A unique aspect of Take Flight Farms is our dedication to developing methods to record the effectiveness of our programs and disseminate our results. We are working with a licensed clinical adolescent psychologist to identify valid and reliable measurements that can be employed now to begin building a body of knowledge in Equine Assisted Learning and Psychotherapy. Equally important but more difficult to quantify, are the success stories, observations and "ah-ha!" moments:

In November of 2001, Take Flight Farms conducted a pilot program with a group of teenage girls from Girls, Incorporated. Eight girls participated in two lessons on horsemanship and riding at Ponca Hills Farm, a horse boarding facility north of Omaha. On the drive out that first night, the girls wondered why anyone would want to “live out here where there aren’t any streetlights?” They huddled together as they were introduced to the horses, jumping, and even screaming, each time a horse sneezed. By the end of the second lesson, they were grooming and caring for their horses, riding independently and proclaiming, "I’m in charge!"

One extreme example involves a young woman who had been seriously abused by her parents. When she was removed from the home, she blamed herself for breaking up her family. She began to self mutilate in increasingly damaging ways. The residential care facility where she had been sent had been unsuccessful in helping her with traditional therapy, and was willing to try psychotherapy involving horses. She was introduced to all the horses at the barn, but chose to work with "Star", a horse who had been abused. In only four weeks the incidences of self abuse decreased dramatically. Where previously she would secret away items to use as potential weapons against herself, she has begun to turn such items over to staff.

On a less severe level, a young woman came to us as part of a group program. We are not aware of any serious family issues with her, but she was painfully shy and hardly ever spoke out. At school, she was not a bad student, but there were concerns that she was easily led by others and could potentially be taken down the wrong path. In short, she was at the top of a “slippery slope” and was vulnerable to poor achievement. On the last day of her program, she came up to one of the volunteers and excitedly explained that she started "The Wave" at the basketball game the previous week. She said she never would have dreamed of doing that but figured if she could get a horse to listen to her, perhaps her classmates would, too.

Take Flight Farms could not offer this opportunity to these young people without the generous assistance of volunteers. Volunteers with previous horse experience help teach the participants how to safely groom and tack up the horse, and will walk alongside first-time riders who need a little moral support. In return, the volunteers benefit from watching "their" students gain the confidence and sense of responsibility necessary to eventually complete all the horse care tasks themselves. Smiles, hugs and genuine words of thanks are treasured:

"The students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the experience at Take Flight Farms. After the first lesson, I made a mental note that one of the girls in particular seemed to have a real "attitude". I thought to myself, "She won’t be back." As it turned out, she participated in all 10 lessons and invited her grandparents and brother to her graduation from our program. I will never forget the first time I saw her smile – the very last lesson! I learned from the experience that I have a tendency to be very quick to judge, so I’m working on being more open-minded with the people I meet."

"When Take Flight began, I'm sure it was for the well-being of the children involved. Did you even realize at that time the gift you were giving to the volunteers involve? I would say 'gift' is a very good word, if not an understatement. Thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for what you have taught me. Thank you for the exposure to these kids and the horses and the countryside. I have seen each one of the children involved grow and relax and share and, most of all, exude with a confidence that will carry them through challenging times throughout their lives. All the while I have felt peace and joy, and maybe too much relaxation! Not an easy state to get to as an adult with responsibilities and demands."