The Program
A Gateway to
Improved Communication and Movement
through Equine Interaction.
It
is our goal to offer experience working with horses to individuals
with special needs. We believe that working with horses can provide benefits
to both the physically and mentally challenged individual. It is
ambitious to offer services to both of these special needs groups. Accordingly,
each students program will be drawn up for their specific needs.
Most of us come to understand social customs and the expectations of friends
and community by observation - by trial and error. However there are individuals
who do not grasp these simple concepts. Many of them are classified as
Learning Disabled, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (A.D.H.D.)
or Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Maybe no classification as been made, but communication and
self control issues remain. These individuals can learn to control impulses
and their emotions and improve their communication skills by working with
horses. Horses speak their own language. In learning to communicate with
a horse, the student learns techniques for communication they can take
back to other aspects of their life. Studies have shown that working
with horses can help a rider learn both verbal and nonverbal communication
skills. The rider must also maintain emotional self control to communicate
with the horse. A horse is a natural mirror of emotion and mood.
A nervous rider will sit a nervous horse. An angry rider... may end up
with an unwanted consequence. Additionally by setting goals with
their Instructor, a rider can experience a sense of self worth and personal
accomplishment that they may have otherwise missed. Through interaction
with the horse, opportunities for growth naturally present themselves.
Individuals with Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, and other motor problems
can get a unique kind of exercise that improves balance and coordination.
The opportunity to ride is a great motivator to keep the student
trying. The natural rhythms of the horses movements soothe the mind by
replacing the missing movement of walking for students in wheel chairs.
The view from a horse is surprisingly different from a seated position.
Most people stand, sit, kneel, lay down even jump up and down. A person
bound to a wheel chair gets only one perspective on life. The freedom of
seeing the world from a different angle and moving around in it is something
most of us take for granted, but is a new and wonderful experience to a
person who is usually in a wheel chair.
Traditionally,
the only people who can experience of the wonders of working regularly
with horses are those who own horses. Our mission is to provide the equestrian
experience to riders who cannot own a horse themselves. Some will benefit
from our volunteer program maintaining the horses. Some will benefit from
our riding program. Everyone will have an opportunity for an experience
they would have otherwise missed
Each
session is “stall to stall”. Students will lead the horse from the stall
and complete grooming and saddling before they ride. Obviously some students
will not be able to perform these tasks. Volunteer “Trainers” will be on
hand to assist each student. We want to make every student, no matter what
their capabilities, feel as involved in the process as possible. Students
will then ride as long as they feel the can with the assistance of their
Trainer and an Instructor. The horse is then unsaddled and returned to
the stall. A large part of the “fun” of horses is interacting with them
on the ground when they can be brushed and fed treats and talked to.
The session fee is $15.00 with a $25.00 registration fee. Sessions will
be scheduled once a week , weather permitting. If an individual cannot
afford the session fee, a scholarship program may be able to assist them.
Go to "Students"
for
registration information.
The Program
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The Horses
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The Volunteers
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The Students
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The Community
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© 2000-2004 The Camillus Foundation, Tracy, California
