 The Story of T.H.E. Ranch™ (Teaching Humans with Equine) is the story of one person’s struggle to overcome limitations and achieve her long-deferred heart’s quest. After years of struggling with learning problems exacerbated by an early head injury and attention deficit disorder (ADD), Bonnie Ebsen Jackson returned to the academic world to finish what she had begun decades ago—her studies in Psychology that would lead to degrees and credentialing as a psychotherapist. Along the way, her life had taken her in as many directions as a person could go to escape academic learning; performing as an actor and dancer, running a recording studio with her husband, operating a guest ranch, teaching horsemanship and even editing two horse magazines. In fact, many friends and associates considered her to be quite accomplished and had no idea of the internal struggle she had with learning and processing new material.
It was not until 2005, when she happened on an interactive Internet course on self leadership—The Labyrinth (designed by the renowned authority on adult learning, Dr. Stephanie Burns)—that Bonnie was able to take authority over her own destiny and return to school to pursue her academic goals. Her message to others who struggle with similar goals is:
“If you want something that you perceive is just outside your reach, speak out and ask for assistance. The resources to help you achieve your goals are available and they are getting better all the time.”
Because of her unique history, Bonnie has a particular compassion for adults and children who struggle with learning and her quest is to assist them in regaining control over those areas of their lives by empowering them to discover the resources they need.
Combining a lifelong love of animals, and particularly of horses, with a desire to help people in a therapeutic setting led Bonnie to become certified as an EAGALA (Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association) specialist and to combine that with her knowledge of natural horsemanship learned from such teachers as Mark Rashid and Pat and Linda Parelli.
Working with a team of licensed psychotherapists and interns, T.H.E. Ranch has enjoyed great success with at-risk youths, phobic and mood-disordered adults, and is particularly excited to be offering workshops for people in career transition due to the current economic downturn.
“As one who has had to ‘reframe’ my idea of what I do for a living more than once—and go back for the training needed to pursue my goals—I feel great compassion for the worker who is in that process of change.”
Most clients are delighted to discover the serene and picturesque world of Bonnie’s “outdoor office” set on six acres in Skull Valley, Arizona. They quickly get to know the ranch’s four-legged co-facilitators, from the diminutive miniature Appaloosa “Elvis” to the towering Belgian cross mare “Paloma. ” Each animal is uniquely qualified to bring another dimension to the EAP/EAL* work, due to their varied personalities and experiences. After some time spent with the herd, it becomes easy for clients to observe that it takes all sorts of horses—and people—to make a society work.
*Equine Assisted Psychotherapy/Equine Assisted Learning (see resource page for more information) |
