Grand Oaks Farm

08/04/2024

We have a handful of stalls available! Please call or text 832-715-1466 for more information.

06/13/2017

Some of the kids summer camp artwork from today! Fun group!

03/27/2017

2017 Summer Camp dates are here! June 12-16 and July 10-14! Space is limited this year so plan early! Check out more information at grandoaks.co or by calling 832-715-1466. Email [email protected] for a registration packet!

07/13/2016

Due to some requests and popular demand, we will be hosting one last summer camp this summer! The dates are August 1-5, 2016 and there is a discount if you are a repeat camper! Message us on here or call 832-715-1466 for more info!

06/06/2016

The sun is out at summer camp! Come join us for week 2 or 3, June 13-7 or June 27-July 1!

05/25/2016

We still have availability for all 3 weeks of camp! Call 832-715-1466 or email [email protected] to get more information or a sign-up packet!

05/14/2016

https://www.facebook.com/148137931880317/photos/a.148907945136649.24720.148137931880317/1130413850319382/?type=3

"Recent studies conducted by the Institute of HeartMath provide a clue to explain the bidirectional "healing" that happens when we are near horses. According to researchers, the heart has a larger electromagnetic field and higher level of intelligence than the brain: A magnetometer can measure the heart's energy field radiating up to 8 to 10 feet around the human body. While this is certainly significant it is perhaps more impressive that the electromagnetic field projected by the horse's heart is five times larger than the human one (imagine a sphere-shaped field that completely surrounds you). The horse's electromagnetic field is also stronger than ours and can actually directly influence our own heart rhythm!
Horses are also likely to have what science has identified as a "coherent" heart rhythm (heart rate pattern) which explains why we may "feel better" when we are around them. . . .studies have found that a coherent heart pattern or HRV is a robust measure of well-being and consistent with emotional states of calm and joy--that is, we exhibit such patterns when we feel positive emotions.
A coherent heart pattern is indicative of a system that can recover and adjust to stressful situations very efficiently. Often times, we only need to be in a horses presence to feel a sense of wellness and peace. In fact, research shows that people experience many physiological benefits while interacting with horses, including lowered blood pressure and heart rate, increased levels of beta-endorphins (neurotransmitters that serve as pain suppressors), decreased stress levels, reduced feelings of anger, hostility, tension and anxiety, improved social functioning; and increased feelings of empowerment, trust, patience and self-efficacy."
https://www.facebook.com/NorthwoodFarms/photos/a.277572012326993.67250.194805010603694/596585830425608/?type=1&theater

Love Wild Horses www.lovewildhorses.org

05/13/2016

http://horsenetwork.com/2016/05/give-girl-pony/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sailthru&utm_blast=6716358&utm_campaign=05/13/16&utm_term=Active%20List

A lot of parents want to bubble wrap their kids, buy them the perfect pony, and watch them trot around at horse shows and win blue ribbons. But that’s not real life for most of Keep Reading

04/01/2016

FROM A PARENT:
One of my friends asked "Why do you pay so much money for your kids to do horse riding?" Well I have a confession to make, I don't pay for my kids horse riding. Personally, I couldn't care less about horse riding.

So, if I am not paying for horse riding, what am I paying for?

- I pay for those moments when my kids become so tired they want to quit but don't.

- I pay for those days when my kids come home from school and are "too tired" to go the stables but go anyway.

- I pay for my kids to learn to be disciplined.

- I pay for my kids to learn to take care of their body.

- I pay for my kids to learn to work with others and to be good team mates.

- I pay for my kids to learn to deal with disappointment, when they don't get that score they'd hoped for, but still have to work hard in the grading.

- I pay for my kids to learn to make and accomplish goals.

- I pay for my kids to learn that it takes hours and hours and hours and hours of hard work and practice to create a champion, and that success does not happen overnight.

- I pay for the opportunity my kids have and will have to make life-long friendships.

- I pay so that my kids can be in the arena instead of in front of a screen...
..I could go on but, to be short, I don't pay for horse riding, I pay for the opportunities that horse riding provides my kids with to develop attributes that will serve them well throughout their lives and give them the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far I think it is a great investment!

03/13/2016

By Margaret Evans

Do horses help children?

More than you think, according to researchers at Washington State University. Young people working with horses experience a substantial decrease in stress. And the evidence lies in their saliva.

“We were coming at this from a prevention perspective,” said Patricia Pendry, a developmental psychologist at WSU studying stress and the effects of prevention programs on human development. “We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems.”

Her work is the first evidence-based research within the field of human-equine interaction to measure a change in participants’ levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

The beauty of studying stress hormones is that they can be sampled noninvasively and conveniently by sampling saliva in naturalistic settings as individuals go about their regular day,” said Pendry.

Three years ago, the National Institutes of Health asked researchers to take on the big questions about the effects of human-animal interactions on child development. Pendry led a research project with students from grades 5 to 8 in a 12-week equine facilitated learning program with Palouse Area Therapeutic Horsemanship (PATH).

Pendry said that stress hormone functioning is a result of how we perceive and cope with stress. Stress is not just what you experience, she said, but how a person interprets the size of the stress triggers.

Working with PATH director Sue Jacobson and Phyllis Erdman from the WSU College of Education, Pendry implemented an after-school program serving 130 typically developing children. The program provided 90 minutes per week teaching horse behaviour, care, grooming, handling, riding, and interaction.

Participants provided six samples of saliva over a two-day period both before and after the 12-week program. Pendry compared the levels and patterns of stress hormone functioning by measuring cortisol. The results were exciting, she said.

“We found that children who had participated in the 12-week program had significantly lower stress hormone levels throughout the day and in the afternoon, compared to children in the waitlisted group,” she said. “We know that higher base levels of cortisol – particularly in the afternoon – are considered a potential risk factor for the development of psychopathology.”

Pendry said the study gives scientific credit to the claims of professionals and parents in the equine therapeutic field who support the positive impacts of these programs.

Photo: Children who participated in the after-school program with horses had significantly lower stress hormone levels, which supports claims of the positive effects of human-animal interactions on child development.

03/13/2016