Therapeutic Riding: the Wild West Out East

With happy tears,, a parent commented that she had never seen her child with disabilities as happy and expressive as when she is completing her weekly hippotherapy at Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center (PPTRC). (“Hippo” is the Greek word for “horse.”) PPTRC is a local nonprofit organization located just east of Colorado Springs. It offers a wide variety of therapies for individuals with disabilities, focused on equestrian activities. In 1981, PPTRC was known as Acts 19:11 due to the “miracles” that therapeutic riding produces. It all began when one child with a disability asked a family friend for horseback riding lessons. Today, PPTRC still produces miracles, and serves more than 100 patients a week.

PPTRC is the only Premier Accredited PATH center in southern Colorado. PATH is the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, which promotes Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT) for people with special needs. No wonder PPTRC was just recently voted as Colorado Springs Business Journals' Best Physical Rehab Center in 2014.

Equine-Based Programs

PPTRC offers a wide variety of programs based around horses. The horses are older, and for many of the animals, this is a second career before retirement. During the session, a rider will usually have both an instructor who is certified through PATH, and a therapist in a specialty for the individual’s needs. There is no riding skill necessary in order to benefit from equine therapy. In fact, simply getting up on a horse can help individuals who have physical impairments to improve their flexibility and strength.

Many of the programs overlap, and different kinds of therapy are offered. For example, Hippotherapy is simply speech, occupational, or physical therapy that is performed while the child is riding.

Therapeutic riding is another alternative, where children with disabilities receive basic horseback riding lessons. Children often see improvement in balance, coordination, core strength and even speech and language skills. It seems miraculous to see a non-verbal child open up and command the horse to go!

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy has a mental health focus. The patient gets traditional psychological counseling while riding or caring for the horse.

Horses for Heroes is a program that focuses on rehabilitation for military personnel and the unique needs of veterans.

All the clients at PPTRC will get exercise and the unique experience of being around a calming animal. Horses form an unspoken bond with people, which can have an amazing influence. People with disabilities often lack strong social bonds, so this is even more important for them.

Benefits of Animals

There are many benefits to therapies that involve horses. The gentle rocking of a walking horse is soothing, and can ease stress and anxiety that a person with a disability may be experiencing. Nothing we know of can replicate this movement. Scientific studies have shown that the horses’ gait facilitates motor movement in children with disabilities, while also leading to improved communication, in learning to command the horse. Further, the relationship with the horse is based on trust and this will spill over into the life of the person, helping to foster healthy relationships with family and peers.

A horse can tell naturally how a person is feeling. A nervous rider will make for a nervous horse. PPTRC explains that sometimes it is easier for people to realize how they are feeling on the inside, when they see that the way they feel affects the horse’s behavior on the outside.

It is rewarding for any person to care for another living creature. When you rely on assistance yourself and may not be able to take care of yourself or others, the rewards of being able to care for another living creature are monumental. Learning new skills, such as grooming a horse, is a natural self-esteem booster for a person with disabilities.

Participating with the Center

There are many ways to support the Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center. Volunteers who love horses and children are always needed. Retiring your horse to PPTRC, or adopting a senior horse that is not able to help children with disabilities anymore, would also be a blessing. Perhaps the simplest explanation for why equine therapy works is that horses don’t judge people. Instead, they connect with their patients, whether veterans or children with disabilities.

PPTRC
13620 Halleluiah Trail
Elbert, CO 80106
Phone: (719) 495-3908
Fax: (719) 494-1689
Email: PPTRC@PPTRC.org