"The gift of growth and enrichment through love and horses" ~ Special Equestrian Riding Therapy Horses can be great pets for young people. The child learns about companionship and responsibility, and both the child and the horse learn about love. But, it wasn't always recognized how beneficial the relationship between a child with special needs and a horse can be. Therapy riding programs began to be developed about fifty years ago when hippotherapy was developed. Hippotherapy is derived from the Greek word for horse, "hippos." This is a medical term describing a physical, occupational and speech therapy treatment strategy that utilizes equine movement. Hippotherapy is used as part of an overall program to help overcome functional challenges. In hippotherapy, the patient experiences improved neurological and sensory processing through the activities on the horse. Children with physical disabilities are strengthened from both the mounting and the riding because of the stretching and rejuvenating of muscles. Since riding simulates walking, the child who can't walk alone enjoys the benefits of walking through horseback riding. The children with multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy find themselves moving without canes or wheelchairs. They can experience precious freedom on a horse. The development of all five of the senses seems to improve while a child's self confidence grows. Children often feel the horse needs this care as much as they need the horses'. The emphasis is placed on what the child can do------not what he cannot do. Elizabeth and Lew Searle tell of a boy with shallow hip sockets whose doctor-father brought him to them for riding instruction 42 years ago. The boy's dad knew the riding program would help his son's hips to develop. Soon the boy needed no further surgeries because the articulation of the hip joints kept his sockets functioning effectively. After seeing these positive results the Searles began working with children with special needs and developed an individualized program for each child. They say, "Ahead With Horses is predicated on the belief that everyone can learn and achieve." The mission is to maximize the potential of each disabled, disadvantaged, special needs child through horses and related programs. Today, Ahead With Horses helps more than 200 children a week. Since 1942, 100,000 people have taken advantage of this program. Elizabeth Searle attributes the success to God. "He saw the need, gave us the horses, and waited for us to discover how important they truly are," she said. She refers to Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Ahead With Horses refers to wheelchairs as chariots. Another successful riding program is Special Equestrian Riding Therapy-----SERT------founded twenty-two years ago. Connie Gilly joined the program with her Down Syndrome daughter, Vickie, a year later. Connie had already recognized the positive connection between her daughter and a horse after Vickie responded so enthusiastically to a riding program in an all-inclusive summer camp. Connie, a rider herself, ended up buying Vickie her favorite horse from camp. Connie became the program director of SERT in 2000, and Vickie is her able assistant. They oversee five certified instructors, a herd of horses, and a group of trained volunteers----all dedicated to serving special needs riders. The SERT clients range in age from 4 to 60 and have challenges including attention deficit disorder, autism, impaired vision, head or brain trauma, Williams Syndrome, global delay, and Down Syndrome. During a lesson each rider is assisted by his or her own instructor and as many volunteers as are needed to side walk, front walk, and stay close to the horse and rider----if necessary. As a parent of a person with special needs, Connie says she understands how to comfort anxious parents. "I have to convey to them that everything's going to be okay. I get it." One miracle involves a boy with autism who could not connect with the world around him. When his mother brought him to SERT, she confessed, "This may be our last hope." The instructors ignored the boy's disruptive behavior as they walked along beside him and his horse. He was never reprimanded and eventually began to relax while on the horse's back. His behavior began changing. He stopped spitting and hitting and now greets his instructors with hugs. He takes the responsibility of helping care for his horse as he guides him through his day's tasks. While the child-horse relationship developed, the boy learned to focus and follow instructions as he patiently  finished  his  lesson. Hope is held out for each family finding its way to SERT. The horses also benefit from these excellent riding therapy programs. They are donated, adopted, rescued and rehabilitated, then are carefully trained in this special career of carrying special needs riders. Connie Gilly sees the horses respond more gently to these special riders than to regular ones. They seem to understand their vital role in the therapy. These riding programs I have highlighted are two of hundreds of excellent non-profit riding therapy programs across America. Be inspired ----- visit one. You may be tempted to volunteer. One parent summed up the feelings of hundreds when he spoke of Ahead With Horses, "With this program we have the hope for our son to be the best he can be. Isn't that what we all want for our children?"