Therapeutic Riding Demonstration - Closed captioned

Good afternoon everyone, my name is Allie and I'm one of the instructors and the stable coordinator at WindReach farm located in Ashburn Ontario just north of Whitby. With us today, we have Kendra Flynn Stronach, our head instructor and stable coordinator and she's leading our horse today. For side walkers, we have Jen McGinn who is an equine massage therapist and she donates her time at WindReach Farm to help treat the therapeutic horses Also side walking with us today is Erin. Erin is Cole's deaf blind intervener. Our equine athlete today is Houston. Houston started our therapeutic riding program in 2005. He has since been retired, but we thought we'd bring him out of retirement to show his skills today. Our rider today is Cole. Cole has been involved in therapeutic horseback riding for approximately 7 years. And has been in the program at WindReach farm for the last 5 Cole is 13 years old, is deaf blind and has cerebral palsy. Therapeutic riding is a program that suits Cole in many areas of his development. Cole's physical benefits range from strengthening his core muscles to improving his balance and flexibility. Horseback riding also gives him a better sense of the natural motion of walking as if he was doing it himself. The riding program also helps Cole to improve his sensory and social skills. Especially at WindReach where Cole is able to work in the barn as well as ride. Interacting with instructors and volunteers. Although Cole is non-verbal, you can tell when he's at WindReach Farm, that he's happy, excited and proud of his accomplishments. Cole enjoys our program immensely Therapeutic riding uses equestrian and equestrian-related activities to provide positive exercises and experiences to people with special needs. It provides benefits in the areas of therapy, education, sport, recreation and leisure. In day to day practice, a team approach is used which includes the horse and rider, instructors, therapists, health professionals as well as volunteers, leaders and side-walkers. Benefits of therapeutic riding for people with disabilities include improvement of balance, muscle tone and strength, development of coordination, mobilization of the trunk and pelvis, increased confidence, self esteem and attention span. Therapeutic riding also promotes independence, improved social integration, and allows access to recreation, sport and competition. A few of the conditions that are positively affected by therapeutic riding include forms of cerebral palsy, amputations, spina bifida, spinal cord injury, ataxia and multiple sclerosis. Therapeutic riding is also a beneficial activity for people with autism, down syndrome, emotional disorders, intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities. Hippotherapy literally translated means treatment or therapy using a horse. Physiotherapists and occupational therapists who are specially trained in hippotherapy use the movement of the horse to influence the rider as opposed to other areas of therapeutic riding where the rider influences the horse. The hippotherapist positions the rider on the horse, analyzes the person's response to the horse and directs the movements of the horse to best treat the condition of the rider. The Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association -or CANTRA - oversees therapeutic riding centres and certification of therapeutic riding instructors across Canada. The organization insures that therapeutic riding centres, instructors and volunteer participants meet or exceed standards of safety Therapeutic riding is a discipline that strongly relies on safe, sound horses with generous and quite predispositions as well as a very large base of supportive volunteers. There are numerous benefits associated with therapeutic riding. Some of the physical benefits include improved balance, strengthened muscles, improved coordination, faster reflexes and better motor planning, stretching of tight or spastic muscles, decreased spasticity, increased range of motion of the joints reduction of abnormal movement patterns improved respiration and circulation, improved appetite and digestion sensory integration There are also psychological benefits associated with therapeutic riding. General sense of well being, improved self confidence, and increased interest in the outside world, and increased interest in one's own life. improved risk taking abilities development of patience, emotional control and self discipline a sense of normality, expansion of the locus of control. Some social benefits associated with therapeutic riding include friendship, development of respect and love for animals, increased experiences, enjoyment, Therapeutic riding also has educational benefits such as remedial reading, remedial math, sequencing, patterning, and motor planning, improved eye/hand coordination, visual and spatial perception. differentiation As Cole's going around, you'll notice he can't verbally ask the horse to walk on, but he does have a way of communicating, so when they stop, Cole knows that he's stopped and you'll notice he taps the saddle and that's him asking for the horse to walk on so he's made that association. Cole also likes going really fast. We are a fully accessible farm of 108 acres again located just north of Whitby in Ashburn Ontario. We are always in need of volunteers. We rely heavily on volunteers, and are always looking for more whether you're looking to work on the farm or in the stables or in the therapeutic riding program. We're also always looking for horses. Most of our horses are free leased to the farm. We'll always take equipment as well and donations of any kind. We would like to thank the OEF yet again this year for their continued support to WindReach Farm and therapeutic riding overall and allowing us such a unique experience to participate in such an amazing event. I think Cole deserves a round of applause for working so hard today.