As winter weather fades and spring approaches, Lifestriders horse stable remains a warm environment year round. Young riders appear one by one. Each bundled in layers of clothing, thick heavy jackets and their helmets strapped tight. Tiny dust particles collect on clothing while the smells of hay and animals fill the barn. Volunteers of all ages help groom and saddle the horses which are patiently waiting to start work. The therapeutic riding session begins. Parents watch from the small waiting area behind a light wooden fence, separating them from the well lit, rectangle arena.
LifeStriders offers a unique form of therapy. One that is gaining notice for producing effective results. Equine Assisted Therapy is a rehabilitation growing in popularity across the United States. Horses help thousands of children with special needs, including more than one hundred clients in southeastern Wisconsin.
In front of the watching area is a heated indoor riding ring. Scattered orange cones lay atop the dirt floor. A basketball hoop located in the back left corner is used for coordination skills; signs and pictures used for therapy activities cover the white arena walls.
Two gentle giants are led through a heavy red gate into the arena. Riders are assisted while mounting the horse, and each is surrounded by three volunteers.
…The two horses stand in the arena appearing calm, looking as though it is simply another day on the job. Both are different breeds, ensuring a drastic different in their overall appearance. A chestnut colored Quarter horse stands tall and elegant next to a smaller, cream colored horse. With a blondish brown forelock long enough to cover both eyes and a mane and tail just as wild, he looks like a large miniature pony. His coat so thick, it appears as if he has been outside all winter.
Laughter and chatting is present in each square foot of the facility. Rascle Flatts echoes from the speakers, filling the barn with a country feel.
…Because of the diversity and challenges to overcome in each child’s therapy, LifeStriders strives to incorporate different activities into each riding session.
For building strength, the children lift weights above their heads. This therapy strengthens the body while stimulating brain waves and muscle control.
Lori Voecks, Program Manager at LifeStriders, explains why such devices as weights are used.
“It’s great for balance,” she says. “That’s why we use a lot of weights because especially autistic kids, they don’t have a feeling of themselves in space. We have weighted vests or hand weights that help them feel grounded, helps them feel where they are in relation to their body.”
…Robert Conley, a Physical Therapist and President of LifeStriders, says he realized long ago how quickly the therapy was emerging.
…The American Hippotherapy Association says that being atop a horse provides the rider with movement which is variable, rhythmic and repetitive. The horse is a dynamic base of support, becoming a tool for increasing base and core strength, balance, postural strength, and motorskills. Voecks, LifeStriders program manager, described exactly why and how riding the horse helps children with special needs.
“So, a horse’s gait is the closest thing to a human’s gait, and the heel strike, and the way the hips move and the way the knees move is the same action a human’s heel strike has, sending those signals up the spine to make the brain work,” says Voecks.
Aside from building strength in a therapeutic session, children’s tactile senses are also stimulated. The horse’s skin is fuzzy, the mane and tail are rough, and the nose is soft. Discovering these sensations helps draw children out, stimulating development of their verbal communication and interest in physical objects.
…Today at LifeStriders, there are over fifty volunteers, as well as four full time and three part time staff. More than one hundred individuals, mostly children, receive equine assisted therapy each week.
…The clientele range in age and needs. Conley says their youngest rider was three years old…
…The ability to combine multiple therapies into one equine therapy session is another cause of its extensive growth. One therapy session has the potential to intermingle physical and occupational therapy, as well as speech-language pathology. In a traditional therapy setting, many businesses are limited to providing one or two therapies. For the others, families have to go to multiple different facilities or hospitals.
…Five year old Morgan Kase has Autism. She is considered high-spectrum, meaning she has the ability to attend school and focus at a high level. Morgan’s mother, Kathy Kase, knew Morgan’s passion for animals would come in handy while trying this new therapy.
“She’s a little tough going into new routines, so I thought maybe the first, second, third time would be walking into the building, crying a little bit,” she said. “She came in and she amazed me. Within five minutes she was on the horse. I bawled like a baby.”
Kase said Morgan can name every dinosaur imaginable and that her passion for animals was evident right away. The therapy experience has worked wonders for Morgan. However, when riding a horse, a humans body works twice as hard as it would while sitting in a chair. Because Morgan was not used to this, the first few sessions were difficult.
“Day one was also a challenge because she was sitting up for an entire hour on the horse. So after this, she was exhausted for the rest of the day,” said Kase.
Kase said she doesn’t believe Morgan would be where she is today without LifeStriders being in her life the past four months.
…Equine Therapy can incorporate physical, occupational and speech therapy all into one session.
The physical therapist can overlay a variety of motor tasks with the horse’s movement to address the motor needs of each patient related to sitting, standing, and walking.
A speech-language pathologist can use equine movement to facilitate the physiologic systems that support speech and language.
…According to the American Hippotherapy Association, patients respond enthusiastically to this enjoyable experience in a natural setting.
“I noticed that she is more focused after this,” says Morgan’s mother, Kathy Kase. “She’s more in tune to the surroundings. She’s looking up more, she’s not in her own little world anymore. I’ve seen improvements in all areas. I don’t think she would be where she is today without these four short months with LifeStriders.”
…“People have learned to walk here. They’ve talked to their parents for the first time. It’s crazy,” said Conley.