Youngsters With Behavioral Woes Can Be Trained ‘Horse Whisper’ To Boost Their Confidence & Self Esteem

Horse whispering is perhaps most famously associated with the 1998 Hollywood film directed by and starring Robert Redford.

Project manager Lindsey Mitchell said she first saw the positive effect working with horses could have on youngsters while working at a summer camp in Virginia in the USA.

She has also been involved in equine therapy project for children with disabilities in Warwickshire.

“It’s very useful for children with behavioral problems to see an immediate reaction to their behavior so that they can modify it”

But she said using horses to help modify the behavior of youngsters with problems such anger management was relatively new.

“The term horse whisperer is a bit flowery,” she said.

“It’s really about how the body, the voice and even the breath can affect another living creature.

But she said using horses to help modify the behavior of youngsters with problems such anger management was relatively new.

“The term horse whisperer is a bit flowery,” she said.

“It’s really about how the body, the voice and even the breath can affect another living creature.

“When they work with horses, they have to be be very careful about what they do or the horse will not approach them.”

Disadvantaged and socially excluded youngsters will work under supervision with a rescued horse and pony which live at the farm.

Ms. Mitchell said the money would allow the project to run as a pilot with 15 youngsters for six months.

“We try and tailor our programs to work with children with a wide variety of needs to help improve their lives,” she said.

“We hope to expand this project if the pilot is successful to include 80 children a year from different areas of Wales.”

The new project known as the The Penytrip Project is starting next month at a farm near Porthmadog.

The youngsters will work with a rescued horse and a pony at the farm. Youngsters with behavioral problems in Gwynedd are to be taught to “horse whisper”.

Children will be encouraged to communicate and bond with the horses and learn how their behavior affects the animals.

The project has secured £5,000 (US$ 7900) from the National Lottery and is one of 56 across Wales to share £203,423 (US$ 321,408) funding.

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