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| Horse Graduates from Wyo. Prison Training Session |
| By Reno Gazette-Journal |
| Published: 03/05/2003 |
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After three months in prison, Comstock Cowboy returned to Reno on February 5 to begin a new life -- as a therapeutic horse for youngsters. Prison inmates and trainers who helped prepare the 5-year-old mustang for survival outside the Big House describe him as 'good-natured.' Comstock Cowboy has graduated from the three-month training session to become Marvin Picollo School's newest therapeutic horse. 'He had to work before he had the right to be a horse,' trainer Hank Curry said. 'We were getting him gentle by using him every day. We've done our best to imitate how kids ride.' Picollo now has seven horses. The Reno school has almost 150 students between ages 3 and 22, many medically fragile. Some students are autistic, hearing impaired or nonverbal. Most horses are donated to the school as they age, but Comstock Cowboy is the school's first horse trained by inmates, Principal Lisa Singer said. Picollo provided wheelchairs to the prison and other items commonly use by the students so Comstock Cowboy could become familiar with them, said Ana Warner, school program facilitator. Students ride the horses on bareback pads, gaining health benefits when heat transfers from the horse to their spinal cord. The animal's gait and motion also helps students relax. While students ride, therapists chart their progress. Warner said students also have experienced improved speech and increased motivation. 'Some of the kids who don't talk will talk to the horse,' Warner said. After almost two years at Picollo, Comstock Cowboy, a native of the Comstock Range in Virginia City, was nearly sold. The school lacked funds to train him but had to continue feeding him, Singer said. State officials learned of the situation during the groundbreaking in the fall of Picollo's indoor riding facility and offered assistance. 'He couldn't participate in the program, and it was another horse we had to feed,' Singer said. 'We couldn't let him be around the students.' In three months, inmates can train up to 20 wild horses, which are then put up for public auction. But Comstock Cowboy was especially gentled for the school, said Will Hybarger, an inmate at the Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City. 'I was training him for a specific purpose and to get him as quiet and sound as possible,' Hybarger said. 'They (at first) want to take five steps at a time and we want them to take one.' Curry said inmates began training horses 21/2 years ago when buyers had difficulty controlling the untrained horses they bought at auction. Inmates in the program must have a good record while incarcerated and attend college classes at night, Curry said. 'It gives the horses something to do and the prisoners something to do and we're creating a good product for the public,' Curry said. 'It's one of the best deals in prison as far as rehabilitation. They learn patience and training techniques.' |
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