Special Needs, Special Horses: A Guide to the Benefits of Therapeutic Riding

Chapter 6: Horses

39 Chapter Six Horses They฀carried฀us฀into฀battle.฀They฀tilled฀our฀land.฀They฀transported฀ us.฀Time฀and฀high฀tech฀marched฀on,฀and฀they฀were฀relegated฀largely฀to฀ our฀entertainment.฀Now฀horses฀are฀again฀called฀on฀for฀a฀vital฀service—to฀ help฀strengthen฀the฀frail฀of฀body,฀and฀inspire฀the฀frail฀of฀mind. The฀young฀riders,฀however,฀think฀of฀the฀therapy฀horse฀more฀in฀terms฀ of฀a฀big,฀soft฀neck฀to฀nuzzle,฀a฀velvety฀nose฀to฀rub,฀and฀a฀means฀of฀having ฀fun.฀Well,฀not฀only฀the฀young฀riders. More฀than฀5,000฀horses฀on฀this฀continent฀are฀entrusted฀with฀our฀ fragile฀citizens,฀from฀two-year-olds฀to฀the฀geriatric. The฀animals฀that฀transport฀such฀precious฀cargo,฀or฀stand฀patiently฀ while฀novices฀rub฀them,฀or฀pick฀up฀their฀feet,฀obviously฀must฀have฀the฀ temperament฀and฀training฀not฀to฀spook฀at฀an฀unexpected฀noise฀or฀movement ,฀and฀to฀respond฀quickly฀to฀commands. Therapy฀horses฀must฀be฀sound.฀Even฀a฀slight฀limp฀will฀cause฀an฀ uneven฀gait,฀which฀can฀be฀detrimental฀in฀individual฀cases. A฀selection฀of฀sizes฀and฀shapes฀is฀necessary฀to฀meet฀each฀client’s฀ unique฀requirements.฀For฀example,฀a฀rider฀with฀tight฀muscles฀and฀tendons ฀in฀his฀thighs฀and฀hips฀needs฀a฀mount฀with฀a฀narrow฀barrel,฀while฀ someone฀with฀good฀flexibility฀will฀get฀more฀stretching฀from฀straddling฀ a฀wider฀back. Conformation฀and฀age฀affect฀motion.฀A฀horse฀with฀a฀vigorous,฀youthful ฀walk฀and฀trot฀gives฀a฀good฀workout.฀A฀rider฀with฀some฀tenderness฀or฀ pain฀needs฀the฀smooth฀rhythm฀easier฀found฀in฀an฀older฀mount.1 ฀ horse2.indd฀฀฀39 3/11/05฀฀฀2:08:37฀PM THERAPEUTIC RIDING AND ACTIVITIES 40 NARHA฀centers฀receive฀a฀lot฀of฀donated฀horses.฀Most฀are฀well-bred,฀ with฀good฀conformation,฀are฀highly฀schooled,฀and฀have฀led฀useful฀lives฀ in฀a฀variety฀of฀equine฀endeavors,฀such฀as฀on฀ranches,฀in฀rodeo฀arenas,฀ or฀show฀rings.฀Usually฀past฀their฀prime,฀they฀no฀longer฀possess฀the฀endurance ฀necessary฀to฀compete฀in฀rigorous฀performance฀events,฀or฀even฀ afford฀their฀owners฀long฀hours฀of฀pleasure฀in฀the฀saddle.฀Still,฀in฀their฀ waning฀years,฀they฀can฀easily฀handle฀the฀limited฀demands฀at฀a฀NARHA฀ center.฀A฀typical฀schedule฀consists฀of฀thirty-minute฀or฀one-hour฀walks,฀ with฀an฀occasional฀short฀trot,฀two฀or฀three฀times฀a฀day,฀a฀few฀days฀a฀ week.฀When฀considering฀a฀horse฀as฀a฀substitute฀in฀a฀class,฀the฀instructor฀ checks฀the฀schedule฀and฀won’t฀use฀him฀if฀he฀has฀already฀worked฀enough฀ that฀day.฀I฀have฀seen฀or฀heard฀of฀several฀horses฀working฀into฀their฀twenties ,฀and฀even฀thirties,฀when฀they฀are฀sound,฀healthy,฀and฀eager. A฀horse฀entering฀the฀program฀is฀ridden฀by฀an฀instructor฀or฀therapist ,฀skilled฀in฀horsemanship,฀who฀evaluates฀him฀and฀decides฀if฀he฀is฀ a฀good฀prospect.฀He฀is฀given฀the฀additional฀general฀schooling฀deemed฀ necessary,฀then฀turned฀over฀to฀the฀volunteers฀for฀the฀special฀training฀to฀ become฀a฀therapy฀horse. Volunteers฀work฀with฀the฀horse฀several฀days฀to฀get฀him฀familiar฀with฀ his฀new฀handling฀and฀surroundings.฀Even฀a฀well-trained฀animal฀isn’t฀ used฀to฀control฀entirely฀from฀the฀ground,฀with฀a฀halter฀and฀lead฀rope,฀ as฀opposed฀to฀his฀wearing฀a฀bit฀or฀hackamore,฀and฀being฀guided฀by฀a฀ rider. We฀lead฀him฀around฀the฀arena,฀letting฀him฀look฀and฀sniff฀at฀unfamiliar ฀objects,฀introducing฀moves฀that฀will฀be฀made฀in฀a฀regular฀session ,฀which฀may฀be฀strange฀to฀him.฀He฀learns฀to฀quickly฀respond,฀when฀ prompted,฀to฀reverse฀his฀direction,฀or฀move฀in฀a฀tight฀circle,฀maneuvers฀ that฀cause฀the฀rider฀to฀use฀muscle฀contractions฀to฀maintain฀balance.฀The฀ therapist฀calls฀for฀“half-halts”,฀which฀means฀bringing฀the฀horse฀almost฀ to฀a฀stop,฀and฀then฀abruptly฀speeding฀up฀again.฀This฀also฀increases฀the฀ client’s฀strength฀and฀balance฀as฀he฀tenses฀his฀muscles฀to฀keep฀his฀seat.฀ (Of฀course,฀in฀a฀class,฀sidewalkers฀are฀holding฀a฀leg฀or฀foot,฀or฀ready฀to฀ grab฀one฀if฀the฀need฀arises.)฀ The฀half-halt฀is฀particularly฀hard฀for฀a฀horse฀to฀grasp.฀It฀surely฀makes฀ no฀sense฀to฀him฀to฀be฀asked฀to฀stop,฀and฀before฀he฀has฀time฀to฀do฀it,฀a฀ horse2.indd฀฀฀40 3/11/05฀฀฀2:08:37฀PM HORSES 41 tug฀on฀the฀halter฀signals฀him฀to฀speed฀up.฀I฀can฀almost฀hear฀him฀saying,฀ “Make฀up฀your฀mind,฀lady,฀or฀I’m฀outta฀here!” He฀must฀learn฀to฀go฀into฀a฀trot฀without฀the฀nudge฀from฀his฀rider...