Horse whispers to disabled kids
Joy from therapy that feels like fun
WHEN a usually non-verbal person with a mental handicap comes out with a few words associated with joy and happiness, it thrills their carers and lovedones.
In this particular case, it’s all thanks to one of our oldest companions: the horse.
Riding therapy at the South African Riding for the Disabled Association (Sarda) in Shongweni is a highlight for 20-yearold Joanna Tully, who also gets the opportunity to strengthen her core muscles and improve her posture and balance.
“Joanna is generally nonverbal. Suddenly she becomes more vocal while on the horse and afterwards,” said her mother, Jen. “She loves the outing.”
Low muscle tone such as Joanna’s is associated with many physical handicaps, but can also be apparent in mentally handicapped people.
“She gets to do things like making the horse walk and standing up in the saddle, which strengthens her core muscles,” said Jen.
“She is also handed toys from different angles, so there are twists and turns (rotations), which include fetching something from behind. It involves all the motor planning that occupational therapy does, introducing the whole idea of the horse’s motion as it walks. It has an amazing effect.”
Sarda’s goal is to improve the quality of life for children with special needs through the physical, cognitive, social and emotional benefits associated with therapeutic horse riding.
Hillcrest father Thinus Koekemoer said his 8-yearold daughter, Thaniel, whose condition makes her eyes very sensitive to light so it is difficult for her to judge perception, has enjoyed a massive boost in confidence as a result of riding therapy. “Her balance has improved and in general her confidence has improved. She is more confident in class and more confident speaking to people and doing things she used to battle with.”
Her marks at school have also improved, he said.
While what she experiences at Sarda is therapy, Thaniel sees it as an activity that makes up for the netball and hockey she is not able to play with her peers.
The therapy involves activities that pass easily as fun, like a trail on which riders have to remember to duck as they go under trees, and pass vegetation with scents and shapes.
It takes three people to accompany a rider – one to lead the horse and one on either side.
Candidate instructor Teresa Kenton said the synergy between horse and human was possibly the hardest thing in the world to explain.
“When you put a child on a horse and you see them smile, that explains it best,” she said.
“It is very often the case that they feel something through the horse.”
Another candidate instructor, Julie Ponquett, added: “It’s the way the horse is. Horses are calm creators. They can sense well, so the soft body of the animal calms the mind and body of a child.
“The same goes for a physically challenged child. One of our learners, who has a prosthetic leg, did not respond well at the first lesson, but for the second one, his grandmother told us he dressed himself while getting ready for the lesson,” Ponquett said.
Another parent, Nishatha Moodley, said her cerebral palsied son, Rayaan, 6, who is at the Browns’ School in Pinetown, responded so well to the equine therapy that he was now on crutches, having previously been in a wheelchair.
“’The illness can never be healed, but we can always manage it,” she said.
Tracey Cumming, who chairs Sarda Durban, which is 35 years old, said the idea of equine therapy came to South Africa after the mother of a cerebral palsied son saw it in practice in Britain, then started a centre in Cape Town.
The centre at Shongweni takes groups from special needs schools as well as private clients.
“Horses are non-judgemental,” Cummings said.
“They use body language so in our context, in terms of that relationship, that’s also one of the reasons riding works so effectively. There’s no judgement.”
She added that sometimes activities are physical, involving the strengthening of trunk and postural muscles.
“Other activities involve dealing with low muscle tone by playing with balls and bean bags. Other times they are cognitive, around letters.”
The staff are volunteers and the centre, which boasts an indoor arena, relies on donations. The latest contribution was from ExPro, a nonprofit organisation formed by ex-sportsmen to assist footballers who had fallen on hard times.
“However, they have widened their net to include all sporting codes and their mission to assist others in need,” said public relations officer Mary Nel. They and other individual sponsors have helped with a stables upgrade project.
For further information, visit www.sardadurban.org.za