Horse therapy comes to the Blackfeet

The grand opening of the White Rider Healing Ranch on Friday, April 3, held a vision as bright as the sunshine illuminating horses, goats, corrals, kids, an assortment of organizers/wranglers and a refurbished barn. Lynn Mad Plume, co-director of the Two Powers Land Collective, her family and friends spent months preparing the barn and its surroundings to introduce a new center where people and animals collaborate for mental, physical and spiritual renewal.

Located at the old Archambault place on U.S. Highway 89 just west of Browning, the main building was converted in 2008 into the Po’ka Project, a rehabilitation service for troubled youth that used horses as a means of therapy.

Having fallen into disrepair, the main building was renovated by Ed Kennedy and Associates and reopened in April of 2022 as the Sukapi Lodge. Its mission was and still is providing mental health services, especially to young people. 

Meanwhile, the barn went unoccupied as Lynn and Two Powers looked for a place to begin offering their services. Lynn related having looked into several locations, but not finding any that were easily accessed by those to be served and were owned by willing parties.

She was gratified, then, to learn the Sukapi Lodge was willing to donate the barn if Two Powers would renovate it to suit their needs. Being nearby Browning and the aims of Sukapi Lodge and White Rider overlapping to such a degree, each will have its own clients while some will benefit from both programs.

“Fleet of Angels has been supportive of the Two Powers Land Collective work to launch an equine-centric therapy program for veterans, children, teenagers and those at risk of suicide,” Elaine Nash, founder of the horse assistance organization, said. “The Mad Plumes and a collection of volunteers have been working hard for weeks - literally day and night - to make repairs on a large barn that they secured to use as the headquarters for the White Rider equine therapy program. The program is named for Nugget and Diana’s son, Wyatt (a.k.a. White Rider), who committed suicide last year and inspired these amazing efforts to help others.”

“Elaine and her wonderful son, Honor, personally donated the funds needed to paint the barn,” Lynn said. “I laughed one day as we were all rushing to get it finished. I was covered in orange paint wearing Wyatt’s old wool work pants. I thought, if Wyatt were here, we wouldn’t be painting this barn orange. He would have probably suggested it, and I would have said no, we’re not painting the barn orange. Now I don’t see any other color it could be.”

On opening day, a tour of the barn revealed an indoor riding arena with a freshly laid, soft earth base. Separate areas provide space for goats and sheep on one side while therapy horses have stalls on the other. The upstairs loft was being completed on opening day, but will house a classroom when it’s done. Finally, a big tack room with saddles, halters, bridles, headstocks and lots more completes a list of the facility’s main features.

Outside are round pens and corrals containing an assortment of therapy, companion and rodeo horses. Each has a role to play in Two Powers’ overall mission as the organization involves not only therapy through horses and rodeo, but expansion into post-secondary education as well. 

“We see potential for college courses that not only teach knowledge of western equine care, but also integrate traditional cultural knowledge,” Lynn explained. “The clinics have a learning component and a service component, and these partnerships are one way we are mending the connection between Amskapi Pikuni people and horses. While that connection still exists, it remains largely inaccessible to a majority of our people. It’s important that we know and have access to our cultural and spiritual relationship with horses. It’s not just for some. It’s for all of us. In this way we make sure more people have that opportunity.”

The rodeo grounds on the Two Medicine River at Hell’s Half Acre is another of Two Powers’ components. Home to the annual Mothers Day Rodeo, this year it plays host to a visit from Rural Veterinary Experience Teaching & Service. During their Community Hoof Care Clinic at Hell’s Half Acre, RVETS will give hands-on demonstrations, low-cost hoof trims for the community and an opportunity to learn directly from experienced practitioners. In addition to hoof care, RVETS will be offering a low-cost equine veterinary clinic providing hoof care, dental services, vaccinations, exams and other essential care.

“The RVET partnership aligns with what we do because our work in grounded in Amskapi Pikuni horse culture,” Lynn said. “One of the issues for our people is access to horses because it is so expensive to care for and keep horses. Part of our mission is to increase access and make funding less of an issue. That means not just providing free services, but building capacity and supporting people from the community interested in equine care.”