Troubled Teens Thrive as Cowboys

By Jane St. Clair

Many teenagers would jump at the chance to spend 100 days living at a working ranch out West, riding horses, herding cattle and taking care of animals. Living the cowboy life is fun and adventuresome, and yet it can be a life-changing experience for teens who need some help and guidance during the often difficult years of adolescence.

Teens who attend Turn-About Ranch in Escalante, Utah, spend their days with counselors professionally trained in adolescent psychology while becoming partners in the operation of a real working ranch. Teens who come to Turn-About Ranch have any number of problems, including drug or alcohol abuse, defiant behaviors, low self-esteem, running away, promiscuity, anger management issues and depression.

“We take in good kids that are having some trouble, and we help them grow,” said Luke Hatch, LCSW, the executive director of Turn-About Ranch.

From the moment they arrive at Turn-About Ranch, teens leave behind their worlds of TV, the Internet, shopping, partying, drugging and video games. They move outside their comfort zones to a place where how well they ride a horse matters more than what they are wearing, and the steady way they contribute to a team is more important than a Saturday night party.

Living in the Utah wilderness near some of the most scenic areas of the American West, teens at the ranch experience the outdoors and nature – often for the first time. Many of the teens who attend the residential treatment center may come from the city, and have never seen the beauty of a starry night sky or experienced the vastness of a wilderness area. While at the ranch, teens can hike Bryce Canyon, the Grand Staircase National Monuments and other scenic areas near Escalante.

Making a Fresh Start

Turn-About Ranch’s mission is to help troubled teens make a fresh start and turn their lives around. The ranch often succeeds with teens who have tried and failed using other interventions, such as short-term psychiatric hospitalizations or extensive weekly office visits with therapists.

The ranch’s program is based on Christian values and the importance of teaching teenagers integrity, honesty and responsibility in their everyday lives. During their time at the ranch, teens will also be able to keep up academically with their peers through fully accredited classes.

A key component of the program at Turn-About Ranch is equine-assisted therapy. Teens are assigned their own horse, which they must care for during their time at the ranch. Caring for a 1,200-pound animal and working with that animal day in and day out teaches teens empathy and responsibility. Teens discover that their thoughts and moods affect their animals, just as their thoughts and moods affect the people around them. The repetitive rhythm of horseback riding is known to calm the mind, and the hard physical exercise of riding helps teens get into shape and gain a new sense of physical well-being and health.

"I've never worked at another program where the kids actually want to come back. Even the kids who struggle here want to return," Hatch said. "Both the parents and students feel very connected to us, and continue to maintain a relationship with us long after they leave.”