Books in the Barn

Children paired with horses for faculty-led community literacy program

By Maxwell Hildebrand ’27

Jayna McPherson and a young girl reading a book together in a barn aisle next to a friendly horse.

SRU student Jayna McPherson helps a child from Slippery Rock Area School District develop reading skills with a horse as her audience at the Storm Harbor Equestrian Center.

pioneering new program at Slippery Rock University is taking story time from the classroom to the barn by pairing elementary school students with four-legged study buddies. SRU’s College of Education and the Storm Harbor Equestrian Center have launched a program titled Books in the Barn designed to support early literacy development by having children read aloud to an unlikely audience: horses.

“Horses are very intuitive animals,” said Sara Tours, SRU associate professor of curriculum, instruction, educational leadership. “This can be a great way for children to enhance their skills. The horses have been highly motivating for the kids.”

Designed for children in kindergarten through second grade, the program provides opportunities for younger learners to read to horses through structured sessions, fostering a low-pressure, supportive environment that promotes confidence, motivation and greater reading stamina.

Sara Tours leaning in close to listen to a young child holding open a book.

Sara Tours is among the SRU faculty leading an innovative, equine-assisted program helping young readers.

After hosting a session with 10 students from Slippery Rock Area School District in April 2026, the Books in the Barn program has since incorporated reading-to-horses activities into various Storm Harbor field trips as it continues the program for the 2026-27 academic year. The SRU faculty’s initial research will examine students’ motivation and engagement with reading, with the goal of expanding the initiative into a larger research-based program later in the academic year and potentially to other school districts.

The idea for Books in the Barn stemmed from Whitney Angelini, an SRU instructor who teaches an equine-assisted services course that is part of the animal-assisted interventions minor. Angelini, who has worked with equine-assisted services for nearly 20 years, is committed to expanding non-mounted, therapeutic offerings at Storm Harbor.

“The more time I have spent with horses, the more I have begun to develop a deep appreciation for the value of simply being with them,” Angelini said. “Horses are highly social herd animals, nonjudgmental and accepting. They don’t correct, interrupt or criticize. They provide a calm, accepting presence and powerful source of motivation, especially for children who may lack confidence.”

After earning credentials as a Horse Powered Reading Facilitator, Angelini sought out interdisciplinary partners across campus to turn the concept into reality.

Young girl sitting on a rolling chair in a stable stall, reading a picture book aloud to a dark horse.

Horses are ideal animals for children to read to because they are social and calming.

“I knew that developing a meaningful literacy program required collaboration with experts in reading, literacy and education,” Angelini said. “What better way to bring those areas together than by reaching out to our own experts within SRU’s College of Education? I was thrilled when several faculty members expressed interest and offered their expertise, creativity and support.

“We hope the program will continue to grow while preserving the welcoming, personal connections among children, horses, families and the University that make it so special.”

SRU faculty, alumni and students have contributed to making Books in the Barn a reality. In addition to Tours and Angelini, the team includes graduate students Christina Myers and Kai Fulkerson-Bell; Ally Gilmore, a former SRU student and community partner; and faculty members Rocco Cremonese, from Bailey Library, and Luqing Zang and Diana Papa, from the Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Leadership Department.

“The Books in the Barn initiative has allowed me to combine my three passions: horses, literacy, and working with students from kindergarten to second grade,” Myers said. “Books in the Barn provided me with the opportunity to use the therapeutic nature of horses to cultivate an environment for students to build confidence in reading.”

Watching students respond to the horses has been a highlight for most of the team. Even at such an early stage in the project, the children show visible signs of progression among students, in both reading comprehension and interactions. The horses show signs as well.

“The horse touched the student’s knee with their nose as if they were saying, ‘it is OK.'”

Ally Gilmore holding up a book to read aloud to a small group of children gathered near a horse in a barn.

Young boy sitting on a rolling chair in a barn aisle reading a book next to a dark horse head.

Young girl sitting and reading a book while Ally Gilmore holds a horse with braided hair right next to her.

Ally Gilmore, a former SRU student and community partner, introduces a group of younger readers to a book that they will read to a horse. Organizers of Books in the Barn will collect data to inform future equine-assisted literacy programs.

“The horses enjoy being read to,” said Myers. “You will observe them nuzzling the students or displaying positive body language like ears being in a forward position. I witnessed a student struggling to read a word in a sentence and began to show signs of frustration. The horse touched the student’s knee with their nose as if they were saying, ‘it is OK.'”

“Horses are a little intimidating because of their size,” said Tours. “But the ones chosen for this are really kind and sweet, so even though there might be some apprehension, it was beautiful to see how the horses and the kids started to bond.

As data collection continues, the team remains focused on expanding the program’s reach across the region.

“We believe Books in the Barn highlights the innovative, community-engaged work happening between the College of Education and Storm Harbor,” said Tours.

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