The Hillsboro R-3 School District has an unusual teaching resource – three miniature horses.
Those horses, named Rosie, Sheldon and Bunny, were used during an equine-assisted character education class offered during the district’s recent summer school program.
For the class, which was called Power Tools for Living and was held at the district’s Bridle Ridge Acres farm, the district brought in instructors from Shiloh Stables LLC, a Hillsboro-area business that offers equine-assisted therapy, team building and professional development.
Peggy Hughes, Shiloh Stables behavioral counselor, said it was the first time her organization went to a school to provide students with equine-assisted character education.
Hughes and her daughter, Stephanie Read, an equine specialist for Shiloh Stables, served as trainers for the sessions with the horses.
“This (the equine-assisted learning) helps you with your mental and emotional health, and your well-being,” Hughes said.
Hillsboro High teacher Jennifer O’Brien provided some of the lessons, and Hillsboro agriculture teacher Jessika Jacaty assisted with the class.
Hughes said the Power Tools for Living class is designed to teach students important life skills, like respect, responsibility and empathy. It also taught students about relationships and how to set boundaries, as well as about the connection between life choices and consequences.
Those lessons were “achieved through a series of activities involving the horses,” Hughes said. During one session on July 22, the 12 high school students in the class broke into three groups, and the horses were let loose to wander around the barn where class was held.
Jacaty said that while the horses were loose, students were asked to “discuss the horses’ interactions and how we can apply them to our lives.”
She said students got to practice life skills while interacting with the horses.
“We talk to the students about the horses,” Jacaty said. “Like, how do you talk to the horses? How do you talk to other people? Does it help to yell or not? Even your body language matters in how you talk.”
She told students that talking nicely to Rosie, Sheldon and Bunny got better results than speaking with raised voices.
Jacaty said the value of using the mini horses in the class was quickly apparent.
“With character education, you can talk to kids all day long,” she said. “But, bringing in animals, it takes the energy level up so much.”
Students said they enjoyed interacting with the horses.
“It’s actually very helpful to work with horses,” said incoming Hillsboro High freshman Kimber Wallis, 14. “This is the first time I’ve had a class like this, with animals.”
Kiera Laiben, 16, who will be a Hillsboro High sophomore this year, also spoke highly of the class and the miniature horses.
“I’d encourage friends to take a class like this,” she said. “It’s fun to be around the horses.”
O’Brien said she had never before been part of a class that used animals for instruction and was impressed with how well it worked.
“I think just seeing the kids get out of their comfort zone, not just with the animals, but with each other, added to the class,” she said.
“I think it helps them bond. I’ve loved being a part of it.”
Jacaty said a $1,400 Hillsboro R-3 Public Schools Foundation grant allowed the district to bring in Shiloh Stables for the class.
“I think we’d like to continue this program (using Shiloh Stables), but it depends on the funding,” she said.
Bridle Ridge
A local family donated Rosie and Sheldon, who are about 4 or 5 years old, to the Hillsboro School District. When the two were donated, Rosie was pregnant and gave birth to Bunny on Easter 2020.
The horses are housed at the district’s Bridle Ridge Acres farm.
The school district paid $990,000 to buy 45 acres of the farm from Comtrea in 2019. This year, the district bought another 15 acres of the farm for $825,000 from the estate of Diane Hall.
Hillsboro Superintendent Jon Isaacson said he is glad to see the district’s farm put to good use. “I don’t think there’s another class like this in the state,” he said of Power Tools for Living. “I’m just excited to provide the opportunity to our students.”
Jacaty said the Power Tools for Living class is just one example of how the district uses the Bridle Ridge Acres farm.
“During the school year, we can instruct students with the horses and other animals on the farm,” Jacaty said. “In addition to the three miniature horses, we have 20 chickens, three bunnies, a barn cat. The barn cat is a very big favorite with our special education class. We also have 11 myotonic fainting goats.”
Myotonic fainting goats have a condition that causes them to faint when startled.
Shiloh Stables
Hughes and Read have operated Shiloh Stables from Hughes’ home north of Hillsboro for about 10 years, providing services to individuals and groups.
“They may come in with a trauma they need to work through,” she said. “They may have an addiction.
“We’ve worked with a 4-H group. We’ve worked with church youth groups. There’s a company we’ve worked with that sells products for dogs.”