Power of the Horse: Counselor Uses Equine Therapy to Teach Leadership Skills
The following story was written by Mychel Matthews for MagicValley.com.
Horses mirror feelings of the people around them.
That’s why Geianne Choate uses equine therapy in clinical psychotherapy sessions.
“I totally believe in the power of a horse to bring about change,” said Choate, a school counselor in Wendell.
She’s used equine therapy since 2004. All of her horses have been rescued from abuse or abandonment. But with Choate’s help, they become healers.
“Many of the horses come to me scared and with trust issues — a lot of the things people struggle with,” she said.
Horses are large, powerful and intimidating. Working with horses gives her clients an opportunity to overcome fear and to develop trust — and self-confidence.
For her students at Wendell High School, working alongside horses provides insight when dealing with other intimidating and challenging situations in life. As the school’s National Honor Society adviser, Choate put the NHS officers through drills Wednesday at her ranch near Castleford, using her therapy horses to demonstrate leadership strategies.
Wendell senior Casey Clapp quietly monitored the horses’ interaction with the students and the other horses. Clapp is resocializing a rescue horse named Hope for his senior project. Hope will later be used in equine therapy.