Hail to a horse therapy program in Holopaw.
Luisa Borda, 20, of Melbourne recently participated in the Eye of a Horse equine program in Central Florida. The CIP Brevard student and others from the Melbourne campus got up close and personal with the horses at the Forever Florida site. Eye of a Horse helps them gain leadership, non-verbal communication, and other critical interpersonal skills as they spend time socializing with horses.
According to its website, Eye of a Horse is one of the equine-assisted learning or equine-assisted psychotherapy programs at Forever Florida: "Can a horse help you learn about yourself, about your relationship with others, about behavioral patterns that you keep repeating in your life? Yes! A horse can do all these things and more ... while looking you right in the eye! ... All of our therapeutic work occurs on the ground and, most of the time, with horses 'at liberty,' that is, free to come and go as they please."
Borda has been attending CIP Brevard since January 2019.
CIP is a transition program in Melbourne for transition-age students with autism and other learning differences. Students attend college, work in internships and are employed in the local community. CIP operates year-round and summer programs at five locations across the US.
For more information on CIP Brevard, visit cipbrevard.org. For information on Eye of a Horse, visit eyeofahorse.com.
Originally published in Florida Today
May 15, 2019