Johnny Be Good had his first brush with therapy about 18 years ago.

Johnny is a horse, and he was the therapist.

The muscular, solid, chestnut-colored horse gave the first ride to Bend horse trainer Emily Hilbruner, who had not ridden for a year while recovering from a back injury.

After her sabbatical, Hilbruner said, she felt weak and nervous about riding again.

Her choice of Johnny (who was then called Johnny One Spot, because he had one white spot on his body) was deliberate.

”I really wanted to be careful about the horse I rode, and I didn’t want to get hurt again,” Hilbruner said. ”He is such a reliable horse, I knew him well, I knew I could trust him.”

Though that first ride back was short and simple – the two just walked and trotted around an arena – it facilitated Hilbruner’s return to the world of show jumping, where she has made her living for more than two decades.

For years Hilbruner owned Johnny, then she sold him to a student who kept him in Central Oregon.

A successful show jumper, Johnny won many classes and developed a reputation among the show circuit for being a beautiful jumper and a spirited horse.

”He had a peppy side, he was definitely not lazy, but he was really good and really steady,” Hilbruner said.

Today, at 34 – old for a horse – Johnny is even more reliable and consistent. His show days are over, and he’s lost the spring in his step. But he continues to ”work” his job as a therapeutic riding horse for Healing Reins, a non-profit organization for people with disabilities.

About three times a week, Johnny is used in lessons for small kids – only those weighing less than 75 pounds may ride him. One of those riders is Drew Roderick, a 5-year-old boy who is learning how to accept authority, said his mother, Jaimie Roderick.

Drew has been riding Johnny since January, coming out weekly for lessons that begin with brushing and saddling.

During a recent session at Faith Run Farms, on Billadeau Road in southeast Bend where Healing Reins operates, Johnny stood quietly, his head lowered and his eyes shut as Drew ran a brush over his shiny, copper-colored coat.

With help from two volunteers, Drew got the saddle and a bridle on Johnny, then walked to the arena where he climbed on. Drew eased into the saddle, and his volunteers stayed close to Johnny’s head, helping steer and direct the horse to the commands.

The lesson began with a game of stop and go. Drew and Johnny would advance when a volunteer held up a green symbol and stop when red flashed. After ”red light, green light,” they rode through a simple obstacle course.

With careful, deliberate steps, Johnny ambled around the arena.

He trotted when kicked, halted when asked to stop and turned wherever Drew pointed the reins.

Such obedience is requisite of any therapeutic riding horse. Johnny’s patience, gentle disposition and sensitivity make him an excellent teacher for kids like Drew, said Pam Addington, Johnny’s owner and founder of Healing Reins.

”He is really mellow,” Addington said of Johnny. ”He won’t hurt anyone, nothing fazes him.”

Still, at 16 hands – slightly over 5 feet when measured at the withers, where the neck meets the back – Johnny towers above the little kids and can be intimidating initially, said Jaimie, Drew’s mother.

Originally anxious about riding Johnny, Drew now revels in the fact that he rides one of the biggest horses in the barn.

”It’s a good match,” Jaimie said of her son and the horse. ”Johnny seems to understand that it is a little person on his back and he needs to be gentle. Drew doesn’t mind the size anymore. He beams when he tells people he is on the biggest horse in the barn.”

Riding Johnny has helped instill in Drew a sense of respect, she said.

”This provides him with that warm outlet where he can learn to touch and nurture and be gentle and really appreciate animals,” she said.

Johnny also gives Drew a sense of accomplishment.

”The most important piece is feeling that he is excellent at something that no one else in the family is,” she said.

Addington said the opportunity to incorporate Johnny into the program has enabled her to share with others the liberation, freedom and inspiration she has gleaned from riding throughout her life.

Like Hilbruner, Addington endured a traumatic riding injury and took almost a year off to recover. When she returned to the sport, Johnny was her first ride.

That was 10 years ago. But she remembers it with alacrity.

”I put my foot in the stirrup, swung my leg into the saddle and burst into tears,” she said. ”I felt really vulnerable. But with a horse like him, he is just what you need. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.”

By continuing to offer that same support to people who have endured physical, behavioral and emotional disabilities, Johnny continues to make a difference in people’s lives, Addington said.

Of course, he couldn’t do it alone. Healing Reins has 200 volunteers, 55 riders and three instructors. The horses in the menage are patient and do not spook. Most are old and thrived in their previous disciplines. Like Johnny, many were champions in the show ring.

All can endure having many people close to them and having riders on their backs who may give mixed signals. For instance, a rider may kick a horse when he or she actually wants the horse to stop, Addington said.

”To be a good horse for this, it takes an excellent mind,” she said. ”They get mixed signals, and their riders aren’t always balanced. But I think these horses just want to adjust. They know the riders on their backs need their help. They look out for them.”

Rachel Odell can be reached at 541-617-7811 or rodell@bendbulletin.com