Research Essay: Audrey G. Campbell

Saddle Up!

Caring for Working Horses at an Adaptive Riding Facility

Equine Therapy: What it is, Why it Works, and Stories from Saddle Up!

Humans and horses have lived alongside one another for centuries. It took until modern years to fully harness the benefits of the interspecies partnership. Ships loaded with horses were brought to the Americas by early Spanish settlers and selectively bred to be faster and stronger. Bringing horses closer with humans enabled farmers, hunters, and others to work more efficiently. Hippocrates, a doctor from ancient Greece, wrote about horseback riding and its therapeutic benefits (Clarke). Then, in the middle of the twentieth century, equine therapy began gaining popularity (Clarke) Of course, not all beneficial treatments prove themselves over centuries of modernization and evolution, but equine therapy has remained a steady, effective therapy for those with mental and physical disabilities.

Equine therapy is used as a part of treatment for mental and physical conditions alike. From those with autism, anxiety, eating disorders, and addiction to those with partial paralysis, mobility issues, and cerebral palsy, equine therapy has facilitated numerous improvements in the lives of those who participate. The main organization that oversees regulation of therapeutic equine services is the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (“PATH Intl.”, Clarke). Equine therapy is often included as a part of a larger treatment plan that also includes other types of therapy in addition to more conventional medicine Oftentimes, for a treatment to work, there must be more than one type of treatment for a patient. Different therapies work on different skills, but the most recognizable benefit of equine therapy, and what sets it apart from other therapies, is that it makes the participants feel more accomplished and proud of their abilities. The movement of the horse, particularly at the walk, can help people with physical disabilities and limitations because the movement can stimulate muscle movement and assist with gaining mobility and control. In addition, horseback riding increases overall strength for all participants, more specifically, core and leg strength are improved. The more core strength a person has, the less stress is put on the more fragile parts of their bodies; in some cases, improved posture due to increased strength can alleviate a portion of discomfort for a participant. It has been known for many years that animals reduce anxiety, but horses in particular can help a client process trauma or overcome challenges. Horses also sense the feelings of the person riding them or near them, and they react, often with a mirrored emotion (Clark). This tool can be used to bring to light emotions that a person may try to hide or may be unaware they are experiencing

Results and improvements in patients are often shocking. When other forms of therapy do not quite put the top layer on the treatment, equine therapy seems to do it. Not only does equine therapy help with mobility and anxiety reduction, it can improve social awareness and skills in addition to stress tolerance and emotional awareness (Clarke). Being on horseback or with a horse forces one to be aware of a unique set of characteristics. With a particular student, Ephraim, who is the only person ever recorded to have his combinations of genetic disorders, has shown improvement in many areas due to his time at Saddle Up! Nashville, an adaptive riding facility with PATH certified instructors (“Programs”). Even though he is connected to a feeding tube almost 24 hours a day, he was able to continue that essential treatment while he was on horseback or around the farm. The equine therapy a child receives can also have a profound impact on the parents of children who participate. As Ephraim’s mother notes, other types of therapy often cause burnout after years of monotonous appointments, but equine therapy is not like that; it does not feel like a task, which allows kids to be motivated to work, and thus, results in more improvement even in areas that other therapies do not target

(“SADDLE UP! EPHRAIM Hope in the Saddle 2019”). Ephraim’s physical improvements were visible after just a few lessons, and after a year, his strength had improved so much that he no longer needed torso support to stay upright on the horse. His endurance also improved to a point that he doubled the time he was able to be active in a lesson (“SADDLE UP! EPHRAIM Hope in the Saddle 2019”). This strength and endurance also transferred to other areas of his life which resulted in improvements there which, of course, is the ultimate goal of equine therapy. One of the instructors noted that Ephraim was a fast learner when it came to equine skills which gave him greater confidence because he finally had an activity that he was better at than his parents and his classmates; this also helped the whole family feel more typical (“SADDLE UP! EPHRAIM Hope in the Saddle 2019”).

