By Terri Russell | Posted: Tue 3:29 PM, Mar 03, 2020 | Updated: Wed 10:16 AM, Mar 04, 2020
WASHOE VALLEY, Nev. (KOLO) Over the years, we’ve taken you to the Nevada Equine Assisted Therapy or NEAT program in Washoe Valley.
The program uses horses to help kids between the ages of 4 and 21 work through issues like impulse control, stress tolerance and flexibility.
Kids we talked to loved the program.
“I did not ride before,” says Angel Faz who talked about his experiences back in 2016. “I learned a few ground games before I got a chance to ride,” he said.
“Like both the horses and the people encourage us all the time,” Moriah Jickling told us back in 2016. “They want us to reach our dreams. That’s the most important thing,” she said.
Parents say they’ve noticed how the interaction between horse, rider and instructor can plant the seeds to success.
“If you go up and yell at the horse and demand the horse to do something, it is not going to work,” said Jamie Shakespeare, a parent whose child was in the program about a year ago. “So it is understanding the same with people. You have to use those kind words. You have to build that relationship,” she said.