An inspiring horse tale

It be-hooves you to visit Bright Horizons riding center

Marla Bowman, (third from left) helps a student at Bright Horizons

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

As our culture changes and horses become less and less a part of our daily lives, they are reaching an almost mythical status. They inspire awe in most people and for some, myself included, a little bit of healthy fear. But most of all, horses are really, really cool.

By tapping into the magic of horses, places like Bright Horizons Therapeutic Riding Center work to improve the physical and emotional wellbeing of individuals and their families. Although the majority of Bright Horizons’ programs are designed for riders with special needs, it also offers classes for able-bodied, independent and advanced riders.

“The idea behind what we do is that horses are good for everybody in their own way,” said Program Director Marla Bowman, who is certified through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship. “Even if someone doesn’t have a documented disability, there are still things they can get out of the experience of working with horses. For kids that have been through a trauma, the beauty of the horses is that they are non-judgmental and it’s a new, safe experience. But what we plan for the rider is case dependent — we set up different activities based on needs.”

People who promote equine therapy are those who have witnessed first-hand that horses have an amazing ability to interact with the clients based on how they are acting and feeling. This is one reason that they are good with people suffering from post-traumatic stress, which can exhibit in many different ways.

“We are an approved service provider through the Wounded Warrior project,” Bowman said. “Our work with the veterans has been very positive.”

Bowman moved to the Central Coast in 2016 from Northern California after having become certified as an Advanced Level Therapeutic Riding Instructor, Interactive Vaulting Instructor, Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning and a Registered Level Instructor Mentor.

“I grew up riding horses and always wanted to help people with special needs,” she said. “I moved here specifically for this job and it was a great decision.”

Other opportunities for equine immersion at Bright Horizons include interactive vaulting classes, recreational riding and an annual summer camp.

For kids three and older, the regular camp sessions are June 27 through July 1 and July 18 through 22. For kids ages seven and older who are able to independently groom, tack up, lead and ride a horse at walk and trot without volunteer assistance, the Advanced Camp is August 22 through 26.

“Campers will learn a variety of riding skills like English and Western riding, vaulting and even how to clean saddles and stalls and groom the horses — all the things you need to learn for caring about horses and horsemanship,” Bowman said. “We also bring people in that do other things like yoga, arts and crafts and even making treats for horses.”

Bright Horizons, which formed in 2006, depends on volunteer help, which Bowman stressed can come in many forms.

“People don’t have to have previous experience with horses,” she said. “If they have no background we teach about horse safety and provide a good deal of training. People can help with the grooming, the training and even just by adding an extra set of eyes in the ring. We do have some that prefer to just do stall cleaning, sweeping and cleaning up the feed room, and that is extremely valuable too.”

Most volunteers come once a week, and from as far as Waldport and Lincoln City.

“We’re also really trying to build up our on-call volunteer list,” Bowman said. “So people can still work with us without committing to coming on a certain day every week.”

The variety of programs at Bright Horizons are all built on the simple idea that being around horses is a good thing.

“The really cool part is when a kid comes in with a really serious deficit, like serious social skills, and then later we end up hearing about how they are doing better in school and how they’ve made new friends,” Bowman said. “There was a kid we worked with recently that ended up joining 4H and there’s no way she would have been able to do that before. What we do here spills over into other areas of their lives and we’re really proud of that.”

The morning I visited the barn and riding ring, there was a woman perched on the back of a blond, muscled horse, supported by Bright Horizons staff and volunteer assistants. As she made laps around the ring, I watched the expression on her face as it went from nervous, to focused and then to just happy. By the time I left, she was almost glowing.

Bright Horizons Therapeutic Riding Center is located two miles east of Siletz on Logsden Road. For more information, go to brighthorizonsriding.org or call 541-961-4156.