Hippotherapy

Has anyone participated in or volunteered for therapeutic horse riding?

If so, what were you experiences? Did you enjoy it? Feel accomplished? Favorite stories would be great. I have been working at a riding center for almost a year now and I was wondering if there was a community of people out there that actually did it. If so I would love to hear from you.

Public Comments

1. Yes...but only for a short time, as our business required me to get back to business...it is VERY rewarding and you actually learn a lot in the process...to see the advancement of children and adults from a position of hopelessness to a door of opportunity and real hope, is absolutely worth anyone's time and effort...yes, it is an effort, but well worth it. It would do well that all of us could help, even if we don't even have a minute to donate, if we can donate money, tack, etc...even contacts that you have that might further the cause, does help. They operate strictly on donations...some of the instructors even give lessons on the side to paying customers to help further the cause of their program.
2. Yes!! I did and I loved it...unfortunatly I was underage so when my sister went back to college I had to quit but i'm gonna go back this summer, I loved leading the kids around on the awsome horses, but by the end I liked taking care of the barn and horses the best!!!
3. i know someone who was in a therapeutic riding center because of mental disabilities. he loved riding! he knew when it was time to ride!
4. i did barn work at High Hopes Theraputic Riding for a few years(they hosted the special Olympics) it was fun to see what they did with the children and i felt very good about myself after doing it.
5. I havent done it yet but I am working on signing up to volunteer soon. I just need to go to the training they do.
6. I've seen good and bad. The most important thing is to get to know the riding facility. See how the owner runs the place, what type of person he/she is, how the horses are behavioral-wise, and the type of care they receive. The benefits for the students in the program can be remarkable, and the horses can love their job if it is kept and calm and low-stress as it should be. I've seen some therapy horses that really loved their job, including one bought for his owner as a therapy horse (rather than taking lessons). He and his owner were very attached to each other; the gelding was usually gruff and prone to chomping on people's legs, but he suddenly became as calm and gentle as could be whenever his owner was around. However, I've also seen bad. One barn I used to board my horse at did therapy riding, and people frequently "donated" horses to the program (donated horses seems to be a fairly common event with such beneficial programs, especially if the horse is older or has a physical condition that prevents it from being ridden harder than basic walk and trot). Most horses generally are not suitable for therapy riding, free or not, but since this barn owner owner took in basically everything handed to her, she had too many horses and nothing to do with most of them. The "good" riding horses were overused for both therapy and normal lessons, including horses that I felt shouldn't have been ridden at all, and the more wild or green ones tended to sit neglected outside. Our family didn't last long at that place, of course. In conclusion, therapy riding stables can be just as varied in quality as normal ones. Find a nice, friendly barn with well-cared-for horses and a kind owner, and the experience will be fantastic. The students love and benefit from it, and the horses can truly enjoy themselves if they are worked a proper amount and allowed to lead the low-stress lifestyle the therapy is supposed to be about.
7. My aunt is a barn manager and the occupational therapist at a private therapeutic riding stable. Before she worked there she volounteered a lot with a program called We Can Ride. My aunt's old horse retired from the WCR program at age 28 and lived with her for 7 years, they took amazing care of him, and all their horses and ensure they get the best of homes when their jobs are done or if they don't fit into the program. Actually working in the program is a very fun and rewarding experience. You have to be 14 years old, but I've been going to sessions since I was 12, watching and helping out with odd jobs around the barn. I've seen so many incredible transformations by the kids in the program. Last summer was my first year actually helping with the horses, I always led a horse for a little girl who was seriously autistic and had some leg problems due to an old injury. On her first day she wouldn't talk to anybody, and she wouldn't make eye contact with anyone but her mother. On the last day her mom had to pretty much drag her out the door, and on the way promising she could come back. Not only did she talk to us, (me and her side walkers, and her horse) but the other kids and volounteers. And she was a talkative little girl. =] Therapuetic riding is such a rewarding experience, especially when you see transformations like I did. It takes some pretty incredible horses to do the job too. http://www.wecanride.org
