The Sachse News (Sachse, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 5, 2006 Page: 15 of 28
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Spotligh
Inside:
Area Real Estate Guide
. home, rental and
business listings,
financing, insurance,
mortgage assistance
Classifieds
Section C
C&S Media Publications
October 4 - 5,2006
Beth Staples makes sure therapy horse Tanka
maintains his training.
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Mason* is readied for his ride.
Three-year-old Christopher* is placed on a therapy horse by volunteers and Equest staff.
Equest: Horse Therapy
Recipients find healthy benefits with exercises in fun
RideFest 2006
Saturday, Oct. 14
Equest Therapeutic Horsemanship
S800 Troy Rd., Wylie
General admission is $8 per person; 12
and under free.
The community is invited as Equest
hosts their annual RideFest Community
Fun Day. There will be pony rides and a
petting zoo for the little ones, a pumpkin
patch, and arts and crafts booths.
It will be a day filled with music, food,
fun and games with drawings for door
prizes every thirty minutes.
Activities begin at 10:00 am continue
through 4:00 pm. There will be a vault-
ing demonstration and a dog agility
show.
Awards will be presented at 4 pm.
Dinner provided by Carrabba's Italian
Grill begins at 5 p.m. and dance follows.
Cost for dinner and dance is $2.5 per per-
son.
Visit the Equest Web site at
www.equest.org or call 972-412-1099.
For additional information, contact Lili
Kellogg at lkellogg@equest.org or
Martha Johnson at mjohnson@equest
.org.
I i 1
* In order to respect their privacy, the last
names of Equest's underage patients and their
parents are withheld.
Story and Photos
by Shiela K. Haynes
"He is a different kid on this horse. My hus-
band says he always comes alive when he's on
a horse," said Lisa* as her 3-year-old son,
Christopher, rode around the arena at Equest.
Equest is a therapeutic riding facility serving children
and adults with physical, mental and emotional disabili-
ties. Founded in 1981 in Dallas, the facility moved to
Wylie in 1988 and is located on a 42-acre working farm
on Troy Road.
The program serves approximately 180 clients each
week, including 22 in hippotherapy and 120 in therapeu-
tic sports riding.
Hippotherapy
Christopher is in hippotherapy, a type of clinical phys-
ical therapy and occupational therapy using a horse as a
treatment tool. It is a recognized form of physical thera-
py that requires a doctor's prescription and is covered by
many health insurance providers.
It is understood that the rhythmic movement of the
horse naturally moves the body in a manner similar to the
human gait, improving posture, balance and muscle con-
trol.
"We have functional goals, but what we have is the
horse to use as a treatment strategy in building the core
trunk. It really works with improving the balance and
strength of the abdominals," Therapist Tina Wentz said.
"When you sit full straddle when you ride the horse's
gait, his movement, moves the pelvis just like our pelvis
moves in normal walking. A lot of these children cannot
walk because of stiffness or injury. So they get that input
of natural normal movement through the horse."
Wentz points out that using the horse in this way
makes the therapy enjoyable for the client and enables
much more to be accomplished and more quickly than in
other more traditional therapies.
"We differ from sports riding in that we are not teach-
ing them to ride the horse," she said. "We are working in
different positions to work different muscle groups."
Most clients come once each week and work on and
off the horse during the therapy session.
Hippotherapy is a viable treatment option for clients of
all ages with a wide range of disabilities. Children with
autism, cerebral palsy or Down syndrome and adults
recovering from stroke or traumatic injury are only a few
of the conditions that can benefit from this form of treat-
ment.
Christopher was born with an extremely rare chromo-
somal abnormality primarily manifest in developmental
delays. He has been in the program since last fall.
During his therapy sessions, Christopher rides on the
back of Tanka, an Indian pony with a terrific disposition.
As he sits in the saddle, he is surrounded by a physical
therapist, an instructor, a volunteer who leads the horse
and at least one volunteer on each side to make sure he
doesn't take a tumble.
The smile on his face shows he is very happy to be
here. Although Christopher is almost non-verbal, his
excitement is evident when he makes the motion for
Tanka to "walk on." He is in control.
On the back of this horse, "He gets verbal. He ener-
gizes," said Christopher's mother. "He's come a long
way in the past year."
Bob Bissett, a gentleman in his 60s, is another client at
Equest. Bissett suffered a stroke in January 2(X)1 causing
paralysis on his left side. He has been in hippotherapy for
two years.
"If I need to do something, I can do it. It's not pretty,
it's not the Bolshoi, but I can get it done," Bissett said.
"What these folks have done for me is make it a little
prettier."
Through therapy, Wentz said, "every rider gains self
confidence."
The Impact
Executive Director Kay Marsh Green said they make
it like a game for the children in the program.
"The kids have no idea they are doing things that are
helping them," she said. "Later on. they realize they have
that mobility or their parents realize it, and they thought
they were just having fun."
The therapy is far reaching said Director of Volunteer
Services Ellie Grant. "When you get to know these fam-
ilies, you get to see the ripple effect of the therapy," she
said.
"It's not just the kid you are helping, but that kid can
hold their own fork and spoon and feed themselves. That
helps their parents, their grandparents and their care-
givers."
One staff member tells a story about a child who had
been in an abusive situation and had been adopted. While
in therapy one day, the horse sneezed and the child
laughed. The mother in the stands had never heard her
child laugh.
Grant also recounts another story of how the volun-
teers waited for several minutes one day while the little
girl on the horse was trying to figure out how to say walk
on and she finally got something out
See HORSF. page 8C
w
Bob Bissett offers a treat to one of the therapy horses. Equest has helped Bissett recover from a
stroke.
Tina Wentz, left, and a therapist help Mason
into his riding helmet.
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Fisher, Donnita Nesbit. The Sachse News (Sachse, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 5, 2006, newspaper, October 5, 2006; Wylie, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353311/m1/15/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Smith Public Library.