Tag Archive for: Paula Maciolek

Therapy of a Different Breed

Copper Arrow Photography

COLLECTED, WRITTEN & EDITED
By NASTASSIA PUTZ, PAULA MACIOLEK & JESSICA PAIRRETT

Whether you have a child with behavior problems, a teenager with depression or anxiety, or a family member with physical health issues, equine therapy or hippotherapy can benefit anyone suffering physical, mental or emotional ailments.

The earliest known mention of equine therapy can be traced back to roughly 400 B.C. and was discovered in ancient writings from Greek physician Hippocrates.

It wasn’t until 1952 when Liz Hartel from Denmark won a silver medal in Grand Prix dressage at the Helsinki Olympic Games that it entered the limelight. Hartel found that using horses was a great way to strengthen her lower body, especially after she had developed some paralysis in her legs caused by polio. Hartel’s success woke up the medical and equine communities in Europe, and therapeutic riding programs began emerging.

Talk then traveled from Europe to the U.S. and Canada, giving like-minded individuals the initiative to start therapeutic riding centers in North America. In 1969, the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) was started and eventually became known as PATH International, which includes dozens of different equine-assisted activities that benefit people with special needs.

This brilliant and organic therapy can now be found locally in most areas and has helped shape the worlds of many. According to PATH International’s 2017 Fact Sheet, autism spectrum disorder is the number one most served population under the special needs umbrella. And ages 6 to 18 seem to be the majority of the participants in equine therapy. Take a look at some of the local ones here in Wisconsin.

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B.R.E.A.THE: We Have Your Back

BY PAULA MACIOLEK, COPY EDITOR

Just 45 minutes north of Madison, Wis., a non-profit organization called Baraboo River Equine-Assisted Therapies, Inc., also known as B.R.E.A.THE, Inc., offers equine-assisted activities and therapy or EAAT for people ages 4 and up who have special needs.

B.R.E.A.THE was started in 2016 by Chris Singer and her husband when they came back to their Midwest roots after living on their southern California horse ranch. “We had five horses when we came here,” Chris explained, “and were looking for a way to give back to the community and benefit people—more than just us.”

Riders of a wide variety of physical and other disabilities can participate in learning horsemanship, both inside and outside of the barn, and get great exercise. “We have a lot of riders with autism, physical disabilities and learning disabilities, PTSD, spina bifida, Down syndrome.” Riders do not control the horse but rather helpers on the ground do. For the most part, there isn’t any kind of special equipment needed in sessions. “It depends on the rider, of course. We’ll use a traditional saddle or bareback pad, and if they’re really unable to support themselves, they have a side walker that walks on each side of them. Ninety nine percent of our riders can sit themselves.”

While participants might be excluded from sports at school because of physical or cognitive limitations, they can enjoy the inclusion that EAAT offers. “You’re not going to find them playing soccer, but we can put them on a horse and teach them how to control a 1200-lb animal, and they’re learning something and building core strength and confidence. That’s the positive reinforcement that sports have that [our riders] are able to participate in.”

Volunteers are an important part of the efforts, and Singer is always looking for people who have weekday and evening availability Monday through Friday. Help with special events and fundraisers is needed, too.

Of course, the lessons cannot happen without the horses. They need to have a special temperament that Singer describes as “pretty bomb-proof.” She explained, “they have a lot of input they’re dealing with during a lesson, so it can be pretty stressful. They have someone on their back who doesn’t really know what they’re doing, and a lot of times they can be off-balance, so the horse is working hard to keep that person on their back.”

Singer currently has six horses, and she needs three more to join the ranch for summer sessions. “To go out on the open market, it can cost $2000 to $10000 to purchase a horse. We are lucky if we get someone to donate their horse.” It’s challenging to find a horse that is of the right temperament, has the ability to do certain things such as trotting, while not having too many cost-prohibitive medical needs.

People are referred to B.R.E.A.THE via school counselors, special education teachers, parents who network with each other and share with other parents, as well as students on field trips at the ranch who go home and tell their parents. Even chiropractors, physical therapists and county health specialists spread the word about the benefits of EAAT at B.R.E.A.THE.

To get involved at B.R.E.A.THE as a rider, a volunteer or to make a donation, visit barabooriverequineassistedtherapies.org or call 608-504-2299.

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Walk, Trot & Canter Your Way to Three Gaits

BY PAULA MACIOLEK, COPY EDITOR

Three Gaits, named for the three movements of a horse—walk, trot and canter—is a nonprofit organization that provides equine-assisted activities and therapy (EAAT) for people with physical, emotional and intellectual challenges. Located just south of Madison in Stoughton, it began in 1983 under the leadership of Gail Brown and Lorrie Renker with just one horse and eight riders and “a love for horses and an interest in providing equine-assisted activities for individuals with disabilities in Dane County,” describes Mary Ann Roth, interim executive director.

Clients range from age 4 to 70 and may have physical, emotional and intellectual challenges or disabilities including, but not limited to, autism, ADD/ADHD and Down syndrome.

Three Gaits offers therapeutic horseback riding led by instructors who are certified by PATH International. Services include group sessions that are mounted and unmounted education in which riding skills with a therapeutic value are taught. They also offer both occupational therapy and hippotherapy. Roth explains that occupational therapy in this setting “utilizes the movement of the horse as the treatment tool.” Hippotherapy is provided by a licensed occupational therapist and is done in a one-on-one setting. Sessions run three per year in 12-week sessions.

Roth lists the benefits riders receive as a “gain in physical strength, balance, increased self-esteem, following directions, learning a new skill, socialization with classmates, [and] volunteers and staff developing a special bond with their horse.”

Three Gaits enjoys the efforts of approximately 350 volunteers who are involved with office work, care of the horses and fundraising to name just a few. They also are involved with hands-on work in the lessons supporting the riders by walking alongside and leading the horses. Roth shared that “…they come to us with a wide range of skills to offer, and what skills they do not have, we provide training. We are always looking for more volunteers.”

The work of the EAAT provided at the ranch is supported from United Way and grants from foundations. Private donors are a vital source of monetary support, and Three Gaits relies heavily upon them. Fundraising events are also held through yearly events that include several horse shows, a student horse show, a tomato plant sale and a major event taking place in the fall as well as a continuing GoFundMe effort to help with covering the cost of hay, which Roth reports as having “…almost tripled in the last year with unpredictable weather and such a wet growing season.”

The horses in their barn range in terms of breed and Roth describes them as having a calm disposition, gentle, sound, in good health, experienced in a variety of riding disciplines. Often, they will add to their barn by people donating horses. Sometimes, children have a horse while growing up and when they leave for college, they donate the horse to Three Gaits.

People find out about Three Gaits by word of mouth, from doctors and therapists, referring participants as well as state case workers.

To find out more about the EAAT programs, visit 3gaits.org or call 608-877-9086.

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