When you think of therapy and treatment for neuropsychiatric conditions, whether that’s anxiety, PTSD, or autism, you might think about traditional talk-based therapy.
But at Smiling Goat Ranch in Carbondale, that treatment looks a little different.
Clients and their families get to interact not just with recreation therapists, but with a variety of farm animals as part of their treatment.
For four-year-old Otto Bontempo and his family, it’s been a game-changer.
Bontempo was diagnosed with autism when he was 18 months old, and is nonverbal. His mom, Katrina Gallant, said his original diagnosis was developmentally delayed with a high risk of autism, and without that official diagnosis, it was difficult to move ahead with an early intervention program. Once she did get that diagnosis, however, Gallant said she began turning over every stone looking for ways to help her son. That’s when she found Smiling Goat Ranch.
Otto typically communicates through a combination of sign language, other gestures, and an Augmentative and Alternative Communication device, or AAC. During a July 21 therapy session at Smiling Goat, Otto used sign language and other gestures to tell Adobe, a palomino mare, to stop, turn around, and go.
During these sessions, which are referred to as “long-lining,” Smiling Goat’s owner and director, Sheryl Barto, guides Adobe from her rear.
At one point, Otto pointed to pictures on a communication card, indicating that he’d like to read a book. Recreation therapy intern Caroline Vukovich read to Otto from Charlie the Ranch Dog: Stuck in the Mud.
“Wake up, wake up, I race around the ranch house. Get out of bed, it’s time to go out to the pasture,” she read.
From atop Adobe, Otto looked over her shoulder at the pictures.
Doing all of this while on horseback helps Otto and other Smiling Goat clients gain a sense of control.
“He’s learning and connecting those pathways in the brain, and starting to associate that communication with getting whatever it is that he’s wanting, and being able to share with us what he wants, which way he wants to go, when he wants to stop, when he wants to read a book, all of those different things,” said Kaylee Martig, Smiling Goat’s recreation therapist.
She’s been working with Otto since he and his family started coming to Smiling Goat in the middle of 2020. Martig said it not only helps with a sense of control, but it also has a physiological effect on the brain.
When Otto is on Adobe, he’s getting constant skin to skin contact with the horse, as well as a consistent rocking motion from her canter. Martig said that contact produces a chemical in the brain called oxytocin, which is a social hormone.
“It promotes that communication, and that human connection,” she said. “Which helps with a lot of goals: lowering stress, as well as learning, communication, improving mood.”
This is part of the HorseBoy method, which Smiling Goat practices with clients. It emphasizes connection with the animals to relieve stress. It also emphasizes rule based games with the animals, allowing clients to form connections and pathways in the brain.
For example, clients will play tag on the horse. Katrina Gallant, Otto’s mom, says playing a game on Adobe helps Otto make direct connections in a specific context.
“It's hard to get Otto to [respond] to like, ‘oh, let's go find Daddy,’” she said. “But when you're on a horse and it's like, ‘let's go find Daddy, then the horse can kind of navigate: ‘oh, there he is.’ And then we point out, ‘there he is,’ and then he understands what ‘let's go find Daddy’ means.”
The benefits of the Horse Boy method translate to life off the ranch as well. Gallant said she’s seen the difference.
“Especially the ‘stop’ and ‘go,’” Gallant said. “On a bike, or just in general, like, playing outside, if I say stop, he needs to understand stop. Like if there’s a bear, or there’s a car, he understands ‘oh, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.’”
Back in his session, Vukovich and Martig helped support Otto as he turned around to sit backwards on Adobe for part of his ride.
“Can you turn?” Martig asked. “We gotta practice doing it yourself, soon I won’t be able to lift you.”
He rides backwards during these sessions to work on his core strength.
“And so we’re able to use the horse to really challenge that, where when the horse is moving, he’s having to stabilize himself, when the horse stops, or starts or turns, he’s also using those core muscles to stabilize,” Martig said.
Gallant said he was a delayed crawler and a delayed walker — part of what pushed her to look into early intervention services in the valley in the first place. She said riding Adobe has helped Otto with his general balance and coordination – he trips and falls less when he walks. And he’s been able to start doing other activities, like skiing.
“Now fast forward to ski school this past winter,” she recounted. “The ski team noticed, and they said to us, ‘wow, Otto really has a strong core. He has one of the strongest cores we’ve seen.’”
If he’s not in the mood to ride horses, Otto and his older brother, Galileo, get to hang out with any of the other animals at Smiling Goat Ranch.
Martig said having a variety of creatures helps them connect with each client as they’re comfortable. Mini ponies, for example, can be a great way to lead up to getting on a horse eventually.
“We also have some people who come and spend their sessions with the goats,” she said. “All of our goats are trained to walk on leashes just like dogs, and so we are able to walk and talk with clients and they'll go in there and spend time with them and they get that same contact through the grooming, through petting, cuddling bunnies.”
On July 21, Galileo took a turn on Adobe after Otto. During his ride, he and Martig discussed the ghost hunting abilities of Nugget and Cheerio, two of the bunnies at Smiling Goat.
“Wait, so what color ghost can Nugget see?” Martig asked.
“Um, well Cheerio can only see white, and Nugget can see all of them,” Galileo explains. “‘Cause Nugget is one more color.” Cheerio is all white, while Nugget has black and white markings.
“That makes sense,” Martig replied.
Gallant said the fact that Galileo gets to be a part of the fun is a huge part of what drew her family to Smiling Goat in the first place. When Otto was first diagnosed, Gallant said, Galileo felt a little lost in the shuffle because his younger brother was suddenly going to a lot of appointments, and had his therapists calling to talk to him.
“And so I could really see his, you know, taking the backseat in our family,” she said. “So Smiling Goat really just allowed him to regain the ropes, and really just push back into where he belongs.”
At Smiling Goat, Galileo gets to ride Adobe too, and he gets the same benefits his brother does: a boost in confidence.
“How was that?” Martig asked Galileo as they took a quick break to let some chickens cross the road.
“I kind of got scared,” he replied. “I didn’t know when she took a step, but yeah, I liked it.”
“You are getting so brave on the horse, Galileo, you’re like a pro,” Martig observed. “Look at you, no hands!”
“I was already a pro by going like this,” he said, demonstrating some of the things he can do with his hands while not hanging onto Adobe.
“That’s true, as soon as you started hunting ghosts on a horse,” Martig replied.
The experience of doing therapy as a family and creating social connections has changed the way Otto interacts with everyone in his life, Martig said.
“And so when Otto was first coming to us, he didn't really respond to his name,” Martig recalled. “He didn't really have any social interest. He did not make eye contact. He's now very interactive. He waves. He blows kisses. He makes a lot of eye contact. He really interacts with people.”
Smiling Goat Ranch’s services are free of charge for families and clients of all shapes and sizes. Their clients here in the valley include people with autism, veterans with PTSD, and people with depression, anxiety, and addiction.
To keep those services free, it’s hosting its annual Hay Bale Ball fundraiser at the Holden Marolt Mining and Ranching Museum on August 19.
The event will feature happy hour with the horses, donkeys, goats, and other critters, as well as live music, a silent auction, and live demonstrations of sensory work.
Tickets are $100 for adults and $25 dollars for kids, and you can find more information on Smiling Goat’s website.
