Matt, left, and Erika are among the youth at Randolph Children’s Home helping to care for Lady, a neglected horse found last week, as a way to aid the SPCA and the community. The youth will nurture the horse until a permanent home can be located for the animal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Randolph Children’s Home shelters neglected horse

A neglected horse has found temporary shelter at Randolph Children’s Home, a program that helps youth with emotional and behavioral problems.

            The home operates an accredited equestrian program to help youth change their behaviors. When the horse was recovered last week by the SPCA, that organization asked the Randolph Children’s Home to care for the animal until a permanent home could be found. The Home agreed to take in the horse as a way to help the community.

            The youth at the home— some of whom have been abused or neglected themselves— help care for the horses. They feed, water, brush and exercise the animals. By caring for a horse, a youth is often able to form a bond with the animal, and that can be a step toward forming healthy relationships with people, said Anthony Walters, director of Admissions and Marketing and head of the Equestrian Program.

            Horses are a powerful motivator for youth, he explained. Youth often work harder in the barn than any place else because they have a huge incentive: They want to ride. In addition, youth who haven’t controlled their behavior elsewhere quickly learn to do so around the huge, imposing animals. Learning to ride means learning mastery over a huge animal, which gives some youth the confidence to tackle other difficult issues in their lives. Other benefits of riding include large motor coordination, balance, strength and appropriate risk taking, as well as potentially giving youth a healthy lifelong leisure pursuit.