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Cerebral Palsy - Back to News Menu
Horses provide therapy for disabled
By KRYSTLE FERNANDEZ / The Dallas Morning News
WYLIE – June 8, 2005 - For 8-year-old Katie Passmore of North Dallas, having cerebral palsy means she must rely on a wheelchair to get around. Five-year-old Madison Esparza of Rockwall, who has cerebral palsy, is clearly smitten with her 'therapist,' a horse named Crunchie, after her treatment session at Equest Therapeutic Horsemanship in Wylie. But a pony named Tanka has made Katie's life a little easier – and a lot more fun.
Katie receives hippotherapy treatment at Equest Therapeutic Horsemanship in Wylie, which bills itself as the oldest and largest nonprofit therapeutic horse center in the state.
Hippotherapy uses a horse's movements to treat people with physical, mental and emotional disabilities. The instructor uses the steady gait of a horse to manipulate and strengthen certain parts of the patient's body, said Cindy Thomas, one of three physical trainers at Equest.
"In hippotherapy, the rider is not learning how to ride," Ms. Thomas said. "We are using the horse as a therapy tool to eventually help the adult or child with a functional purpose."
For Katie, hippotherapy means a break from her traditional physical therapy sessions. But more than that, it gives her something to look forward to.
"This girl is in a wheelchair all the time," Ms. Thomas said. "Why not give her a break?"
She carries Katie to the ramp where she is lifted onto Tanka, a white pony with brown spots.
"It's incredible," said a proud Mary Passmore, Katie's mom. "There's a connection with her and that horse."
It is Katie's third hippotherapy session, and as an instructor leads Tanka around the dirt-floor arena, Katie holds her head high for a few brief seconds. Her mom can already see the difference.
"It's amazing to see that she's able to do something because she's usually so confined to a wheelchair."
Equest, which charges about $160 for each one-hour hippotherapy session, tries to keep patients working with the same horse so that the two become familiar with each other.
"A lot of times when people are afraid to get close to a human being, they'll get close to an animal," said Lili Kellogg, Equest program director. "Horses are very nonjudgmental. They can be forgiving and very rewarding."
During hippotherapy sessions, four trained people – two volunteers, a physical therapist and an instructor – work with the patient. The volunteers walk on either side of the horse, the physical therapist is free to move about the group, and the instructor leads the horse.
Madison works to stand up on Crunchie with the help of Cindy Thomas, one of three physical trainers at Equest.
Trained volunteers will hold the rider's hands, support their back or neck, or assist alongside the rider. During fall and spring hippotherapy sessions, Equest may have as many as 500 volunteers, many of them young. That number drops to about 45 a day during the summer, when the sessions are much shorter.
Alexis Burns, a three-year Equest volunteer, has been riding horses most of her life. The 16-year-old said her mom owns a day care for disabled children, and when she discovered she could combine her love for riding horses with caring for disabled youths, she eagerly agreed to volunteer.
"It's really rewarding," Alexis said, "just being able to watch the kids that are normally in a wheelchair get up on a horse and be in control of the whole situation."
After Katie's session concludes, Ms. Thomas begins working with 5-year-old Madison Esparza, another child with cerebral palsy. For Madison, who lives in Rockwall, holding her head up is not an issue, but walking on her own is.
Ms. Thomas starts with Madison on the ground before they put her atop Crunchie, another brown and white pony. She keeps her hands on Madison's back and legs as the little girl teeters side-to-side, trying to catch her balance. Ms. Thomas coaxes Madison to straighten out her legs and hold her chest up.
"Stand early and walk late," Ms. Thomas said. "She'll get it."
And she does about two minutes later when, for one triumphant moment, Madison stands on her own. Her nanny, Joan Curtis, clasps her hands together, momentarily too happy to speak. About 20 minutes later, Madison repeats the effort – but this time, she's on Crunchie's back.
"To be even a small part of something like this is tremendously gratifying," Ms. Curtis said. "This allows Maddie to participate in a regular activity. The stuff they do for her here is wonderful."
E-mail kfernandez@dallasnews.com
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