Last post for tonight, I promise.

There is a new stables that has recently opened up near us that is offering hipptherapy, or horse riding therapy. I've talked to a couple of families that take their child there and both families speak highly of it. The PTs (regular and water) encourage it because they say it will help her trunk control. Dh and I are discussing it, but I have questions.

Do you take your child for hippotherapy? What do you think of it? Do you feel that your child derives a benefit from it? How often do you

What should I look out for? What safety provisions should they have? What should I see in regard to the horses and riding ring?

I'm trying to balance Em's needs with the needs of the rest of the family and it's so hard. There are only so many resources (time, money and parental energy) to go around. We already have 2-3 evenings a week taken up with activities; adding even one more disrupts the delicate balance we have now.

Thanks!

I love theraputic riding which is very similar to hippotherapy for my daughter. She goes once a week and rides for 1/2 hour. She started last spring and is 10 years old. It is fabulous for her trunk strength. It is far better than any traditional PT we have ever done. In fact, I dropped the PT!!
Safety wise---she wears a helmet and there is one person who leads the horse and 2 volunteers on each side of her and they walk the horse along at a slow pace. At first she tired after 15 minutes but now has doubled her time on the horse. They have certain horses that are "bomb-proof" and are suited to ride the kiddos. Of course animals are animals but it has all gone very well. The riding ring is just round with a fence surrounding it, some barrels for the horses to walk around as the kids improve, poles for the horse to walk over which changes their gait and the child has to accomodate...nothing too fancy really..its all about working the childs muscles as the horse walks and stops/starts.
I tried it with her when she was 4 but sensory-wise it was just too much and she just cried with her forehead on the hores's mane. She just wasnt ready but now she loves it-she has matured sensory-wise enough.
I am going to move her up to twice a week shortly. She will ride the rest of her life.

My son did therapeutic riding from ages 3 to 6. We stopped because it was so hard to get an afterschool spot. We actually pulled him out of kindergarten early to get the therapy (although we had the advantage of being one of 2 kids in the district who went to kindergarten full day).

Believe it or not, it didn't seem to help with muscle tone. BUT it helped remarkably and inexplicably with speech!! The therapist agreed that it seemed to make a difference. My son loved it and it was great for him.

The balancing thing is really tough. There was one year when my older son, who has adhd, came, too. He really enjoyed it but the scheduling was tough. We've actually included my older son in a few activities with my younger, or at the same facility, to balance things out. If you have an adaptive swim at the Y, there might be other programs for your other kids. That being said, my kids are running me ragged, so why listen to me?

Good luck!!!!!!

- momster

I did therapeutic riding in the mid 80's when it was just coming into vogue. It helped immensely in keeping my abductors and other hip muscles stretched. It also helped with balance, and most importantly self confidence. I was a very phobic child about all physical activity mostly because I didn't have the ability to explore my world (climb, run, jump, etc) like other kids. What momster said about the improvement in speech makes perfect sense, believe it or not. There is just something about the sensory experience of this type of therapy that does things for some kids.

Are all these benefits unique to riding horses? I don't think so. But, I do think it is a fun therapy, and you can't discount the value of that. So many things that CP kids are put through just are not fun. This is.

Finally, I got to go to school the day after "horse time" and brag to all the little other first graders that I got to ride a horse. That was one of the few things that I did that most of them did not

Don't expect miracles from it, and just see what happens. I have a ton of wonderful memories from riding. If given the chance I would do it again. But, I'm not sure this achy, creaky, tight body could get back up on that horse.

Nicki-- 27 Spastic diplegic, sometimes walks, sometimes rolls

Tyler had hippotherapy for nearly seven years and he loved it. It did wonderful things for his overall tone and head control. We met some amazing families along the way with a variety of syndromes, illnesses, diseases and neuro problems. The staff and volunteers were compassionate, caring and extremely supportive. Because of Tyler's unique disabilities, one of the staff always backrode with him and volunteers walked along side the horse. I was always able to walk with him as well (if I wanted to). It was our favorite form of PT. Great opportunity if you are able to do it.

Thanks to all of you for your insight. I still need to discuss it with my dh to see if we can swing the $$ and the time.

Oh Paula, that would be awesome and well worth the time for Em. I too did riding in the early "90s" and it helped me with balance, breathing, gaining more confidence to be less afraid of the whole balancing thing. I had to quit after a few months as it was starting to hurt my hips! But heck me being an "old lady" of 45, I couldn't handle it any longer!!! But heck, it would be a "piece of cake" for your little angel girl there! I was wondering, could you tell Em's school or PT therapists about this, maybe they could add it on to her IEP as part of therapy sessions and maybe even pick up the cost of it?? Just brainstorming there to help you and your DH to save a few pennies!!! Good Luck with it I hope she geets to do it!

Robin

Livy started hippo two months ago and we definitely see some improvement it her tone. Her hamstrings are looser and she seems better able to balance. I called the facilities around us (there are three withing 45 minute drive) and found one with therapists who also do services through one of the approved agencies for the county next to us. So, I lined my ducks up in a row and was VERY pushy at her IEP meeting and Livy is the first child in our county who is getting the therapy totally paid for. She LOVES it. In addition to the improvements we see, it is nice to give her this when the rest of her days are so full of 'therapy'. We also give the therapy to her twin who has a neurological hearing impairment. We pay for her. She has some sensory issues and has really gotten over some of her fears/issues because she is so excited to be on the horse. Although it is expensive and I have to drag my two other girls with us, I think it is worth it.

Ava does riding therapy as well. I think she gets more out of one session of riding than 4 or 5 sessions of pt or ot ( and we have a great pt and ot). The riding instructor ( a PT) works on motor, fine motor and speech. Ava sees therapists everyday. The riding by far is the most effective.

Abby did hippotherapy for a few summers and falls, and therapeutic riding for a few as well. The first summer she did hippotherapy we had her evaluated by a different PT at the beginning and end of the summer. She make 13 months progress in ten weeks' time! I remain convinced hippotherapy was what put her over the hump to being able to function enough like her peers it takes a practiced eye to note her difficulties.

If you have a good PT who is also a horse person, hippotherapy can be wonderful.


Laurie