At-Risk Students Form Bonds with Abused Horses through Impactful Program at Cave Creek’s Horseshoe Trails Elementary School

PHOENIX – Dec. 26, 2008 – Sometimes a helping hand for a hurting student comes in the form of a hoof. By the same token, for a horse that has suffered mistreatment, loving care from that same hurting student can go a long way in facilitating the healing process.

Mike Covert, a teacher with Cave Creek Elementary School District’s Horseshoe Trails Elementary School, has been creating these mutually beneficial relationships between students and horses since 2004 as part of the district’s Equine Facilitated Cognitive Therapy Program.

Utilizing formerly abused horses from the Arizona Equine Rescue Organization, the program focuses on Kindergarten through fifth-grade students who do not meet the criteria for additional services such as special education, but who are still in the need of “…something extra” that the district’s regular curriculum cannot provide.

Covert said the program’s students commonly exhibit inappropriate behaviors ranging from disruptiveness and impulsive or highly emotional behavior to simply being overwhelmed with regular social interactions. The students have been identified as being at high risk of falling behind their peers because of their behavior.

That’s when the horses step – or perhaps trot – in.

“There is something magical about a horse,” Covert explained. “They can really sense people. Leading a 1,400-pound animal around an obstacle course can really draw a student out. To have that connection between the student and the animal is such a powerful thing.”

The program’s curriculum is centered on the Josephson Institute of Ethics’ Six Pillars of Character – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. As part of program, the students learn about the impact that their actions and behaviors have on the horse they are working with.

Covert believes the students will then be able to apply those lessons to their social interactions within the classroom, leading to greater social awareness and integration, which will ultimately affect positive achievement in the classroom.

“Learning about character traits and understanding how to become a person of character is the foundation for this program,” Covert said. “The lessons are created to focus on real-life situations, providing concrete examples for the students to ponder during the reflection and journaling part of the lessons.”