Stride Ahead, Inc. Equine Assisted Therapies
Character building program for at-risk school children
Cowboy Ethics was established by a not-for-profit organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Private providers are operating the Cowboy Ethics program for school systems across the U.S.
Stride Ahead intends to provide the Cowboy Ethics program for the DeKalb County school system.
The program provides character building and life skills to at-risk elementary and middle school students of the public schools, typically identified as performing below their potential. The combination of teaching life skills with academics provides measurable improvement in attendance, academic performance, attention, and social skills.
Activities
The program consists of 12 weekly lessons. Each lesson is between two and three hours. The weekly lesson plans contain a classroom component, an experiential equine activity, and an expressive art component. Each lesson addresses a particular life skill such as respect, punctuality, courage, leadership, or responsibility. Specifically planned objectives, developmental assets, character skills, vocabulary words, projects and activities develop those skills in multiple dimensions. Academic strengthening in vocabulary, science, history and creative writing are part of the curriculum. These programs are typically conducted during after-school hours. An equine professional trained in the Cowboy Ethics curriculum leads each lesson.
For example, one session involves a reenactment of the Pony Express route, walking the ponies with their mail pouches across a map of the U.S. and through various obstacles under time pressure to get to the next fresh pony and putting the pouch on as quickly as possible. This lesson teaches the students about history, geography, as well as punctuality, cooperation, communication, and self-control under stress. Another lesson takes the students through a scientific exploration of the digestive and circulatory system of the horse. The class ends with the students drawing the organs on the sides of the horse with chalk.
Standards
Cowboy Ethics was developed by Strides to Success, Inc., and has been provided by them since 2005. Strides to Success, Inc. is a certified NARHA accreditation center, staffed by NARHA and EAGALA certified personnel. They teach the program in a week-long residential training program. Other private organizations, trained by Strides to Success, Inc. operate the Cowboy Ethics program for school systems across the U.S.
A Stride Ahead equine professional completed the Cowboy Ethics training in 2007.
Please write to learn about having children from your school participate in Cowboy Ethics.
Anne Preston
Cowboy Ethics
Our Programs
Character building and Life skills for At-Risk youth
After-School programs
and day visits
Physical therapy for a wide range of physical, developmental, and mental issues
