Two new programs supported by Dartmouth will use horses to provide natural therapy for those suffering from mental, emotional and physical disabilities.
Challenge Camp, which is run at Dartmouth's Morton Farm, and High Horses, which is supported by College volunteers, expand the horizons of handicaped children and adults by taking advantage of horseback riding as a means of therapy.
Therapeutic riding is an established treatment method recognized worldwide by medical, educational and social service professionals, said Carla Manley, a registered nurse and a member of High Horse's Board of Directors.
Manley added that the benefits of horseback riding as therapy have been demonstrated over the past 50 years in over 20 countries.
Physically handicapped riders can learn by imitating the motions of the horse, Snyder said. For example, since the horse gait is similar to that of a human's, by sitting on a horse, the rider can learn how to walk better alone.
"You can see the positive effects happen each lesson, which is pretty remarkable," Snyder said.
Horseback riding improves balance, flexibility, joint range of motion, muscle tone, strength and circulation, said Thea Wilkinson, pediatric physical therapist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and a member of High Horses' Board of Directors.
She added that the therapy also enhances perceptual skills such as visual acuity, directional sense and eye-hand coordination.
Challenge Camp, a program affiliated with the College, targets mentally and emotionally handicapped Upper Valley children.
Robert Hustek '51 initiated Challenge Camp as a class service project to incorporate the College and the community. Through fundraising, Hustek raised enough money to pay for the four children who will attend this year's camp, which will be held during the week of August 23.
If all goes well, the camp will return next summer for three or four weeks and eventually be established with the Vermont Ski and Sport Association as an annual summer program, said Sally Boillotot, the College's riding director.
High Horses is scheduled to begin in late September and will take place at Heritage Farm in Canaan, N.H. Affiliated with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, it will be a year round program and provide lessons for children and adults on a week to week basis.
Although High Horses is separate from the College, the Tucker Foundation will help coordinate volunteers for this program as well as for Challenge Camps, according to Randall Quan, Volunteer Coordinator of Tucker Foundation.
Both children and adults can experience similar gains from horseback riding therapy, said Ruth Snyder, a physical therapist and member of High Horses' Board of Directors.
As a child inflicted with cerebral palsy, Nancy DeSa '92 took horseback riding lessons to help her with her coordination. Horseback riding became an important part of occupational therapy for Jim Brady, President Reagan's press secretary who was shot in the head in 1981, Manley said.
For the mentally handicapped, therapy is achieved when riders realize they can do something those without disabilities do, Manley said. The growth in self-confidence and self-esteem spills over into the rest of their lives, providing benefits that last long after the riding is completed, she added.
"It's nice, especially for the children, to be higher and in control, rather than be controlled by others," Wilkinson said.
When emotionally handicapped children and adults learn to control their horses they take a first step in controlling their lives, Manley said. Caring for the horses gives the riders a chance to feel needed, she added.
"When the horse listens to the child or adult a very positive experience is created," Snyder said. "Ultimately, the physical, emotional and mental benefits to riding therapy are all interconnected."
"The most exciting thing is to see the kids and adults with so little opportunity for success in their lives have success on such a huge animal that might intimidate anyone," said Liz Gestler, High Horses' chief riding instructor. Gestler spent a month in an instructor training program in Michigan to become a certified riding instructor for the handicapped.
Despite the benefits, horseback riding is not for everyone. There are medical reasons not to ride, as well as emotional reasons why this therapy might not be ideal for everyone with a disability, said Synder.
