FERNDALE -- If you ask Vikki Gay and Holly Dibrell to describe their business, Redwood Equine Partners, they're likely to hesitate.
”It's like trying to describe the ocean to someone who's never seen it,” said Gay.
They're facilitators of a process known as equine-assisted learning, although saying as much doesn't usually clarify matters.
The first thing to understand, they say, is that it's not about horses; it's about people.
”For human beings, the key components are clear communication, honesty and respect. Those three elements are really what we respond to,” Gay said. “Horses respond to those same elements. What goes on in the arena with horses parallels what goes on in the arena of life.”
Created by a Utah horseman named Greg Kersten, equine-assisted learning is a relatively new therapeutic process. The idea, in a nutshell, is that by performing pre-designed, horse-related activities, a person or a group can gain self-awareness and work through troublesome issues.
For example, office co-workers could try to improve their office dynamics through a series of problem-solving activities -- say, getting three horses to jump over an obstacle. Or someone who recently returned home from a substance-abuse program could do activities designed to build trust.
Facilitators like Gay and Dibrell guide the process by observing and then sharing their observations with the clients, without judgment or interpretation.
”It's like a huge emotional mirror,” Gay explained. “When the horse responds, you're really looking at your own emotions.”
It's a concept that's often met with skepticism, which both Gay and Dibrell understand.
”I'm a very meat-and-potatoes person,” Gay said from the porch of the Ferndale home she shares with her husband, Michael. He also found the idea dubious at first.
”When he heard I was going to a training for EAGALA (the Equine-Assisted Growth And Learning Association), he asked, 'Are there gonna be crystals?'” Gay recalled with a laugh.
With a counseling degree from Antioch University, Gay was a hospital social worker for many years. After moving to Humboldt County in the 1980s, she began working for the juvenile drug court program, eventually becoming the supervisor.
When an EAGALA flier came her way, she thought it could be a powerful tool for her drug court kids. On her own dime, she traveled to Oregon for training.
”On the first day, I was kind of skeptical,” Gay said. “By the third day I was a believer.”
”Me too,” Dibrell chimed in. “Exactly.”
Dibrell went to the University of Pittsburgh, attended equestrian college in Ohio and holds a master's degree in social work from Humboldt State University. Social work and horses, she said, have been the most important aspects of her life.
”I've always thought, there's got to be something that combines my two loves,” she said. “Then I heard about EAGALA.”
After gaining her level-one certificate, Dibrell searched for someone local practicing equine-assisted learning and found Gay, who holds a level-two certificate.
The two have been running Redwood Equine Partners together for more than a year now, with help from Michael Gay, whom Vikki Gay calls “the backbone of the operation.”
Their program was commissioned by a substance abuse recovery program in Marin County, and Gay sees many more opportunities for their work.
”There are some gaps, I believe, in our human services field,” she said.
The rapid growth of equine-assisted learning would seem to verify that hypothesis. In addition to Kersten's training programs -- now called the O.K. Corral Series -- equine learning centers have been popping up all over the world. EAGALA has spread to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. And the programs are especially popular in Canada and England.
Redwood Equine Partners typically offers clients a series of three sessions, each separated by a week. They also give all-day workshops and can custom design day-long sessions for interested groups.
”If you find yourself in behavior patterns that aren't working, this is an excellent way to break it,” Gay said. “We've had people say that they've benefited more from their three sessions than from 10 or 15 years of therapy.”
She and Dibrell make a point to specify that what they do is not therapy.
”The reason we say 'growth and learning' instead of 'therapy' is because Holly and I don't interpret anything,” Gay said. “We believe that if we just observe and ask the questions, people will take care of themselves emotionally.”
For more information, call Vikki and Michael Gay at 786-4158 or Holly Dibrell at 840-9661. Their Web site is www.redwoodequinepartners.com
Ryan Burns can be reached at 441-0563 or rburns@times-standard.com.
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