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THERAPEUTIC
RIDING IN THE PIEDMONT, NC
By Susan Crisp
In the fall 2000 issue of the Review, North Carolina Recreation
and Park Service
President Butch Kisiah stated that "we need to be
out front as a champion of
programs and
possibilities for all children". I could not agree
more. And I add for all individuals that need healing.
As a recreational therapist (TRS/CTRS), I have grown accustomed
to being an advocate for recreation as therapy. As a
therapeutic riding instructor and Director of HorseFeathers
Therapeutic Riding, I talk to hundreds of people
each year about therapeutic riding in North Carolina.
Recorded instances of the partnering with horses to facilitate
specific benefits
for humans has been
in practice since the time when injured warriors were
given hippotherapy in Ancient Greece. More recently
most European countries have a nationally sponsored form of
therapeutic riding in their health systems. Most
people in our area have never heard of this form of
treatment for individuals with mental, emotional or physical
disabilities. But they will!
Therapeutic riding is also known as equine facilitated therapy (EFT),
especially when it pertains to non riding interaction with the
horse. The interaction with the horses and other animals
at HorseFeathers provides an opportunity to experience the
healing power of unconditional love and acceptance.
HorseFeathers of NC, Inc. a.k.a. HorseFeathers Therapeutic
Riding is a 501(c)-(3) non profit organization created to
provide therapy services to residents of
central North Carolina. Our mission is to provide a
long term program of therapy
and experiential education that utilizes our horses and other
animals as partners in the therapeutic learning process. We
are dedicated to providing these services, as well maintaining a
facility where volunteers of all ability ranges can perform that
most high honor, the honor of service to the community.
Most of the therapeutic riding centers in the piedmont (there
are five) are non-profit and rely heavily on volunteers for
their workforce. Certainly HorseFeathers Therapeutic
Riding could not exist
without our volunteers. We have a very diverse volunteer
force made up of mental health technicians, bankers, school
teachers, amateur and professional equestrians, and members of
various health care professions. We also offer volunteer
opportunities for direct and indirect client and animal care for
teens and adults with disabilities. Our current volunteer
staff includes individuals of varying ability levels.
All of our volunteers have discovered that the therapeutic
value found at HorseFeathers is transferable and radiates out to
include every one.
I recently had the opportunity to discuss the value of
therapeutic riding on the nationally televised Dr. Laura Show.
Because Dr. Laura holds her doctorate in the field of
physiology, I had hoped that she would be aware of the physical
benefits provided by therapeutic riding. Riding a horse
simulates the human gait, and this movement provides physical
benefits for individuals with cerebral palsy, spina bifida,
multiple sclerosis, partial paralysis, etc. This
non-passive exercise allows weight shifts that strengthen trunk
and leg muscles in the client. At HorseFeathers the grooming
process provides opportunities for stretching, increasing
stamina, improving balance, increasing range of
motion, and increased cardio-vascular endurance.
The grooming process is when the magic starts to happen. The
client and the horse begin to enter into a mutually beneficial
relationship. In horse society grooming is a huge part of
social interaction. As well as being a literal "you
scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours" proposition, it
is one way that these magnificent animals bond,
sharing tactile and sensory input to communicate emotions.
This emotional sharing absolutely transmits to humans;
especially those who have physical, mental and therefore,
emotional pain. During the grooming process which can take
from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the goals that are
being targeted, both horse and client often sigh and relax into
each other. The clients smile more, and their blood
pressure and heart rate drops. Often we will see horses seem to
fall asleep during grooming. This activity allows for the
cognitive committee to be silenced and even more healing
is free to take place.
Instead of discussing just the physical benefits of therapeutic
riding with Dr. Laura however, we discussed social/behavioral
and educational benefits. With therapeutic riding,
the implications for
teaching about appropriate social behavior are infinite. By
helping to care for the horses, our clients learn about
hygiene, responsibility, accountability, and consequences of
actions. Horses provide an opportunity to exchange
respect, trust and love. Qualities that are sorely lacking
in the lives of some
of the clients that
we serve at HorseFeathers. Whether a person is
diagnosed as having ADD/ADHD, detachment disorder, or any other
behavioral disability, or if
they are just a "normal", they can benefit from
relating to our volunteers, and the wonderfully giving, kind,
fair and loving animals that are our partners.
