Why the horse?

Everyone knows that horses have been used as a form of therapy for the physically disabled for many years and just after the war as a way of helping people with illnesses associated with gastric problems.  The horse, however, is much more than a mode of transport, it is a living, thinking, responsive creature that, for those who are motivated by horses, provides a stimulus and a vehicle for learning.  The real beauty of working with a horse is that it is a 'hands-on' not text book experience therefore you have a concrete response to what you do and a living creature that wants to build not only a working relationship with you but a genuine relationship. 

When talking to 'horsy people' you hear them use terms such as 'he's a nice person' when talking about a horse and the more you are with them the more you appreciate they do have personalities.  They are not people, however, and one does have to be patient with them, one has to be understanding, one has to care for them and one has to be prepared to be actively involved with them.  Any teacher will tell you these are some of the essential ingredients of successful learning.

The Teaching Strategy

At HRTC we have taken these ideas into consideration when deciding how best a horse can help a young person with problems.  The solution has been the creation of a twelve point teaching strategy that is geared towards the needs of the individual child.  It is always intended to be challenging but it also always offers success to the individual.  The first thought is always for the child, what are their problems, what areas of horse care will benefit them most, how competent are they, how do we balance the syllabus for that child, and so on, tailoring our strategy to suit them.  Therefore the teaching strategy has been constructed in such a way that any component can be used in conjunction with any other.

As you have probably already worked out riding is only part of what we do.  Focusing on the needs of the child necessitates that we may prioritise learning about diet as being an essential requirement for the diabetic or anorexic, communication is important for the slow learner, balancing exercise and rest for the child with the heart condition and riding for the obviously disabled.  These are just a few examples that could be quoted but suffice to illustrate the point.  The essential issue is that we take advice from the child, parents and medical practitioners when devising individual action plans always being prepared to adapt and change these plans through constant monitoring of the progress of the child.  The starting point is always that the child is motivated by the horse but once this has been established the therapy provided here can resolve issues that mainstream experiences cannot.

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