OklahomaHorses Magazine March 2021

16 OklahomaHorses • March/April 2021 Nestled on 165 acres in Sands Springs, the facility is home to 64 boys who have either been placed through the DHS system or who have substance abuse problems and have been placed at the home by either their families or the court system. “Generally, we are a last-ditch effort to try to get them back on track, to try to get them to where they can function better either in their adop- tive homes or foster homes,” said Scott Averill, equine program manager. Boys who come to the program stay anywhere from 6 months up to three years depending on their circumstances, Averill added. The school on-site is part of Sands Springs Public Schools, and boys who gradu- ate during their time at the home receive a Charles Page High School diploma. The horse program was founded about 15 years ago after Executive Director Greg Conway saw the need. “Equine therapy was relatively new in the United States, but it was really starting to catch on,” Averill explained. “And so there was a lot of planning that went into it. They flew all over the country looking at different facilities, different training, different therapies to where we then put together our program: the layout of the property, the type of program, the type of enclosures.” Clark, with the help of Shannon Curry, MS, developed ‘The SPUR Model: An Equine-Facilitated Social Intelligence Approach to Rela- tionship Building.’ Now, in addition to using this program with boys on campus, the Tulsa Boys’ Home hosts workshops and trainings for outside entities who want to bring this model to their own programs, Averill said. Today, there are 36 horses on campus, and boys attend weekly group or individual sessions with the horses, Clark and their counselors. Boys also have the option to spend more time with the horses in a recreational manner if they have the interest. Scott Averill, equine programmanager.