a therapy horse in training.

Stardust at one hour old.

The "imprinting" process of a Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horse begins at birth.

What exactly is foal imprinting?  It is desensitizing Stardust to human interaction immediately upon birth.  During imprinting he is handled by humans before his fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. 

As soon as the foal is born a handler gently touches his gums, teeth, ears, mouth and nose.  She handles the foal's feet, applies gentle pressure to the sides and back, and introduces him to distracting sights and sounds.

The goal is to get Stardust to experience sensations he will experience as a Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horse and accept them at the earliest stage.  We have a relationship with Stardust based on his trust. He feels safe in "our herd" and that herd  includes a human as the leader.

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Stardust is introduced to many different textures to walk on including cement, grass, tile and carpet.  He continues to meet new people and animals over the first few days of his life.

The relationship and trust that Stardust has with us is obvious!  His mother watches peacefully because she trusts us too.

This photo of Distant Thunder Stardust On Demand won First Place in the 2008 American Miniature Horse Association's Photo Contest and appeared Miniature Horse World Magazine.

No matter what new sights or sounds he encounters, Stardust knows that we will keep him safe.

Stardust becomes more independent and confident.  He loves running with his horse buddies but is quick to greet his human friends nose to nose... the way horses greet each other.

The journey begins...

Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity.

Your donations are tax deductible.

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." ~Winston Churchill

Gentle Carousel Inc.

P.O. Box 1672

High Springs, FL  32655

Phone: 352-226-9009

E-mail: MiniHorseTherapy@att.net

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