EFT is truly experiential education. At HorseFeathers we
use words and pictures to label almost every item. This
method teaches letter and word recognition to children at almost
any level of learning. We serve many children without
language who rely on the picture symbols to
communicate time, patterns, and directions.
We also partner with our horses to work on math skills.
Recently I was working with a child who has difficulty
understanding fractions. While she was grooming her horse
I presented this problem: She has finished one side of the
horse, and must groom the other side. What part of the
whole horse has she groomed? We began by discussing the
possible answers (one half, one quarter, etc.). We then
divided the horse down the middle with a chalk line. We
counted the number of sides, then we drew a fractional number to
represent our work. Many children learn best by
experiencing the problem at
hand. EFT provides numerous opportunities each
session for this type of learning.
As adults, we often think we are unteachable. But I have
learned so much from
the horses and from
our clients about priorities, faith, trust...you know, the art
of well being!
In his President’s Message, Mr. Kisiah said, "We
can make a greater positive impact on the physical, social, and
behavioral development of young people across North Carolina if
we can inform the
adults in our communities about the services we provide..."
This idea is what excited me about the opportunity to
speak about therapeutic riding/EFT on a nationally televised
show. I
would be exposing a large audience to this wonderful form of
treatment and education that works and is (dare I say it?)
FUN!
At HorseFeathers we strive to make a greater impact on all the
individuals that we serve, regardless of ability level. Our
goals vary per client, but they would include targets such as:
increase in self-awareness, increase in eye contact, decrease in
muscle spasticity, increase in muscle tone, decreased
self-destructive behavior, increase in range of motion, increase
tolerance of tactile stimulation.
Some other benefits of therapeutic riding/EFT are: improved
hand-eye coordination, improved problem solving skills,
increased vestibular senses, development
of pro-social attitudes, expansion of life
experiences, increased verbalization, and stimulation of
creativity.
It seems that we have a shortage of safe, enjoyable learning
experiences for our children.
Therapeutic riding/EFT can fill some part of that
shortage. This is especially true for children with
ADD/ADHD or other behavioral disabilities. Often these
children are unable to participate in group sports or other
group activities because of lack of social skills (i.e.
lack of focus, abbreviated attention span, and reduced patience
and tolerance for others), and lack of coordinated motor skills.
Therapeutic riding/EFT gives these children the
opportunity to participate in an activity that provides
meaningful physical, emotional, social and mental stimulation.
There is also the added beneficial option of one on one
interaction with the therapist and with the horse. And
finally there is the empowerment of
participating in an activity that has it’s own type of
prestige and legend.
As Will Rogers once said, "There is something about the
outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."
The horse is an unapologetically spiritual being that offers the
greatest healing element known, unconditional love. Watching people learn, grow and become confidant is an
incredible experience, one not to be missed. If
you know of a child or adult that could benefit
from therapeutic riding/EFT, or if you want to be a part of the
team of volunteers that makes this amazing experience possible, call
336.727.1376 or log on to www.horsefeathersnc.org
Susan Crisp, TRS/CTRS is the founder and director of HorseFeathers Therapeutic
Riding. HorseFeathers has been providing equine facilitated therapy
services to
individuals regardless of ability level for almost four years. Susan has
worked with children and adults with mental, physical and emotional disabilites
for over 9 years.
HorseFeathers business address is 326 East Sprague Street Winston-Salem, NC
27127. The barn, or therapy delivery location is 4051 Harper Road,
Clemmons, NC (adjacent to
Tanglewood Park). We look forward to hearing from you.
Photos are in order of appearance: volunteers at training session, a hoof
pick-grooming tool, and the Dr. Laura crew filming us at HorseFeathers
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