Horseback riding helps Haverhill students harness their emotions
By Paul Tennant
ptennant@eagletribune.com
January 08, 2009 12:15 am-
HAVERHILL - Thirteen-year-old Jordan Conwell loves riding horses, and he's also learning from them - perhaps more than he knows.Jordan is one of several students at the Haverhill Alternative School who go to Ironstone Farm in Andover on Tuesday mornings for horseback riding.
His mother, Catharine Conwell, said since he started the riding sessions a few weeks ago, Jordan has become a lot calmer and is better at taking directions.
"He comes home from school and talks about it," she said.
Asked what he likes the most about going to Ironstone Farm, Jordan said, "Just riding the horses."
And if his mother were to ask him to help make supper that night, how would he respond?
"Sure," he said.
It wasn't always that way. The calm, agreeable attitude Jordan and his fellow Haverhill Alternative School students are developing is at least partly due to the equine therapy, their teachers said. It's a teaching tool that is gaining popularity nationally as a way of helping students who sometimes struggle with controlling their emotions.
Also taking part in the weekly riding program are five other students from Haverhill Alternative School, which tailors curriculum for students who have difficulty in traditional schools. On a recent frigid Tuesday morning, their energetic instructor, Bonnie Benson, led the students through a variety of exercises including trotting and playing a game similar to musical chairs.
While doing the latter, they had to ride the horses around the arena until the music stopped, and then they had to bring their horses to a stop.
Louis Rosario, 14, of Haverhill, an eighth-grader at the school, said he enjoys the weekly visit to Ironstone. Besides riding, he and his classmates have learned how to groom a horse and get it ready for riding. First comes a blanket, then a couple of pads and finally the saddle, he said.
Deb Schnappauf, who teaches math, social studies and writing at the school and accompanies the young riders each week, said the activity benefits the kids because they're learning how to care for an animal and much of what they do involves sequencing.
Also, it is essential that a person learning how to ride follow directions."On a horse, you have to be in control of your feelings," she said.
Haverhill Alternative School Principal John DePolo said the riding program helps students gain control over their emotions because they get feedback from the animals.
"The horse responds to their emotions," he said.
Learning emotional control through equine therapy "can be transferred into the classroom," DePolo said.
Laurie Schreiber volunteers at Ironstone Farm. Each of the Haverhill Alternative School students had a volunteer guiding the horse.
The animal-person connection, she said, is very therapeutic.
"They are learning the basics of riding and caring for an animal," said Schreiber, who has volunteered at Ironstone for seven years.
"I've rarely seen a group progress like this one," said Schreiber of the Haverhill Alternative School students. "It's wonderful to see."
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