Another success story coming out of the same program is Connor’s story. He took lessons at Saddle Up! for fifteen years and in those years, improved dramatically. For example, when he began, he was nonverbal but is now speaking sentences (“Saddle Up! Hero - CONNOR B 2020”). He also no longer needs mobility support to walk around (“Saddle Up! Hero - CONNOR B 2020”). One of Saddle Up!’s physical therapists Sandra Zaccari states that the movement of the horse supports posture strength, and postural strength is essential for the production of speech. This element was key in Connor’s case. Connor’s mother remarked that he was speaking short phrases after just four months of lessons at Saddle Up!. Since the movements of the horse are repetitive, it helps teach the rider’s body the correct muscles to fire and when; this directly translates to walking (“Saddle Up! Hero - CONNOR B 2020.”). As for the social aspect of the benefits, Connor participated in the SUPER (Saddle Up Phenomenal Equestrian Riders) Show in 2019 which was an accomplishment of great strength and independence that he was able to share with his classmates. Connor’s mother reflects on the 2019 SUPER Show by remembering that in Connor’s first shows, he had a leader and two side walkers, but for his last SUPER Show, he was riding independently (“Saddle Up! Hero - CONNOR B 2020.”). After Connor graduated from high school and Saddle Up! programs, he was accepted into the Next Steps Program at Vanderbilt (“Saddle Up! Hero - CONNOR B 2020”). When Connor was born, his parents were told that he would never crawl, walk, or talk, but his parents attribute his defiance of these odds to Saddle Up! and their programs.

As for other stories coming from Saddle Up! participants, Fu, who was adopted as a child, was not supposed to walk. However, after many equestrian lessons and building core strength, he was able to transition from full mobility aids, to partial mobility aids, to using no aids around his house (“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories”). Pippa, another participant who has Down Syndrome, started at Saddle Up! after her family relocated to the Nashville area (“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories''). Originally, she had a great fear of horses, but with some encouragement, she was in the saddle in no time (“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories”). Sessions out of the saddle often work to build confidence quickly. For each rider, Saddle Up!’s team of professionals looks at all aspects of a child’s conditions, physical and mental strengths, in addition to other abilities to formulate a plan for learning and riding that leads to overall improvement. As the child progresses through their individualized plan, their confidence grows, their physical strength increases, and they have a cool activity to tell others about, something many of the participants have not had previously. A third student, Emma Claire, was born prematurely at 23 weeks (“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories”). At the start of Emma Claire’s time at Saddle Up!, she would lose her balance after a few steps, but with a few years of lessons, her balance improved greatly to the point where she could turn around and ride backwards on the horse (“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories''). Furthermore, it was noted that Emma Claire also loved to chat with the volunteers and staff helping in her lesson; this worked as speech therapy which Emma Claire also benefited from (“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories”). As mentioned earlier in the essay, horseback riding improves core strength which helps with speech production.

Equine therapy works for a variety of reasons. Horses lower blood pressure and can help decrease anxiety (“All About Equine Assisted Psychotherapy”). Having interactions with an empathic, non-human being can help participants process trauma related to people without the stress of having to process it with only people. Horses can also help people, especially children, understand what a healthy connection and/or relationship looks like (“All About Equine Assisted Psychotherapy”). Since horses can smell adrenaline (fear), horses can be used to identify what a participant is feeling If a rider recognizes that the horse is feeling a bit wary of something, it could be a low-stress opportunity for the participant to share their own feelings because they are not alone in how they feel. If a horse feels that their rider is afraid, they may halt, refuse to go over a jump, or not move to a higher gait. This attentiveness allows the instructor(s) to have heightened insight into how the rider actually feels. It is very difficult to mask anxiety around a horse because they reflect it. The bond between horses and people can play a role in healing from traumatic events in addition to the other benefits. Having a scheduled time to go to the barn or have a riding lesson can create a sense of security because it can be a constant. For some people, their lives are otherwise very tumultuous, but horses can provide stability because they typically stick to their regular behaviors and routines; they are not concerned with a rider’s personal issues; they are there to love and teach. Equine-assisted learning can teach things that have nothing to do with horses or riding. Horses remain in the present moment which helps to alleviate stressful thoughts or spiraling anxiety. Learning to take care of a horse can help participants realize the importance of taking care of themselves. Since horses need certain care each day, it is easy to show riders that they too, need certain things on a daily basis.

