Horsemanship For Humans

    The power of the horse is amazing and can be channeled to heal the mind and spirit of humans in need. Together, we can help adults and children challenged by psychiatric and social difficulties improve their ability to deal with the ups and downs of daily living.

My Equine Assisted Life Skills Program helps humans with personal issues such as:

Courage                                         Trust                                              Empathy

Self-confidence                             Respect                                       Honesty

Leadership                                     Mindfulness                                Love

Perseverance                                Problem Solving                        Feel

Strength                                         Self-reliance                                 Patience

Forgiveness                                  Sense of self                                Faith

Self-control                                    Power of Observation               Caring

Self-worth                                       Ability to Learn                            Initiative

For over 10 years I have been working with people and their horses and I’ve found that in most cases, It's more about life than just horses. Now, I’m combining my medical, psychology and horsemanship experience to help the human through foundation horsemanship.

Through groundwork and riding, I use the horse to help you find a better you.

The Equine Assisted Life Skills Program can be experienced at my ranch here in Madison.

To learn more call 434-882-1864  or email vabuckaroo68@yahoo.com

“Regarding the equine training, especially utilizing the concept of “Natural Horsemanship”, I have found this personally to be a valuable therapeutic experience in a few very important dimensions. Working with John, my focus has improved to the task at hand, and reduced the tendency to become distracted by any other nearby activity or persistent negative reflection. The dynamic natured of the training experience has also improved my attention to detail, memory, and diffused negative reflections of prior events.

I have found Mr. John Sanford to be extremely professional in his approach, generous in his training procedures, and a very skilled horseman himself. I would recommend his participation in further equine training as an important supplement to TBI or PTSD therapy.”

“John is very knowledgeable. He eased us into the situation to where we didn’t feel overwhelmed. He gave us enough control of the situation but we knew he was there if something happened. He talked to us and not at us, and spoke in a way we could understand. He was polite and courteous.”

“John is really good at relating horsemanship to life. He’s good at explaining things and putting them into terms we understand. He’s easy to talk to and relate to. I feel comfortable around him even though I really don’t know him that well, and it’s hard for me or people like me [with PTSD, and post-deployment] to feel comfortable around people. I’ve learned new things, and I’ve been able to accomplish goals that I’ve set for myself [through horsemanship]. I’ve been able to work at a pace that I wanted to work at – a comfortable pace.”

"It is an honor to share with veterans

what I have learned from my mentors, Ray and Buck." John Sanford