"Of all the guys that I've worked with, by FAR the hardest working, always on time, and most honest fellows all grew up on ranches" - Edgerly, CO
What's Missing Today?
What is it about a working ranch that brings about real, internal, lasting change? Think about life 100 years ago when society was more agrarian-based. Those days seem to conjure up images of wholesome families who were united in purpose, respectful of each other, and generally enjoyed life. This cohesiveness and respect was largely due to the fact that the entire family had to work together in order for the family unit to function and survive. Every family member was expected and relied upon to perform their responsibilities. Through the process of working together, families grew closer together. It’s our vision to help young men experience the ranch way of life again.
Memories That Will Last a Lifetime
The ranch will help instill in your son the lesson that anything in life worth having takes work. And it’s the work that changes us. It’s the process of setting a goal and working to attain that goal that really initiates our internal motivation to change. The ranch allows your teen to feel good about who they are and who they can become. The ranch allows your teen to take part in working together as a team to contribute to something larger than themselves. It allows them an opportunity to work side-by-side with positive adult role models and to learn respect and proper communication with those adults. It allows students to work with the animals and farm crops and to experience the life cycle first-hand. The ranch allows us an opportunity to see your child in a comfortable setting and to really get to know them through the activities we do together. Therapy isn’t forced or contrived on the ranch; rather it takes place naturally throughout the day.
There is something extremely satisfying about completing a project after a lot of hard work and effort. It’s a universal law of nature that we appreciate things more if we have to work for them. The ranch instills this in teens like no other place on earth. Everything that takes place on a ranch is work. Through the daily chores of milking cows, fixing fence, building barns, taking care of animals, growing crops, or going on cattle drives, your son will begin to feel empowered and accomplished. They will internalize that sense of self-worth and accomplishment when they step back at the end of every day and look out over their work with pride. These are the life lessons that are gained on the ranch. This is why families believe in the program. And these are the reasons your son will make changes here too.
There is something extremely satisfying about completing a project after a lot of hard work and effort. It’s a universal law of nature that we appreciate things more if we have to work for them. The ranch instills this in teens like no other place on earth. Everything that takes place on a ranch is work. Through the daily chores of milking cows, fixing fence, building barns, taking care of animals, growing crops, or going on cattle drives, your son will begin to feel empowered and accomplished. They will internalize that sense of self-worth and accomplishment when they step back at the end of every day and look out over their work with pride. These are the life lessons that are gained on the ranch. This is why families believe in the program. And these are the reasons your son will make changes here too.
“Not Just Saving One Life, But Saving Generations To Come”
All these activities help your son start thinking about where they fit into life and what type of contribution they want to make on the world. The ranch allows your teen to start thinking about who they want to become and what they want to make of themselves. It helps them begin thinking about how they want to be remembered by you and the rest of their family and friends. In short, KW Legacy Ranch helps your child start thinking about building their own LEGACY.
Learn More About Life on the Ranch
The following is a small list of lessons and experiences that our students participate in while on the ranch. Imagine your child being a part of the activities below and picture the profound effect these experiences will have on the rest of their life.
- Learning to sacrifice and to give without expecting something in return, because animals require constant care but will never tell you thank you
- Stepping back to examine the massive pile of hay that you just helped stack and feeling exhausted but exhilarated because of your work
- Having a fellow student quietly thank you for the delicious meal that you carefully prepared for them
- Reaping what you sow when you eat the delicious vegetables out of the garden that you painstakingly planted, watered, and weeded for months prior to enjoying them
- Knowing that you contributed to something meaningful and needed when you see your horse use the shade structure that you built to keep them out of the hot sun
- Learning to work together as a team while on a cattle drive out on the range
- Taking pride in raising a bottle-fed calf that was born sick and wouldn’t have survived without your help
- Feeling refreshed and ready to confront each new day with vigor when you have a schedule, structure, plenty of physical activity and exercise, are eating right, and get lots of rest
- Taking time to look back over the line of straight fence that you just built and knowing that it will keep the animals out of harm’s way
- Putting your mark on the new tack shed that you helped build so that every time you pass by you will be reminded how good it feels to do a job well
- Seeing the huge stack of weeds that you just pulled and being grateful for the opportunity you have to confront the weeds in your own life while on the ranch
- Appreciating the time to sit in nature and just listen as you are out irrigating the fields
- Spending time working on and fixing the farm equipment and knowing that you played a key role in helping the hay get put up this year
- Feeling a sense of calmness any time you have a flat tire because you have the knowledge and ability to change that tire and aren’t dependent on someone else to do it for you
- Knowing that you can feel good even about doing dishes correctly or taking pride in an environment that you help keep clean and organized
- Understanding what it means to fail at something but having the willingness to persevere until you succeed, because you couldn’t lift a bale of hay when you first arrived but by the end of your stay you were throwing them on the trailer with ease
- Having respect for adults because you work shoulder-to-shoulder with them every day and can see that they truly care for you and want only for you to be happy
- Appreciating your parents because you now see how much work it takes to provide a living and to have daily chores and responsibilities
- Learning to deal with frustration because your horse is being so stubborn then having an epiphany that you now understand how your parents feel
- Eliminating all the distractions of friends and technology and having time to just think without all the other stressors of life
- Getting frustrated at the cattle because they keep breaking through the fence and making themselves sick on the alfalfa, then appreciating the importance of rules and boundaries in your own life and recognizing how they are there to help and protect you
- Bonding with one of the animals on the ranch and applying those lessons to overcome your fear of bonding with a loved one or an adoptive family member
- Gaining clarity on how you were pushing away those who loved you and were just trying to help you after you had to hold down a struggling, sick animal in order for the vet to give it the medicine it needed to get better
This is real life on the ranch and these are the experiences that your son will be fortunate enough to participate in every day. If you believe these experiences could help change your family, then please contact us.
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