Windridge Reflection Paper
1. Why is a horse therapeutic?
During the eleven weeks at Windridge I have experienced the physical, emotional, psychological, and social aspect of why a horse can be therapeutic. While being on a horse you are working on to improve balance, coordination, circulation, respiration, proprioception, agility, self-confidence and mental relaxation. A horse can stimulate multiple senses that are beneficial for a rider, such as smell, auditory, and tactile. One huge plus for using horses for therapy, is that horses behave similarly like humans in the social and behavior aspect, which makes it easy for the riders to connect with the horse. I watched riders cope with feelings of sadness, anger, fear, and even joy and how …show more content…
In case of an emergency the instructor would quickly dismount the rider and quickly exit from the arena or move away from the horse. Another form of safety would be to check the equipment making sure everything is secured and properly placed, before the rider mounts the horse. The instructor must also help each rider accept the horse as a means of therapy and comfort. Instructors must provide each rider with the proper techniques for riding a horse, along with the proper discipline while being on the horse. A therapeutic riding instructor must be in every session in order to instructor the rider during the activity, make sure the environment is safe, and to provide the side walkers and leader with instructions on what to do or where to go. They must collaborate with all members of the team including PTs, OTs, and volunteers in order to meet the goals of the rider’s treatment goals. Instructors assist in designing appropriate exercises for clients based on the riders diagnose or mental health treatment plan. Therapeutic riding instructors must also know medical and personal information about every rider and every horse, in order to pair a rider up with a horse. Such as, which type of gait will the rider benefit more from, does the rider need a narrow or wide base of support from the horse, or which horse height won’t bother a …show more content…
One very important thing that I learned was no matter how you feel, you must always put on a front that today is the best day of your life. Every day and every session you must perform at your best and be flexible for each kid you will be interacting with that day, due to the fact you will not know how the kid’s day is going. One prime example is when one of the sessions I assist the rider was having a bad day, crying, screaming, and fighting us to go ride, so instead we changed our plans of getting on the horse and just doing the activity with him on a bench. Even though he did not get the therapeutic benefits from riding a horse, he still received therapeutic benefits from weight bearing through all extremities and developed better body awareness, fine and gross motor skills, and choosing between to objects while playing with Mr. Potato Head. If it were not for being flexible and being on top of our game, JD would have benefitted nothing from his session that day.
My “take away” message and what changed about me are the same thing, which is arriving at every session performing my absolute best. In order for a patient to benefit from therapy sessions, I must perform the same every time. I know some days will be harder than others, but those are the days when I might benefit just as much from the session as the patient will.
1. Why is a horse therapeutic?
During the eleven weeks at Windridge I have experienced the physical, emotional, psychological, and social aspect of why a horse can be therapeutic. While being on a horse you are working on to improve balance, coordination, circulation, respiration, proprioception, agility, self-confidence and mental relaxation. A horse can stimulate multiple senses that are beneficial for a rider, such as smell, auditory, and tactile. One huge plus for using horses for therapy, is that horses behave similarly like humans in the social and behavior aspect, which makes it easy for the riders to connect with the horse. I watched riders cope with feelings of sadness, anger, fear, and even joy and how …show more content…
In case of an emergency the instructor would quickly dismount the rider and quickly exit from the arena or move away from the horse. Another form of safety would be to check the equipment making sure everything is secured and properly placed, before the rider mounts the horse. The instructor must also help each rider accept the horse as a means of therapy and comfort. Instructors must provide each rider with the proper techniques for riding a horse, along with the proper discipline while being on the horse. A therapeutic riding instructor must be in every session in order to instructor the rider during the activity, make sure the environment is safe, and to provide the side walkers and leader with instructions on what to do or where to go. They must collaborate with all members of the team including PTs, OTs, and volunteers in order to meet the goals of the rider’s treatment goals. Instructors assist in designing appropriate exercises for clients based on the riders diagnose or mental health treatment plan. Therapeutic riding instructors must also know medical and personal information about every rider and every horse, in order to pair a rider up with a horse. Such as, which type of gait will the rider benefit more from, does the rider need a narrow or wide base of support from the horse, or which horse height won’t bother a …show more content…
One very important thing that I learned was no matter how you feel, you must always put on a front that today is the best day of your life. Every day and every session you must perform at your best and be flexible for each kid you will be interacting with that day, due to the fact you will not know how the kid’s day is going. One prime example is when one of the sessions I assist the rider was having a bad day, crying, screaming, and fighting us to go ride, so instead we changed our plans of getting on the horse and just doing the activity with him on a bench. Even though he did not get the therapeutic benefits from riding a horse, he still received therapeutic benefits from weight bearing through all extremities and developed better body awareness, fine and gross motor skills, and choosing between to objects while playing with Mr. Potato Head. If it were not for being flexible and being on top of our game, JD would have benefitted nothing from his session that day.
My “take away” message and what changed about me are the same thing, which is arriving at every session performing my absolute best. In order for a patient to benefit from therapy sessions, I must perform the same every time. I know some days will be harder than others, but those are the days when I might benefit just as much from the session as the patient will.