Horses are a valuable resource for many types of learning and healing. Moving into the future, equine therapy will continue to be a valuable resource, especially as more research is done to improve the therapy as a whole The human bond with horses has always been a part of human culture and history, and it will continue to strengthen because it is a bond that is here to stay. At adaptive riding facilities like Saddle Up!, volunteers play a critical role in the effectiveness and wide-spread impact of the programs. Thousands of hours are committed each year by families, students, and retirees. Through different types of training such as feeding training, leader training, side walker training, stable hand training, and more, each volunteer has the ability to help program operations in one or more areas which allows for a low program cost, making the essential program accessible to more people. In the 813 adaptive riding programs across the globe, the most important factor is getting more kids in the saddle so they can experience the life-changing benefits that equine therapy provides (“Path Intl”)

Works Cited

“All About Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.” PsychCentral, Healthline Media, 30 June 2022, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

https://psychcentral.com/health/equine-assisted-psychotherapy?scrlybrkr=e4f42114#research.

Clarke, Jodi. “Equine Therapy for Mental Health: Benefits and Things to Consider.” Verywell Mind, 8 December 2022, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

https://www.verywellmind.com/equine-therapy-mental-health-treatment-4177932.

“PATH Intl.” PATH Intl: Therapeutic Horsemanship | Professional Certifications, PATH Intl, 2022, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

https://pathintl.org/.

“Programs.” Saddle Up!, 2023, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

https://www.saddleupnashville.org/programs/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H62GoDVJRI. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwCMczaRZtc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGhUIOdSMUQ.

“Saddle Up! 3 Hero Stories.” YouTube, 25 February 2019, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

“SADDLE UP! EPHRAIM Hope in the Saddle 2019.” YouTube, 5 February 2020, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

“Saddle Up! Hero - CONNOR B. 2020.” YouTube, 1 March 2020, Web. Accessed 9 January 2023.

Reflection Essay: Audrey G. Campbell

Caring for Working Horses at an Adaptive Riding Facility

Volunteering at Saddle Up! Nashville for over two years, I have learned skills and knowledge that I will carry with me forever. After cycling through many staff members, I have worked closely with three of the barn staff: Natalie, Melissa, and Jordan I learned basic skills like driving a Kubota UTV, general farm chores, and the most effective way to clean a stall. Though I have not worked with Jordan for many months, she is the person who has pushed me to continue learning how to do new tasks. She trusts me to put together supplement bags and administer medication that the other volunteers are not allowed to do. Sometimes when I am doing my normal tasks, I will hear “Hey, Audrey! Do you want to learn a life skill?” I never know what the skill will be, but my answer is always a “Yes!” The last time this happened, Jordan taught me how to give intramuscular (IM) sedative injections. To be honest, after pulling the medicine from the bottle and putting the needle in the correct place, I was proud of myself It is moments like these that give me confidence in my own ability to learn new, unusual things. Over the years, I have done the basic training that all volunteers have to go through which is Side Walker Training; in addition, I have done Leader Training, Feeder Training, and Stable Hand training. Due to my training in different areas and confidence around horses, I am able to pick up any task and complete it. Even without detailed instructions, I am bound to figure it out While I have participated in some lessons when there was a vacancy needing to be filled, my work is primarily behind the scenes. I do the work that ensures the horses stay healthy enough to continue their job, as it is an important one. The horses are responsible for aiding in the healing and strengthening of kids with disabilities to make their everyday lives easier. This progress occurs during mounted lessons and equine-assisted learning out of the saddle. Participants come from all backgrounds and all have a documented disability. Being in the saddle is freedom for them, so I take my background work very seriously because I know it makes a difference in a multitude of lives even if it is indirect at times.

As for the horses, they have changed me, and a select few have made an even greater impact on my life. Shiloh, who is now retired, was my favorite horse in my early days of volunteering. He was accident prone, so he was on stall rest frequently which meant that I got to spend more time with him than the other horses when I was working in the barn. After my favorite lesson horse at the farm where I take lessons died, I was having a hard time. I was cleaning Shiloh’s stall, and I began to cry. Even with my back turned to him, he knew, so he walked over to me and wrapped his neck around me. I do have to say, it made me feel a lot better. We always hear about animals’ intuition and emotional capabilities, but until one experiences a moment such as that, one does not truly understand it. The second horse that impacted me the most is Bishop. He is the largest horse at Saddle Up!, and he weighs over 1500 pounds. When I first met him, I was told he was blind in one eye, so I should greet him from the other side. Right away, he was surprisingly snuggly. He loves to nuzzle his large nose into your neck. The real lesson from Bishop is due to the sadder part of his story. After his work pulling barges in the Ohio River, he was sent to a kill auction. Thankfully, someone noticed his loving nature and brought him to Saddle Up! for a career change and a life in a loving herd What Bishop’s story can teach us is that even if part of the world fails you, there is still another part of the world that will make it better in the end.