STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Kristy Wood held blindfolds in hand as she addressed six girls standing in the arena at Swiftsure Therapeutic Ranch.

“The activity we do today is to take you out of your comfort zone. If you don’t want to be blindfolded, you don’t have to. But, if you’re willing to open yourself up, I promise you these horses will take care of you.”

After a little hesitation, the girls agreed to taking turns being blindfolded. The blindfolded girls took the reins of their horses while their partners issued vocal commands guiding the blindfolded girls around cones placed around the arena.

Kristy Wood works with Skylar Slane as the young girl takes her first steps blindfolded.

“Follow my voice,” Montserrat Cisneros told Kendall Monjaras, beckoning with her hands even though Kendall couldn’t see them through her blindfold.

The experiment went awry at one point as the Monjaras and Lucy the horse almost walked into the side of the arena. But Cisneros got her back on track, completing the exercise.

“Good job,” horse wrangler Hugh Blue told them. “You did so good.”

The girls were among 12 Wood River Middle School students chosen by school staff to take part in a new program developed by Kristy Wood titled Six Reins.

Kendall Monjaras guides Montserrat Cisneros, telling her to follow the sound of her voice.

“Middle School can be a pivotal and often challenging time,” said Swiftsure Ranch Director Kristy Heitzman. “Six Reins is about giving girls the foundation they need to believe in themselves, set healthy boundaries and grow into strong, confident individuals.”

Each week Heitzman picks up the students at school and transports them to Swiftsure where they take part in an hour-long program working with horses as explore lessons in trust, discipline, confidence, gratitude, boundaries and self-esteem.

“Through my years of teaching and being around horses, I’ve watched firsthand how deeply horses can impact the lives of the girls who work with them,” said Wood. “Horses don’t judge, compare or criticize—they simply meet us exactly as we are. In their presence we are free to be honest, open and ourselves.”

Wood named her program The Six Rein Program because reins are what help guide a horse with clarity and purpose and because it’s the horses are the ones helping teach the lessons.

I’m going to keep my hand on you the whole time—we’ll do it together,” Kristy Wood tells  Brylee Stoops, who elected to keep her eyes closed rather than use the blindfold.

“Just like a rider uses reins to stay connected and in control, the six reins address trust, discipline, confidence, gratitude, boundaries and self-esteem to help girls stay grounded make better choices and become stronger leaders,” she said.

The girls were quiet, even nervous, as they accompanied Heitzman to the ranch south of Bellevue the first week.

“As I drove, I could feel the anxiety in the car. Only one had ever been around a horse before,” Heitzman recounted. “At least three told me they were scared of horses. I said I was scared of horses, too. But I told them: If you meet Kristy, she’ll make you feel connected and you’ll love the program.”

The first week the girls learned to groom the horses to establish a connection. Then they grounded the horses by dropping their lead ropes on the ground and walking around them.

Savannah Brown says that a good way to get acquainted with horses is to let them smell your hand.

This was a lesson that trust is earned through actions, not words, Wood told the girls: “Horses won’t follow someone they don’t trust.  They watch a person’s body language and energy. Stay calm, consistent and gentle, the horse relaxes and connects with you.”

“You have to take a deep breath and recognize your own emotions,” added Heitzman. “I recognize that I’m fearful walking into an arena with a loose horse—riding a horse I feel more in control because I can hold on.

By the second week, the girls were quick to engage Heitzman in conversation as they drove from school to the ranch. The girls talked about the ISAT achievement tests they were facing while Heitzman talked about the donation of a new fox trotter horse that will bring the number of horses at the ranch to 19.

A black fox with an orange tip on its tail had recently been sighted at the ranch, along with a pine marten, she told the girls. Beavers have cutting trees to build a condo. And a herd of elk is hanging out, apparently waiting for the alfalfa to grow.

“Last year they turned off our water on June 27 and this year it could be turned off in May. We need 35 days to get a cutting for the horses so it’ll be tight,” she said.

Upon reaching the ranch, Wood told the girls that the blindfold exercise emphasizes the value of discipline. Horses need clear, consistent cues to understand what’s being asked, she said. They get confused and stop responding if given conflicting signals.

Wood challenged the girls to work on building good habits and doing the right thing over and over, even when they don’t feel like it.

“What’s one habit you want to improve? How can you motivate yourself? What area of your life needs discipline? You need to be consistent with horses. I can’t make you do something. You have to want to do it yourself.”

This week the students will get a lesson in confidence. Horses are great mirrors, Wood notes. If a girl approaches them with fear or hesitation, the horse will become unsure, as well. When the girl stands tall and confident, the horse will follow.

“Confidence isn’t loud. It’s quiet, steady leadership,” Wood said

Next week they will focus on gratitude and how horses give their best when they feel safe and valued through grooming and other gestures.

A lesson on boundaries will follow. The girls have already learned that horses test boundaries, stepping into the girl’s personal space and bumping or crowding them unless they set a limit.

They’ll learn that if they hold their ground respectfully, the horses will respect that. Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others, Wood notes.

The program will conclude with a lesson on self-esteem as girls learn that real self-esteem is earned through experience, not compliments, and that getting a horse to respond to complete challenges can be a self-esteem builder.

The girls are given homework assignments. And they’re given quotes, to hang their hat on, as well. Among them, Eleanor Roosevelt’s “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. And Teddy Roosevelts’ “Believe and you’re halfway there.”

Heitzman said the ranch tried a shortened version of its Six Reins out on Idaho Basecamp kids this year prior to offering it to the middle school girls.

“This year they had 24 kids sign up for a camping trip, up from six last year,” she said. “Mat Gershater, who runs Idaho BaseCamp, said he thinks Six Reins gave them confidence to try something new.”

Horses are powerful mirrors, Wood told the girls. They reflect emotions and our intentions, giving us the opportunity to look inward and grow.

“When we slow down and allow ourselves to learn from them, they become remarkable teachers, helping us to find balance, patience and clarity,” she added. “Sometimes we want to be boss and rush our horse and it doesn’t move. We have to be patient as we learn that sometimes we have to take a step back and slow down,”

SWIFTSURE TO HONOR YEAR OF THE HORSE

Swiftsure Ranch will honor the Year of the Horse at its Cowboy Ball fundraiser on June 25.

“Last year was the year of the Snake so it was like shedding the old while the Year of the Horse means charging forward,” said Kristy Heitzman, the ranch’s executive director.

The ranch, which served on average a hundred children and adults free of charge in past years, has been growing the number of people it serves. Just this year it added youngsters involved in an Idaho Base Camp/Far + Wise program.

Swiftsure recently started another new program--Power Parenting--for parents of children with physical challenges. It also plans to partner with the Y on its Summer Bridge summer school program this year.

Other programs that it partners with include Camp Rainbow Gold and Boise veterans.