carriage Archives - NCEFT National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy

The Continuing Education of Mr. Jack

September 4, 2012 by Development Director

Jack’s been here nearly a month and has yet to put a single hoof out of place. After spending a couple of days settling into his new digs, we crossed our fingers and put him to work. Jack immediately demonstrated his complete trust in his handler by calmly climbing the steps to the mounting block and standing there, front feet upon the uppermost step, while staff looked on in disbelief. After explaining to him that the idea was to walk between the mounting blocks, and not over them, he happily stood to be mounted and put in a lovely performance under saddle. It wasn’t long before Bonnie had him out driving on the road and through the Runnymede Farm. Rarely does a horse enter training at NCEFT and begin sessions in the same month, but Jack did just that, putting in his debut appearance as our Therapeutic Driving horse early last week. His progress has been so quick in fact, that Jack is scheduled to give a driving demonstration at this year’s Wounded Warrior Polo Benefit. Watch the slideshow below for a sneak peak of Jack in harness!

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Meet the Contestants: Murphy

June 8, 2012 by Development Director

First up was Murphy, a Percheron/Paint cross from Grass Valley. Bonnie, our Barn Manager and Driving Instructor, drove over 200 miles to check this guy out. Previously used as a ranch horse, Murphy had given up his cattle sorting days and was mainly hanging out in pasture. Though only 12 years old, he was convinced an early retirement was in the cards and didn’t seem too interested in getting back to work. A huge part of equine therapy is the emotional bond that develops between horse and human, and this guy was simply happier on his own. We decided to leave Murphy to his grazing, he might have done the job, but he wouldn’t have enjoyed it.

Join us next week as we head to Sanger to meet Constestant #2

Selecting a Driving Horse (Part 1)

May 21, 2012 by Development Director

A nation-wide search. Many readers are going to see that and wonder why NCEFT has to go so far to find our next driving horse. You may pass countless pastures on your way to our facility, each a bucolic scene of green grass and dappled horses, and think to yourself, “But there are so many horses in California?” As you break down the criteria of not just a driving horse, not just a therapeutic driving horse, but an NCEFT therapeutic driving horse, you may begin to wonder if in fact our search shouldn’t be global.

268229_259485467399977_129655497049642_1322610_6924832_n — Stormy and Tonka pull the wheelchair-accessible carriage

First there are the practical considerations. Weighing in at nearly a ton, a Percheron like Sunny could easily pull a carriage with four passengers. But what would happen if we put a smaller draft between the shafts? Only half as big as Sunny, our Fjord Sebastian could barely pull the same carriage with only two people aboard. If one little horse wasn’t strong enough how about two? Bonnie was able to modify our wheelchair-accessible carriage to be pulled by a pair and we set out to see if her Fjords, Stormy and Tonka, could share Sunny’s shoes.

They were certainly strong enough, but asking new driving students to manage two horses was a challenge. Not only did it take twice as long to get the horses harnessed and hitched, it was twice as hard to keep both horses on task and working in tandem. Imagine trying to get two children to walk side-by-side at the exact same pace without touching each other. Now imagine getting them to do that for half an hour while navigating circles, turns, and figure-eights. Even on their best behavior one horse was always a little slower, one horse quicker to turn.

dream horse results — DreamHorse results. Only 31 driving Percherons in the entire United States

No, using a pair was just going to be too difficult. What we needed was another Sunny, another Percheron. Like most things these days, horse shopping has gone high-tech. Gone are the days of flyers pinned to a corkboard at the grocery store, now it’s all about the internet. With this in mind, one of our first stops was DreamHorse.com. At the time this post was being written, there was a grand total of six Percherons listed for sale in California. Of those six only three had any driving training. Searching on Percherons trained to drive turned up only 31 horses in the entire United States. If we were to rule out all the unsuitable horses, how many would be left?

What characteristics and skills do we use to determine if a horse is suitable? Stay tuned for our next post that breaks down the criteria from age to training and everything inbetween!

DRIVE for a New Carriage Horse

May 15, 2012 by Development Director

Just over a year ago, we lost a horse who epitomized the phrase “Gentle Giant.” Jet black and standing 6 feet at his shoulder, Sunny the Percheron was the foundation of NCEFT’s therapeutic driving program. His sudden passing came just months after The Order of St. John, Knights Hospitaller donated the handicapped accessible carriage that Sunny so steadily pulled. Without Sunny, staff were left with no choice to but to suspend the driving program.

422846_131910020267819_1089108482_n — Sunny, NCEFT’s late driving horse

For some of our patients, therapeutic driving is the only opportunity they have to interact with horses. Faced with physical, sensory, or emotional disabilities that prevent them from riding, they can learn to control a horse from our specially adapted carriage. The carriage’s automatic lift allows students to do all this without ever leaving their wheelchair, eliminating difficult or uncomfortable transitions from one chair to another. Students range from children to veterans, and between the instructor, patient, and other associated staff or aides, the carriage’s four seats are always packed. It takes a certain kind of horse to pull such precious cargo, and that horse is personified by the Percheron.

Bonnie, NCEFT’s therapeutic driving instructor, has been scouring the country for another horse who fits the impossibly high standard set by Sunny. Quiet, hard-working, patient, strong, careful, generous, you name the positive adjective and there’s a good chance it’s a requirement of a therapy horse. Thanks to Bonnie’s hard work, we’ve found a couple of prospects who show promise. Now comes the equally hard part of raising the funds to get one of these old souls to California and get our students back in the driver’s seat.

NCEFT is launching a ‘DRIVE’ to purchase the new horse and ship him to our facility in Woodside, CA. Upon his arrival he’ll undergo the training necessary to step into Sunny’s colossal shoes and settle into his new life as an equine therapist. After adding up the cost of purchasing, shipping, and training the new horse, we estimate we’re going to have to raise $10,000 to make this dream a reality. A generous donor has offered a matching grant of $5000, and we’re asking for your help in raising the other half.

Join the ‘DRIVE’ with your contribution and recruit friends, family, and coworkers to donate to the cause in your name. Whomever raises the most will win the opportunity to go for a special carriage ride with the very horse they helped purchase.

Whether you love horses, support people with special needs, assist wounded veterans, or support animal-facilitated therapy, your donation, regardless of size, will make a difference in the lives of countless individuals.

Click for instructions on entering

The Continuing Education of Mr. Jack

The Continuing Education of Mr. Jack

Meet the Contestants: Murphy

Selecting a Driving Horse (Part 1)

DRIVE for a New Carriage Horse

NCEFT: HORSES. HOPE. HEALING.

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