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Glasgow native and Nashua graduate Shaylin Barnett has received the opportunity of a lifetime to participate in the Equest PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) International-Approved Therapeutic Riding Instructor Training Course in Dallas, Texas. The program started on Jan. 17 and will last through March 14, with the first part focusing on lectures and hands-on work with horses while the second part allows her to student teach and be mentored by Equest instructors who will provide guidance and feedback. At the end of the course, an Equest certificate will be awarded for achieving a passing grade in all aspects of the course.
The program is designed to train individuals to utilize horses as therapy animals. "The opportunities horses can give you is instrumental. Someone who is paralyzed or don't have legs, a horse can do it for you. Sometimes people don't want to confide in other people. Horses don't talk back and they don't talk to others. If you need someone to talk to, a horse will listen," said Barnett. From Barnett's understanding, there are only a few programs in the state that have established businesses and practices utilizing horses as therapy animals, however there is no such program anywhere in Valley County or northeast Montana. "Utilizing horses and therapy is dear to my heart. The suicide rates in Montana are high, therapists here are full, and some people don't even like talking to someone about their problems and need another way. I just want to do my part here in the community," Barnett explained.
Being around horses and training them to help others is nothing new for Barnett. She has been around horses her entire life and also showed them while in 4-H. After graduating from Nashua School in 2017, she attended Rocky Mountain College to pursue equitation and training however life had other plans for her and she moved back home before completing the program. "When I was at Rocky Mountain College, I volunteered with a program that worked with kids and utilized horses for therapy. It was amazing to watch the drastic change in these kids from beginning to end," said Barnett. As a result of that experience, she had been looking into programs similar to what she was in at Rocky so she could still continue in the field.
As only one of three people in the nation accepted into the program, the application process to attend the training course was rigorous. Not only did she have to submit a resume, but also a letter of intent addressing the reasons for applying and intention upon graduation of the course, provide a professional questionnaire, document 10 hours as a riding instructor, pass a stable management exam and submit a 10 to 15 minutes video of PATH International Registered level riding pattern, showing a warm-up phrase and riding the pattern. "Working at the Vet Clinic certainly helped me with the application! I had to provide a vaccination schedule for horses and it just so happened someone came in and asked for a vaccination schedule. I was able to compare what I had needed to submit and learned that I was right!," exclaimed Barnett.
In addition to learning how to work with the horse, Barnett will also learn a variety of human aspects that will help clients work with the hourse including human anatomy and kinesiology, teaching methodology, human psychology, adaptive equipment, skill progression, volunteer management and hippotherapy theory (which is a form of physical, occupational and speech therapy). In terms of training with the horse, Barnett will also learn interactive vaulting, long lining a horse and mounting techniques.
One aspect of training she is most excited about is driving horses, which she most recently did at the Parade of Lights and the Homecoming parades in 2019. One of the many objectives Barnett will learn from the training program in Texas is to therapeutic drive, which provides students with physical, mental, sensory or emotional disabilities the ability to interact and control a horse or pony while driving from a carriage or their own wheelchair in a carriage modified to accommodate their wheelchair, according to the PATH website. This allows those who are unable to directly ride a horse still be able to do so and experience the unique movements of a horse in a different manner.
After completion of the program, Barnett is hoping to bring her newly established expertise to the northeast Montana area utilizing horses as a support system for children and anyone who needs another method of therapy for both physical and mental illnesses. She is hopeful she can partner with physical therapists and mental health professionals to work with them to provide another outlet for patients. "I would really like to start my own business or a program to work with kids and anyone who needs assistance with physical and/or mental illness," explained Barnett. Down the line, she also would like to bring mini horses to Nemont Manor and Prairie Ridge to allow those patients the ability to connect on both an emotional and physical level.
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