EQUIJOURNEYS: The Four-Legged Support Team Equine Assisted Psychotherapy And Learning (E.A.P.A.L.) | ||
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equine assisted psychotherapy horse therapy animal therapy counseling equine assisted learning and growth equine assisted growth experiential therapy cognitive therapy equine assisted psychotherapy animal therapy adolescents teenagers children family communication skills equine assisted psychotherapy life skills anger self-esteem self-confidence equine assisted psychotherapy behavior disorders mood disorders personality disorders eating disorders depression anxiety addictions recovery equine assisted psychotherapy social work Arabian horses breeding showing hippotherapy equine assisted psychotherapy horse therapy animal therapy counseling equine assisted learning and growth equine assisted growth experiential therapy cognitive therapy equine assisted psychotherapy animal therapy adolescents teenagers children family communication skills equine assisted psychotherapy life skills anger self-esteem self-confidence equine assisted psychotherapy behavior disorders mood disorders personality disorders eating disorders depression anxiety addictions recovery equine assisted psychotherapy social work Arabian horses breeding showing hippotherapy equine assisted psychotherapy horse therapy animal therapy counseling equine assisted learning and growth equine assisted growth experiential therapy cognitive therapy equine assisted psychotherapy animal therapy adolescents teenagers children family communication skills equine assisted psychotherapy life skills anger self-esteem self-confidence equine assisted psychotherapy behavior disorders mood disorders personality disorders eating disorders depression anxiety addictions recovery equine assisted psychotherapy social work Arabian horses breeding showing hippotherapy equine assisted psychotherapy horse therapy animal therapy counseling equine assisted learning and growth equine assisted growth experiential therapy cognitive therapy equine assisted psychotherapy animal therapy adolescents teenagers children family communication skills equine assisted psychotherapy life skills anger self-esteem self-confidence equine assisted psychotherapy behavior disorders mood disorders personality disorders eating disorders depression anxiety addictions recovery equine assisted psychotherapy social work Arabian horses breeding showing hippotherapy equine assisted psychotherapy horse therapy animal therapy counseling equine assisted learning and growth equine assisted growth experiential therapy cognitive therapy equine assisted psychotherapy animal therapy adolescents teenagers children family communication skills equine assisted psychotherapy life skills anger self-esteem self-confidence equine assisted psychotherapy behavior disorders mood disorders personality disorders eating disorders depression anxiety addictions recovery equine assisted psychotherapy social work Arabian horses | |||||||||||||
"Rafiq Al Amin" The Ambassador, Mascot, and very first and favorite horse was also my first horse. While I was riding and training and teaching riding lessons even as a youth, I never owned a horse (See the JOURNEY and PEOPLE sections for details on my training background). After high school, I went to Baylor Univerity in Waco, Texas, and I began working for an amazing Egyptian Arabian breeding and training farm called Arabians, LTD. I was given a gelded weanling for my first month of work, and I named him "Rafiq Al Amin," which translates to "loyal friend and companion" in Egyptian Arabic. My first dream horse had been named Rafiqa, so it was a name with the perfect fit. Many people will say that a person's first horse should be one that is an adult and already trained. Rafiq proved to be an exception to that rule. I took him for walks as I would a dog, he was exposed to children and rock quarry trucks, baseball-sized hail and various wildlife. I was the first person to try anything with him and I was blessed by a wonderful family who "adopted" me and taught me horse ownership and training. Those were perhaps the most important years of my life. He took to riding with the quiet-yet-personality-plus demeanor that still pulls people of all ages to him. Rafiq is now 13 years old, and he has been the source of my greatest adventures and experiences. He tolerated my naive ways and impatience as I have grown as a horsewoman, and continues teaching me, healing me, and reminding me to have faith even in the most dismal times. Rafiq has adopted and been adopted by Veronica, and she is well on her way to becoming an incredible trainer - in spite of, or maybe even due to being 12 years old. Rafiq has sustained some injuries, including a broken leg at the age of eight, from fencing mishaps and mischief that have taken their toll on my sanity and in his joints (osteoarthritis). Yet his attitude remains positive and he continues to love working with and taking care of "his humans." He is the grey Arabian you will see in so many pictures on this website, though he was a very dark bay as a youngster. (Many Arabians are born a dark color and then turn grey over time.) Previous to breaking his leg, I was showing Rafiq in Western Pleasure at various levels and shows. He was usually first or second, and never entered a class without winning a ribbon in the top four. Currently, I am reconditioning him to possibly return to the show circuit - allowing the kids in EquiJourneys to have the experience of dealing with the ups and downs of training for and competing in horse shows. | |||||||||||||
