Rehabilitating Racehorses Rehabilitates Inmates

The headline could read, "Broken Horses Heal Broken People." The front-page story of the local newspaper was about a Department of Corrections program where prisoners work to rehabilitate racehorses and in the process find something good -- and nurture that goodness -- within themselves.

I know my horses do it for me and for Lily. Bonding with a horse can make you a better person. The program has not been an overwhelming success, but it's still going and has helped rehabilitate lots of horses and so far, this one man. He's the first graduate and there are 10 inmates currently enrolled.

Check out the newspaper article, which has great photos and a slideshow. It didn't tell me enough about the horses, but then again, neither did NBC's little snippet about Rolex Kentucky that we just watched (they should have cut the hockey game short, not Rolex). Here's an excerpt from the story. Please go to this link and read the whole thing. You don't want to miss the slide show, either.

HORSE POWER

Joshua Reynolds graduated last week from an innovative program that teaches prisoners to rehabilitate retired racehorses for adoption.

In the process, he hopes he has rehabilitated himself, too.

Reynolds, 26, served nearly a year in Wateree River Correctional Institution in Rembert and four months in a Lexington County jail for a crime that he says stemmed from a longtime drug addiction.

On Wednesday, under a brilliant blue sky, he was released from prison, thinking about what was waiting for him: two children he hadn’t seen since 2007 and a wife willing to take him back.

And the dream of a better life for himself — something he owes, in large part, to a thoroughbred named Little Me Too.

“The horses have helped so much. I feel great,” he said. “My family is accepting me, which is an amazing thing.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle.”

more....

Comments

[Grey Horse Matters]

I've read about this program, and think it is a good idea. I hope it serves to help all concerned.

[Annerleigh Harrison]

So much for all those who say ex-racehorses are unmanageable lunatics ! In my experience, ex-racers make wonderful thereapy and assist horses, precisely because they are so intelligent, sensitive and responsive. They are starting to be used in offender-rehabilitation programmes in prisons here in UK, too. My own 17.2hh ex-racer does great work confidence-building with youngsters with disabilities and/or abusive backgrounds. Animals and people helping each other - in my opinon, it's how God intended the world to be. Yeah !