User:Dboyes/Unbridled Change

Unbridled Change A charity created in 2008, to provide equine assisted mental health therapies to clients in SouthWest Virginia. It is situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Boones Mill, Virginia. The Mailing address is PO Box 157, Boones Mill, VA 24065. The physical address is 1176 White Oak Road, Boones Mill, VA 24065. Unbridled Change has been given a gold rating by the non profit reporting organization GuideStar.

Associated Programs
Unbridled Change has been messenger status with the EQQUS Foundation. Unbridled Change is associated with EAGALA as an advanced program. Unbridled Change is associated with PATH as a member.

Facility
Unbridled Change has a 9 acre footprint. We have one large grazing pasture of 3 acres and 5 smaller paddocks, and 2 sacrifice areas. All the pastures and paddocks are a combination of four board fencing and 5 strand high tensile wire along the wooded areas. Of the paddocks, 3 of the 5 include run-in shelters for the horses. We have a 6 stall barn, 75x125 indoor arena, and a 950 square foot office area inside of the riding arena.

The land is situated on a country road in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. The leased property is part of a larger 300 acres cattle farm that is open to trail riding for the horses as part of their training program.

Horses
Unbridled Change currently has 13 horses and has capabilities for 14 horses. The horses receive regular vet visits

Programs
The following are mental health programs that are available at Unbridled Change.

Take Back the Reins
"Take Back the Reins!" is an equine assisted psychotherapy program that is designed for children, teens, and adults who were victims or witnesses of abuse or neglect.

The course will focus on empowering clients to:

break destructive behaviors and thought patterns, learn healthy life choices, develop self-respect and confidence develop and establish health boundaries develop healthy relationship skills and learn the difference between being assertive verses aggressive.

"Take Back the Reins" focuses on breaking unhealthy emotional thought/behavior patterns that victims of domestic violence develop to survive. Those same coping skills that were developed for survival (putting up walls, disassociating your "spirit" from your body, isolation, and other dysfunctional coping skills) are the same thoughts that can keep people on the cycle of abuse. Our program helps survivors confront unhealthy patterns in a safe and empowering environment, providing a turning point in their lives.

A Bit of support
A Bit of support is a 12 week programs and workshops that are designed to target each individual situation and to provide support that focuses on educating and developing positive coping skills for the 5 stages of loss.

During the program clients will be involved in interactive activities with horses designed to help: express their feelings, recognize and accept those feelings develop positive coping skills and develop a support network

Hoof Prints of a Healthy Herd
Our parenting and family therapy program is a unique parallel therapy program that works with both the children and the parents of the family unit to help address the core concepts of a healthy family unit:

healthy boundary setting and acceptance respect communication and healthy relationship skills Many of the families enrolled in our program are working on reunification due to having been separated. Many different circumstances might lead to a breakdown of the family unit, such as: divorce, a stay in a residential program, changes in custody from then family unit to foster care and back again, and/or forming a "new" family unit due to adoption.

Prescription for Change
Prescription for Change is a group therapy program that addresses high risk youth who have either a parent who uses, or a close family member who uses prescription drugs. This program addresses addiction before it starts.