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"LF MAJIK STAR" Recently joining the EquiJourneys Family, a phenomenal 2003 straight Egyptian grey mare named "LF Majik Star!" A huge THANK YOU to Gary Fernandez and Bryan Jeffries of Lyday Farms for making it possible for me to aquire this wonderful, loving and beautiful mare as a yearling filly! Majik has every bit the loving and playful spirit that I can imagine, plus more! She has already served as a therapist to me in dealing with a tremendous loss and some health problems. She has been in my pockets (seeking carrots, LOL), and snuck into my heart before I'd purchased her, and I cannot imagine the thought not having her in my life and my family. Majik has her own roles to play in both EquiJourneys, and in our Straight Egyptian Arabian breeding, training, and showing business, Farscape Arabians, LTD. She was shown lightly as a yearling, at both a Class 'A' Arabian show, and at the internationally reknown Egyptian Event, held every year in Lexington Kentucky. Over the past few years, she has spent time growing up and learning the basics. When she was three years old, I started her under saddle. She has such a sharp mind, and seemingly no fears, and we went from her first time to wear a saddle to riding around the stables with just a halter in less than 2 hours! That would count as a record for me. A year passed and just as I began to work with her under saddle again, she suffered a mild founder. (Founder is a disease of the hoof that has multiple known causes, and numerous unknown causes. In short, the foot within the hoof becomes inflamed on both front feet, and this causes mild to severe damage.) Majik was very fortunate in that she only had mild damage. It takes a full year to grow a hoof, however, so she has had quite a bit of time off from work so not to stress out her healing feet. Better late than never, Majik was ready to start showing again during the late Fall. At my debut show with Majik, and the first show for her in over 3 years, Majik won Grand Champion Mare and took second place in the heavily populated Liberty class at the Callegari Fall Open Show! Rafiq even took third place in Equitation! On January 10, Majik returned to the Class 'A' Arabian show circuit to win a second place in a very competitive Mares 5yrs and Older class. She showed very well in the Amateur class with me at the end of the leadline, getting fourth place, and later a second place in Showmanship. Her placing in the Amateur classes was due to my inexperience in showing a horse at halter. She was a very patient and beautiful girl at both of these shows, and we are quite proud of her. She obviously has a great deal to teach me! The best news of all lies in Majik's future! This year we have two big events planned. The first is that Majik will be in training and conditioning again with Bryan Jeffries of Lyday Farms with the ultimate goal of returning to the Egyptian Event as a Senior mare! This show is very competitive and essential for both Majik's show career and visibility to other Straight Egyptian breeders from all over the world. This will be very important as we are planning to breed her either this summer or next spring, and we hope that her foal will be a true reflection of its mom and her bloodlines. Majik will also be restarted under saddle in the upcoming months, so we should be trail-riding and showing under saddle in no time! This will be a very exciting year to say the least, and updates will be posted here! | |||||||||||||
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Current Services Being Offered by Farscape Arabians LF Majik Star is available for one to two embryo transfer breedings during spring 2008 under special treaty due to high demand for her bloodlines. LF Majik Star is a Straight Egyptian mare with an extremely high percentage Abbeyan Om Jurays lineage, a strain with fewer than 250 breeding age mares in the world. Her Sire is Marquis 1 (Makhsous x Antigua Dance) and her Dam is Asila Al Shaqab (PVA Kariim x Rajkumari). Her pedigree is shown below. Interested parties may contact Shannon McCullough at (281) 894-5107 or skgserenity@aol.com. | |||||||||||||
