Residential Treatment and Therapeutic Job Training and Placement Program

We are a program to teach veterans and men in recovery what they need to know to work as top notch grooms in the horse industry while also providing a therapeutic environment.

The HS Groom Elite Education, Certification and Job Placement Program is a residential program for veterans and men in recovery from addictions. The individuals that come here primarily come out of Isiah House’s residential drug treatment program, Drug Court, and the VA substance abuse programs. They come to us with an average of 60 days abstinent from drugs and alcohol. Some have just come from an extended VA trauma treatment program. Our program provides the structure needed after treatment to build a new life without substances.

Participants live in the residence here on the farm and come to the HorseSensing barn each morning. They feed the horses, clean the stalls and proceed with their daily education. Our education director, Chris Carl, teaches them the hands-on skills of a professional groom. This is very detailed work. We have a written curriculum as well that each participant studies and is tested on. Each day a horse trainer comes to train the horses and also instructs our participants in essentials such as: how to properly tack up a horse, how to cool one out after working, how to maintain legs with leg wraps and liniment, how to spot signs of colic, and how to be a good “ground person”. The goal is for them to be well prepared for the job with a professional horse trainer and for the trainer to take what they have learned and extend it to be able to do things their way. In the show horse industry, we all know that every single trainer does things just a little bit differently. The basics are the same but the particulars are different.

This daily education simulates what their future job will ask from them.

We have 3 Phases-Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3.

Phase 1 -Participants live in the Phase 1 house at the HorseSensing Farm which houses 4. The first 3 months consist of daily grooming skills and equine education training by Chris Carl our Education Director, 6 recovery meetings per week, random drug testing, weekly psychotherapy sessions with our doctoral psychologist interns from Spaulding University, drug and alcohol testing, and constant support from our staff led by a licensed psychologist specializing in substance use disorder and treatment. Afternoons are spent learning farm and stable maintenance with David Broder, Farm Manager. After approximately 2 months each participant has an internship with a local professional horse farm, Harper Stables, after which they are tested out on their skills, certified as a Groom Elite Groom, and placed in a job at a show barn in Shelby County. Some participants have stayed in Phase 1 longer to be sure they were ready both skills-wise and recovery-wise to move on to Phase 2.

Phase 2 – The next 6 months. Once we place them in a job, they move to the Phase 2 house on Cropper Road (houses 4). This is fully remodeled house. It has 4 bedrooms and is beautiful and serene, out in the country. In Phase 2 the guys are going to work every day. They carpool in a HorseSensing car to and from work. They have no overhead to pay for and can save their money. They continue to work on their sobriety goals and attend 6 meetings per week, carpooling with the Phase 1 and Phase 3 guys.

They also attend to their real-world needs. These real-world needs include completing any legal system requirements that encumber them such as drug court, being licensed to drive, and any fines or restitution they need to pay, including child support.
They also continue to address their mental health and physical health needs, including medications for issues like depression and PTSD. Because we are led by a licensed psychologist, we understand that mental health medications are sometimes necessary for full functioning and long term sobriety, even for preventing suicide.

Another top priority for us is the mending of family problems and reunification with their children. Because we are a horse farm we are the perfect place for long broken bonds to heal, and for trust to once again be built among the families of our participants. We encourage family visits on Sundays.

Phase 3 -When a participant has been in the Phase 2 house for approximately 6 months (for a total of 9 months in our program at this point) they move to the Phase 3 house. In this phase, they begin to pay rent and utilities themselves of $400 per month. This is paid to the owner of the building (an 8 unit apartment building). They guys in Phase 3 are in charge of one HorseSensing car and are responsible for 5 of them getting to work. One of the residents in Phase 2 now has a car and another uses a 2nd HorseSensing car to get back in forth. The guys in Phase 3 also pick up the guys in Phase 1 and 2 to take them to recovery meetings. The beauty of all of this is the support that ALL of them get from each other. The Phase 3 guys mentor the Phase 1 and 2 guys on recovery, work, getting back into society and meeting all of your responsibilities. Being a productive member of society, of your family, of your work team and your HorseSensing family. They can continue to live here indefinitely. They are still a part of the program and are randomly drug tested.
Other HorseSensing Programs

In addition to our residential programs, we have been able to provide the Shelby County community many day long programs each year, making HorseSensing a family setting for the whole community. Programs for Veterans, Gold Star Families, First Responders, people in recovery and the general public.

Program questions…

Would you like to teach a clinic to our students?

Bring your specialty to HorseSensing!

Clinics are 2 to 3 hours.

You create your curriculum to teach our students and local folks interested in coming.

Any donations go towards supporting HorseSensing programs.

This is a great way to hone a clinic you are working on.

Call us at 650-776-4313 or email info@horsesensing.com