Therapeutic Riding

Equine Therapy and the Outstanding Effects Therapeutic riding is a type of therapy for individuals with many different forms of disabilities. These disabilities can be emotional, physical, mental, or a mixture of these. I got the privilege to spend 10 hours at an equine therapy ranch and was able to experience first-hand the impact riding has on the individuals who come out to the ranch. Therapeutic riding dates back to the fifth century B.C. in Greece where it was used to rehabilitate soldiers who had been injured (Bowling). Later, in the seventeenth century Greeks began to use riding to treat neurological disorders, depression, and gout (History of Animal Assisted Therapy). During World War I, horseback riding was also used to treat wounded soldiers in England. Therapy riding even led to a Danish woman named Liz Hartel to win an Olympic silver medal in 1952 in dressage after her equine treatments aided in her battle against polio (Bowling). Today, individuals with many different kinds of disabilities can benefit from therapeutic riding. These disabilities include, but are not limited to cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, spinal and brain injuries, autism, ADHD, ADD, down

The ranch is run by Guy and Carey Adams in Clovis, California, and they dedicate their lives to helping children and adults with disabilities. My roles at this ranch included assisting Guy during therapy sessions by side walking, leading the therapy horse, or just offering support, but I also helped with the minute day-to-day duties of the ranch. I cleaned paddocks and stalls, groomed horses, doctored wounds, tacked and untacked, practiced groundwork with the three-year-old Thoroughbred, Ace, and just did anything that Guy needed me to do. It was a team effort at Heart of the