Hippotherapy and Horsemanship

Nea's evaluation with the equestrian center was this afternoon.  Because of her age, they wanted to meet with her first to decide if she could even be a part of the program.  Grandma was in town today, so she rode out there with us to talk to the trainer and see what opportunities were available.

The place is about a 25 minute drive from our home. Considering that I had no idea they were there at all, I was very much thrilled to know they were so close!  It's a nice ranch with a big building and then the huge barn with the fenced in area for the horses.  We said hello to the owner/instructor and she invited us into the area where the horses have free reign.  I introduced Nea to her as "teacher" and signed it for her as well.  Nea responds well to understanding words like teacher because there's a certain authority given as well as trust.  Nea immediately said to her, "Hi Teacher!"

It's been a very long time since I've been around horses.  And I've certainly never been around 7 at a time!  I was a little overwhelmed at first.  I was trying to keep one eye on Nea (who was very excited) and an eye out for Grandma as well as tap into my memory of horse etiquette when meeting a new one.  The one thing I do remember clearly is not to stand behind one.  That's about all I could tap out of the relics of my brain.  To my credit though....that was a 6th grade memory I secured!

The horses were all standing around a big feeding bin nibbling away.  2 pre-teen girls were standing among them, talking to them and grooming them.

Nea had seen the horses right away.  She was very much intrigued by them and shouting "Horses! Horses!  Let's see the horses!"  The instructor was happy to hear her words, happy to hear Nea's hello and happy to see her excitement.  I, on the other hand was a bit concerned about her over exuberance and fearful she would spook them.  I had visions of 7 horses clambering around to escape a manic, hyperactive 3 year old.

I can tell you without a doubt, these are no ordinary horses.  2 of them looked over at her as she approached.  A pony, and a full-sized-holy-crap-you-are-huge brown one.  The instructor picked Nea up and walked her towards the big guy.  She introduced him by name to Nea as they approached.  "This is Argo."  Nea reached out, smiled and squealed...."Hi Argo!"  She gently touched his nose and Argo serenely closed his eyes as she patted him.

Argo and Nea's first meeting

Argo says hello!

 Nea wanted the next one and hopped down.  "This isTaffy.  She's in a cranky mood, so we aren't going to pay her much attention today."  Taffy turned her head towards Nea for half a second which thrilled her. "Oh Hi Taffy!"   One of the ponies made his way over to see us.  He just sort of sauntered up and you could tell he wanted an introduction.  Nea walked right up beside him and touched his shoulder.  "This is Mickel" Nea patted him gently, "Mickel, hi"  The instructor gave her a handful of hay (or straw....can't remember which is feed and which is not) to Nea.  She was thrilled to have Mickel gently nibble from her hands.

Feeding the ranch's most recent rescue

Mickel and Nea start a conversation

  And then she was off and running.  Her energy level was off the charts.  I think that the excitement of meeting the horses was just too much and she had to burn it off.

I get a little tense when Nea takes off like that and runs amuck.  I know she can't help it many times, but I also don't want her doing something that could be a safety issue or mess with something that is not hers to be be messing with.  It must have shown on my face because one of the instructors said, "Don't worry, she's fine"

Eventually we moved out of the horse area (that's good, because she was running everywhere! and I think those girls were amazed at her stamina of energy).  We stood and talked to the instructors for awhile while Nea played and climbed on a dirt pile.

Finally the instructor said, "I think I can help you."

I don't think I can begin to tell you the warmth and friendliness that came from this woman.  She talked about instilling calmness and focus during riding.  They had no concerns that Nea wouldn't get on a horse.  They were both convinced that she was inquisitive enough that she would do it without trouble.  She explained that after about 10 weeks, we would be seeing that calmness and centering spill over into every day life.  She also talked about that the therapy isn't just for the kiddos, it's for the grown-ups too.  Her goal is to make sure Nea is in a place to accept all the love she can from us, learn from everyone who is teaching her and build the self confidence to make her way in the world.

Oh, sign me up for that!  Please!

At one point during our conversation, Mickel and Domino came over to investigate.  Nea was still playing on the dirt pile by the fence.  She went over to greet them and say hello....like she had been doing it every day of her life.

Domino and Mickel come to say hi 

So maybe this is the thing that is the "click" for her.  Maybe this is the therapy that pulls everything together and gives her a better understanding of the world as well as some inner calm and peace.  That instructor seemed to think so.  She seemed very excited to have Nea with them and talked about many things for the future including instilling self-confidence, self-esteem, empathy and 100 other things I forgot.

I forgot because I was just so happy to watch my girl dance with glee on a horse ranch.

Domino (I really love kinda love him!)