HIGHLAND, Ark. — The Highland School District, in collaboration with the Spring River Area Chamber of Commerce, celebrated the opening of a new School-Based Mental Health Equine Therapy Barn with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.
Located on the district’s campus, the barn offers a dedicated space for equine-assisted therapy sessions aimed at supporting students struggling with mental health challenges. Ben Cravens, the district's school-based health clinic coordinator, said licensed mental health professionals will work with both students and therapy horses to facilitate these sessions.
The barn provides permanent shelter for the horses—relieving the need to transport them from a counselor’s home in Cave City—and a safe, weather-protected environment for students to engage in therapy. Cravens emphasized the importance of having a stable and comfortable setting for students to process what they learn during sessions.
“They can come in here, kind of process everything that they’ve learned in the session,” Cravens said. “They get out of the sunlight or out of the rain or whatever the problem is, and they can just have shelter and a better place to communicate.”
The program integrates equine therapy with traditional methods of counseling. Four licensed mental health professionals will each partner with one of four horses, ensuring consistent access for participating students. Therapists will use the horses as tools, helping students navigate emotional or behavioral struggles through activities that involve understanding and managing the animals’ behaviors.
Students also gain practical lessons through the therapy sessions. They learn to work with horses that may not respond perfectly to commands, which helps them better understand themselves and develop interpersonal and emotional skills.
“When we incorporate the equine therapy with the traditional therapy, then they really make strides toward getting a hold of those mental health diagnoses and the symptoms, and then they’re able to have a better quality of life,” Cravens added.
The barn is part of an initiative that began with a Department of Education grant in 2018, which also funded the construction of the school-based health clinic. The grant has enabled the district to provide comprehensive support services for its students, addressing physical and mental health needs.
The equine therapy program adds a unique dimension to these services, offering students not only clinical tools but also opportunities for engagement and personal growth during challenging times.