Equine Therapy - OUR RIDERS

Maya – Student Rider (Autism)

When Maya was 14 months old, she was singing the entire “I love you, you love me” Barney song and acting out the “great big hug and kiss from me to you.”  However, by 19 months she would no longer look into her parents’ faces or make eye contact.  She went from singing to mumbling to no communication.  She was diagnosed with autism.  As Maya’s father put it, “Maya’s sprit slowly disappeared before our very eyes.”  She cried instead of talking.

However, her father told us that one day when riding, “Maya made one lap in the ring on Samson, the horse stopped, Maya looked me dead in the eyes from about 8 feet away and she yelled out ...

“Look – Daddy – I’m – riding – a – horse!!!”

"I almost fell over.  I couldn’t believe my ears.  She hadn’t smiled like that in forever.  With Plant Today, Maya and her sisters all get to ride.  This experience has opened up a whole new world for our entire family.  There are no words to describe our gratitude for this blessing."

Savannah – Student Rider (Cerebral Palsy, Seizure Disorder, ADHD)

Savannah suffered a stroke at birth, which resulted in cerebral palsy.  Her seizure disorder and ADHD are also though to be linked to this original brain injury.  The right side of her body is affected, which makes balance and bilateral movement difficult for her. 

Savannah started riding horses when she was 3, and her parents quickly noticed the difference it made with her disabilities:  her whole body seemed to relax when on a horse, and her balance and posture improved immediately.

Although her parents tried to involve her in a variety of sports, Savannah was too frustrated by the things she could not do.  She gave up on all except swimming and riding.  There has been a dramatic improvement in the use of her right hand over the years.  At first this was true only when she was actually riding a horse, but over the last few years her parents have noticed a significant carry-over to other activities.

Sierra – Sibling Rider (formerly diagnosed with Autism)

Sierra and Maya [see above bio] are twins.  Both were diagnosed with autism when they were about 19 months old.  Their father told us that Sierra was actually more severe in her autism than Maya; she would lie on the floor and bang her head against the hard tile, or run head-long into a wall.

As of this past year, Sierra does have some speech delays and some processing issues, but no longer has a diagnosis of autism.

Their father says "Now with the horse therapy, I have seen Maya and Sierra’s personalities shine through in ways that I haven’t seen since before they were diagnosed with autism."

Aaron – Student Rider (Developmental Delay resembling Autism)

Aaron was diagnosed with a developmental delay resembling autism when he was 2.  Although he does not speak, his enjoyment of riding is apparent in his facial expressions and sounds he makes.

Riding is assisting Aaron with his social, motor, communication and sensory needs. It is helping him improve and develop balance, coordination, and language.  The horse provides strong sensory stimulation to muscles and joints, impacts the balance and movement sense detected by sensory receptors in the inner ear, and provides varied tactile experiences for Aaron as he pats the horse.

We thank the riders and their parents

for allowing us to tell their stories.

Check this page as we add more stories about

lives touched through the riding outreach.

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Naomi – Sibling Rider

Naomi is the older sister of twins Maya and Sierra.  She is very sensitive to her sisters’ conditions and protective of them.

The riding outreach had given Naomi the opportunity to ride along with her sisters.  She is a very balance, careful rider who is quickly perfecting her various gaits and positions.  Naomi now does low-jumping over small jumps, and is learning other aspects of horse care such as tacking up and washing off after the ride.