Horses never share a secret, but they hear many at the Murphy Harpst Children’s Center in Cedartown.
The Murphy Harpst campus rests in the foothills of Appalachia, stretching across 160 acres. Faith based and funded by federal grants and donors, it houses up to 60 kids between the ages of 13 to 17 in the residential program and up to 15 young adults, ages 18 to 21, in the transitional living program. What began as an orphanage in 1924 founded by educator and caregiver Ethel Harpst now provides on-site schooling, spiritual development and recreational activities.
Among the facility’s therapeutic activities, equine therapy figures prominently. Begun in 1984, it incorporates Murphy Harpst’s greatest assets: land and animals.
“Historically, there have been animals here since the very beginning,” said Scott Fuller, vice president of advancement at Murphy Harpst. “As we observed therapy models across the country, we saw the use of livestock and horses become a popular method of trying to help people heal. We already had horses and livestock; we just needed to use them in a more programmatic way to meet our children’s needs. That’s what we did, and we never looked back.”
Studies show equine therapy helps children develop a sense of trust, empathy and self-confidence. It can also aid in healing wounds from the past, as it did for Dillon Soule.
Credit: Murphy Harpst Children's Center
Credit: Murphy Harpst Children's Center
Soule was 16 years old when he arrived at Murphy Harpst in 2021. After bouncing around in foster care and staying in a few group homes, his three years at Murphy Harpst was the longest he’d lived anywhere.
He can’t recall exactly when or why the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services became an integral part of his life, he only remembers being unhappy about it.
“My mom was never home, and my dad has been in prison since I was 8,” said Soule, now 19. “He was sentenced for 135 years, and my mom, well … She recently said not to contact her again.”
Soule struggled with anger issues and brought them along when he moved to Murphy Harpst.
“I had a really bad attitude and got mad over everything,” said Soule. “I had a low tolerance for a lot of things, and I don’t have a filter, so things just came out of my mouth.”
Soule had been at Murphy Harpst for a couple of months when he volunteered to fill in for someone in a therapy group. His first time visiting the barn was a turning point in his life.
He began spending much of his time at the stables, working, participating in therapy groups and visiting with the horses.
“I did therapy with many of the horses,” said Soule. “Animals are my safe space. I really liked all of them, but Samson, the big, dark brown one, is my favorite, the one I always went back to petting, the one I talked to the most and confided in.”
One of the therapies he learned was horse-breathing. He discovered that matching his breathing to a horse’s breathing could have a calming effect.
“Growing up and going through so much, my thoughts would go toward the negative and my ADHD didn’t help,” said Soule. “The horse therapy calmed me and helped me understand why I was mad. Now, even without a horse by my side, I remember what I learned, and it helps. Just breathe. People always talk about breaking a wild horse, but I feel like the horse broke me.”
The equine therapy program is multifaceted and includes grooming and feeding the horses, exercising them and talking with them.
“Horses can teach us so much about healthy relationships,” said Jessica Morgan, director of recreation therapy. “Before the kids ever get on the horses’ backs, they engage them through activities like an obstacle course. They must figure out how to guide the horse through it with nothing but body language.”
Temptation Alley is a challenge in which kids make an alleyway for the horses with buckets of food to tempt them. As they walk their horses down the aisle and help them battle their temptations, the children learn how to combat temptations of their own.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
One of the most popular therapeutic activities is secret telling. The kids choose the horse they are most connected to, lead them out to the pasture and confide their stories of disappointment and heartbreak.
“We all need a safe place to be ourselves and be known,” said Morgan. “Secret telling is a cathartic, tear-filled release where these kids begin to feel safe sharing their experiences. They have to start somewhere, and it’s often easier to put the horse before the therapist.”
When Soule turned 18, he thought he was ready to be on his own. He signed himself out of Murphy Harpst’s care.
“It was a dumb decision,” he said. “I just wanted to be away from everybody. I had really bad trust issues when I was growing up and always believed people were against me, so I guess that’s why I left.”
To celebrate his high school graduation, Soule and his girlfriend went to Orlando, Florida, where he got into a car accident. His girlfriend left him, and he was homeless for a week.
Remembering the calming skills he’d learned at Murphy Harpst and reminding himself there are good people worth trusting, Soule went to a church and parishioners got him a hotel room. Then he called Murphy Harpst. They welcomed him back, and he lived in the transitional program until he left for college.
In August, Soule moved to South Georgia to attend Columbus State University. He hopes to become a structural engineer. He returned to Murphy Harpst for Thanksgiving and says he will continue visiting the place and the animals that changed his life.
“A lesson I learned there is very clear to me now, and I’ll carry it with me always,” said Soule. “We can’t do it alone; we all need people and, well, sometimes a horse, too.”
More information
To learn more about or support the equine therapy program at Murphy Harpst Children’s Home, visit www.murphyharpst.com
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