I have seen horses soothe even the most troubled of souls, with cognitive and neurological issues, to be able to be completely still for the first time in years. I have seen the smile of many from receiving the unconditional love a horse can provide, the comfort and nurturing that is so often needed but that we sometimes can’t see ourselves. The horses can feel it.
I developed Yawardani Jan-ga (which means “horses helping” in Yawuru language) equine assisted learning as an experiential approach focusing on non-verbal communication or biofeedback from horses for emotional, cognitive and behavioural support. Yawardani Jan-ga can address individual factors linked to cycles of disadvantage, social exclusion and suicide.
All children and young people need to develop skills to manage their social relationships, school, work and outside interests. But for Aboriginal youth from complex family environments – often a legacy of intergenerational trauma – violence and distress can become normalised reactions.
Using a range of culturally secure approaches, we have been able to determine the extent to which equine assisted learning can address outcomes. Horses are naturally capable of offering what is required.
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Their medicine is not always obvious at first, and part of the work we do is to provide such opportunities for our young people to tune into these experiences. Sessions normally last about an hour. We offer a variety of activities as we take our young people on a journey with the guidance and feedback from the horses. The themes we explore vary from the early work around calmness and regulation to boundaries, self-thought, feelings as natural and facing life’s challenges. Each session is led by the young person around what they would feel is right for them and we are guided by the horses’ responses to those experiences.
A young person may choose to do some leading with the horse around the obstacle course. Utilising only observational language, the practitioner relates the experiences back and forward between the horse’s responses and the young person’s responses. We capture this session through clinical notes, photography and video. At the end of each session, we ask one integration question to summarise the main feelings from that particular session. This is not scripted in a way where young people need to fill in forms or tick boxes. It is recorded verbatim.
We have many stories of this work over the four years of Yawardani Jan-ga and with more than 2,000 young Aboriginal people. I have witnessed many phenomenal things. I have seen horses lie down in an offer of absolute support and mirroring to little people who are tired and have no light inside them for that day.
Perhaps we are looking at mental health without the holistic lens that it requires. We know full well that you can tell a person that they are important, they are valuable, they are loved, for example; but if they do not feel it – if it is not truly what they think themselves – then it is often short-lived and does not become who they are for long.
One of the best parts about working with horses for me is their honesty. They reflect us, and sometimes you do not like what you see of yourself. While it can be hard, rejection for example is a part of life and finding ways to feel acceptance is one of the struggles of adolescence. The trigger for belonging can lead to risk taking behaviours. Imagine if horses could take some of that strain, that load – those little pieces that we know are integral but often are missed.
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This work has come at a great cost. It is hard – personally and professionally. It is a heavy backpack to carry. I have amazing family, friends, colleagues and staff who have blessed us with their time and energy over many years, and of course the horses. I was so impatient to just do the work, but I was constantly being hampered as funding cycles have us like mice on wheels. But every day I get up and see the young people and horses together and this hardness fades. We have been able to get going, establish the program, employ our amazing staff and make a real difference in young people’s lives.
I hear comments of pure joy each day:
“I just had the best day ever, and I mean ever.” – a six-year-old boy.
“Tell Elvis that I said hi … Do you think he misses me?” – a 15-year-old girl.
“I don’t want to go back to school; Paris really needs me to stay here today.” – a 10-year-old boy.
Imagine feeling seen, wanted, valued and loved all at the same time. Horses absolutely are medicine – it’s a big dose of whatever you need from the inside out.
A lot of work is being done around suicide prevention. What a sad state of life that we have to coax young people into staying here, and that it is even a choice, this death over life. I’m feeling deep sadness through my own family loss, for anyone, for our little people who have not yet experienced much life. The story they are born into has only just began, and yet they do not wish to stay. We must do more; things are not improving enough. We are getting better and rallying around when a suicide has occurred, but we need to do much more around prevention. Society needs Yawardani Jan-ga everywhere it is needed. Everyone should be able to experience such unconditional support and love.
When I think about what our purpose is in life, I feel that mine has been to share horses. It took me many years to know this, but the horses were always there, showing me. I couldn’t see it earlier, but later in life when I needed it most, I felt it. It is what I will make of my story for others and myself.
This work is the biggest privilege I have experienced besides bringing life into the world.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. Help for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is available on 13YARN on 13 92 76.
Prof Juli Coffin is a proud Aboriginal woman with traditional ties to her grandparents’ Nyangumarta country in the Pilbara region. She is Ellison Professor and head of social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal young people at Murdoch University, Ngangk Yira Institute for Change. The Yawardani Jan-ga equine assisted learning research program, designed by Coffin, is the first of its kind in the Kimberley, in Australia and the world. It forms the subject of a Guardian documentary, Pressure and Release. Click the link to view
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