8. Working in therapeutic riding has been great for me. I donated a horse there and then i started working there. My mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor and lost all feeling to her left side and therapeutic riding has helped her so much she rides all the time now. It is a great program.
9. I have spent the last year trying to help a very feisty 70 year old disabled lady start a new RDA centre. We are different in the fact that we teach side saddle riding for the disabled. We have forced the RDA to re think the way they are to move forward in starting new centres and were doing really well up to a point. The riding centre in which we operate has now moved the goal posts and things are not looking as rosy as at first. We have been inundated with people who wish to ride but red tape has got in the way!!!!! Typical!. Very frustrating for all involved. The people we have managed to help are up in arms about our possible closure, as are we. I guess what I am saying is that whilst very rewarding when actually doing what we set out to do, is great, BUT Red tape is a pain in the bum!!!. Helpers, on the ground have been brilliant but as one of those trying to raise funds to keep going....it's been a night-mare.
10. I do, it's ok. But honestly I prefer to take care of the horses than work with the children. I don't like children to begin with. And most of the children are little girls. So it makes it that much worse. One time I was leading a pony, Thunder, and every time he coughed this girl would burst into tears. And not just tears, she would be shrieking. I really can't take little kids.
11. Yes I have I volunteered for a riding therapy program for 8 years, from Jan 1998, 5 months before I turned 15. To August 2006. I stopped going because I just wanted to take 2 semesters off. As some things go its end up be looking 2 years this August. I had practically gone every single Saturday for 8 years and it was about 40 miles from where I live so it was no hop and jump. When I started out there in 1998 it was a bit less as they moved to a new facility I think in 2003 or 2002. I dearly miss the horses and the kids some of them were little kids between 6 to 8 when I started in 1998 and some were still riding when I was last there Aug 2006, so they were early mid teens. I enjoyed greatly working with the kids (even adult riders) and horses, and I do hope to get back doing some program sometime this year. There are quite a few in the area, the one I had volunteered at well they had been having some management issues, quite a few loyal and long time volunteers have ceased going there, but have stared going to another facility. This one is about 15 miles further though. If I have a reliable car though it might be worth the extra miles since I have some good friends that are volunteering out at this facility now. Though at the facility I had volunteered at I dearly love the the horses and the kids and riders as well. Its something I will have to think about, I hope to start back at one or the other sometimes this spring or summer. They are typical very flexible anytime you can come out if its every day , once a week, once a month, if you can be a sub for someone who regularly comes in but cant for some reason. North American Riding for the Handicapped http://narha.org/ They have Handicapped riding programs all over. We had a couple that volunteered on Saturdays for several years and they moved to England in 2005, and they were able to find a program close to their new home where they started volunteering at.
12. I don't know about the states but in the uk there's a group called Riding for the Disabled Association. They use the horses for physically therapy for adults and kids with different problems such as cerebral palsy, brain injuries, paralasis, epilepse etc. They even have shows only for RDA riders. I worked at one for six months and the riders really benefitted from it. There was one horse that seemed to know when a kid was going to have a seziure and he would stand and refuse to move, the kid would have the seziure and the horse would still stand there - they are really smart.
13. i do and i love it, however the center i volunteer with is very cliqueish and there is a group that runs off the volunteers that aren't 'good' enough for them, either socially,economicly, ect. That really makes me mad and i quit the center for a while because of it, but yes i enjoy it in the right atmosphere and have had a horse or two in the program as well. Favorite storys prolly the altistic kids, or tramatic emotional experiences, they scream like heck the first time, then second time they come back to the center they get on the horse like pros. I had a kid that had a horrible experience and had not said a word since the event over 3 years before. He got off his horse one day and threw his arms around him and said I love u trigger as clear as day. the volunteers all stood blinking at each other like did that just happen?! I get goosebumps to this day.
14. Yes, I absolutely love it, the kids love their ride around so much and you get so much out of it, not only from the children but the horses are great too, and you see the kids develop different muscles and abilities from riding, particularly the kids with cerebral palsy. I have met some really great people some of the other volunteers actually come riding with me now on my horses Cheers sandi