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Martha and the Horses of Classic Bloodstock Martha White, owner of Classic Bloodstock, is the "Equine Specialist" of my dreams. If I were to describe my ideal personality in a partner, Martha would fit it to the letter. The same is true of the horses she owns, breeds, and shows. They are all top quality Egyptian Arabians that would be untouchable in the hands of many. Martha, however, has the heart to share and help bring healing to hurting people. For full details on Martha, as well as many more pictures and descriptions of her horses, please visitthe EAPAL TEAM page. Classic Bloodstock isa family-owned Egyptian Arabian breeding venture belonging to Martha White, and it is a primary location out of which EquiJourneys operates. It is located in the Woodlands area of Northern Houston with easy access from major freeways. Martha has chosen to become the "Equine Specialist" member of the therapy teamand has taken us in, literally in her back yard. She owns over 20 horses, including 5 colts born this year, providing the resource most needed in this program. | |||||||||||||
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Balancing the Needs, Expenses and Resources The most needed resource for EquiJourneys is also the most expensive: Horses. They are not a single financial investment, but one that requires monthly bills for food, shelter, water, medical maintenance, medical emergency, farrier, land, training, and so on. Therein lies the difficult balance for an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy program in this stage. Without horses, there is no program - yet with horses, the program is never going to come close to matching the cost. This is where some very important people enter the picture... Currently, EquiJourneys has the blessing of having TWO locations fromwhich to provide services. One is explained above - Classic Bloodstoock. The other one is located at a boarding stable called Callegari Equestrian Technologies in Cypress, Texas. The owners of this boarding stable, Eduardo and Candace Callegari, are the first to do whatever they can to make sure that people with horses have a positive place to keep and enjoy their four-legged companions. They are also incredibly generous in allowing people who need a horse to borrow or lease one of their top quality mares and geldings. While boarding horses is far more expensive than keeping them on land of your own, the environment of a place such as this is full of opportunities to meet people and become involved with a variety of horses - all breeds, all ages. It is a rare instance that you will ever find a horse owner who is not willing to share time and information with another person. Most of us truly enjoy any chance to share this amazing creature (whom we love like we would any family member!) that has brought majic into our lives. The facilities are set up with safety as a priority, and include a covered arena, an open arena, a round pen, a jumping course, and endless trails. The barns are top of the line and maintained to a degree of quality I never experienced until I moved into this stable nearly 4 years ago. In order for me to provide something even close to this experience, I would have to purchase and develop land, build on and fence off that land, and find time and energy to maintain it. For now, this is a good environment for EquiJourneys, operating in an environment where the emphasis is on solutions over problems and teaches us all how to communicate, compromise and work out our differences. The best part of this equation is the people factor. I can only afford two horses, but there are nearly 100 more possible contacts while boarding at this facility. The crucial ingredient to building EquiJourneys exists within the people around us who may choose to share their horse or a part of themselves with the participants in the program. This generosity provides the most-needed resource. There are too many names to mention when counting the people who sacrifice some of their time and offer the use of their horses to any extent. Below I have pictures of a mere few of the many horses and people who have been part of this program in some significant way. Remember: any moment of time that we spend on someone other than ourselves is a *significant* gift that has meaning far deeper than the person giving it will ever know. | |||||||||||||
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Looking Toward the Future As EquiJourneys grows, we hope to lease or purchase a home base from which to operate, so we can increase the number of therapy horses to insure that each horse has a smaller "caseload." We rely heavily on the generosity of others who share their time, their space, and their horses to bring this program the resources it needs. Thank you to all who have contributed thus far in any way - no gift goes unappreciated! Our belief is that God provides what we need and when we will need it. We will not allow any horse to become over-burdened in workload or burnt out on helping others due to being used too much or in a manner that causes discomfort. I train each horse individually to become a safe horse both on the ground and in the saddle, and all riders must wear helmets. We are a "safety first" program with the safety and well-being of each human and each horse being the most important factor. | |||||||||||||
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