Horse therapy program opens hearts; Connemara inspections close them
I received a letter in May 2015 from an organization that helps troubled youth through its horse program.
The letter includes a story about a 13-year-old girl who came to the program with a personality driven by defiance and a lack of self worth.
Upon arrival, she was too defiant to take care of the horse she was assigned. She said she hated horses.
Through coaxing by program leaders, she learned to care for her horse and love it.
The letter says girls like this teen have poor role models and suffer physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of adults. Most don’t trust adults even the slightest.
The horse program is all about teaching children to build a relationship with a horse, learn to trust the horse and then learn to trust others, particularly adults.
Compare that with the No. 1 program of the American Connemara Pony Society: inspections to make sure only some horses are accepted based on appearance.
Through inspections, Connemara society officials tell children that their horse isn’t good enough to fit into the breed that the horse already belongs to by DNA.
The ACPS and Connemara societies the world over stand for bigotry now. It’s all they care about.
Teens in Connemara societies learn hatred and rejection.
Which of these horse groups is providing a useful service for future horsemen and society in general?