HUNTLEY — In a recent workshop hosted by the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Behavioral Health Program, traveling trainers shared their insights on the power of using horses for therapeutic benefits on reservations across Montana.
“This is what heals. The horse is a gift from the creator,” said Gordon Birch, CEO of Insight Consulting.
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Insight Equine Assisted Wellness has the goal of bettering overall health and wellness of individuals and their families.
"(Insight is) a consulting company that works with individuals who struggle with drugs, alcohol, maladaptive behaviors, relationship issues, people who struggle with really putting life together," Birch said. "I use horses to help them regain their relationships."
Everyone, including the trainers, shared stories of traumas they've dealt with and how much being around a horse can help.
“I experienced loss, early in my life, a lot of loss. I lost my dad from a car accident we were in when I was seven,” Dr. Cory Reich, an Insight co-facilitator, said. "He passed a few days after that. And over the next seven years, I lost my uncle, my aunt, and then my grandmother died. So lots and lots of loss."
Carolyn Adams, clinical supervisor at Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center in Poplar, shared her own loss.
"I lost my husband the last time I was here in November," Adams said. "The horses have really helped heal my heart."
The goal of Birch and Reich is to teach how to create healing experiences that foster vulnerability and presence.
“They're the prey animal. We're the predator. In order for them to feel safe, you have to demonstrate that you're trustworthy,” Reich said. “You see this beautiful relationship with the participants and the horse.”
The Utah-based duo travel around the United States, and when they come to Montana, they focus on assisting tribal members.
"I did an adoption search and found my biological family, and my family are Choctaw from Oklahoma. So, I was actually able to enroll in the Choctaw Nation," Birch said. "To be able to work with the tribes is an ultimate honor."
During the three-day training held at Creekside Ranch in Huntley, six tribes were represented. Trainers demonstrated techniques aimed at integrating horses into trauma and addiction recovery. Carrie Manning, from the Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center, emphasized the cultural significance of horses.
"Horses are part of our culture. And so they carry a spirit that we have lost. And we need to continue using them to help heal from trauma, past traumas, you know, addictions," Manning said.
The tribal members, who are present during the training, plan to take the knowledge back to their communities.
"We're learning to use the horse as a tool to help heal our people, our clients at home," Manning said.
Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center plans to start its own equine therapy. The group needs funding to build a barn for the horses.
"I really wanted to get off the ground and start working with our clients with the horses. And I'm really excited about that," Adams said.
Bruce Bauer, also from Spotted Bull Recovery, is looking forward to helping those in his community.
"Through alcohol and drugs, to keep them off the streets and to encourage them to work with the horse, how a horse takes things from a person," Bauer said.
Reich remembers his first time working with a horse.
"I walked into that experience just like everyone else does. I mean, it was a 1,200-pound beast that I was really afraid of and scared of," he said. "It was very healing for me and very, very powerful. When a horse comes up to you and leans his head into your chest or lays his head on your shoulder, there is a connection there that you really haven't felt before. And it does something to you."
Birch said he always sees a change in the participants and clients they help.
"I see a softness come over them. I see how they are inspired and hope that there is a way," Birch said. "There is hope for our healing."
