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With experience, some riders eventually
don’t need any assistance andwork only
with the therapist. Inpartnershipwitha ther-
apeutichorseandusingequine-orientedac-
tivities, riders areable toachieveavariety
ofpersonalgoals includingspeech therapy,
mobility, coordination, muscle tone,
strength and balance. Over time equine
therapycontributes to increasedconcentra-
tion, sensory processing and improved
learningskills.Adisabilitydoesnothave to
limit a person from riding horses. In fact,
horseback riding rhythmically moves the
rider'sbody inamannersimilar toahuman
gait, therefore riderswithphysical disabili-
ties often show improvement in flexibility,
balanceandmusclestrength.
Inaparent testimonial onHopeHaven’s
facebook page, Heather Galvin explains
that her 5 year-old son Oscar was diag-
nosedwith cancer at theageof two.Over
threeyearsOscarwasgivenchemotherapy
thathasdonedamage tohis legsandback.
Physiotherapy proved difficult as Oscar
found it uncomfortable, boringandhe sim-
plydidn’twant togo.Heatherandherhus-
band were looking for alternatives and
heardabout HopeHaven. After a few ses-
sions,Oscarwasmotivated,happyanden-
joyinghis therapy.Heather explains, “Our
physiotherapist couldnotbelieve thediffer-
ence inhismobility;hecouldgoupstairs;his
flexibilitywhen she starteddoing stretches
hecouldn’tdobefore.And thenacoupleof
months into it, he one day stood up in the
stirrups,which, hedidn’t have the strength
toevengoup stairs last year! He stoodup
in the stirrups andhe cannow completely
bendover against the horse’smane. So it
hasdonewonders forhisskeletal structure.
We were recently at Sick Kids doing his
evaluation and they could not believe the
difference. Theywereaskinghow thiswas
possible with physiotherapy and we ex-
plained. They asked about the place and
looked itup.”
Hope Haven has recently introduced
PALS (Physical Activities for LifelongSkills)
therapeuticprograms,which includephysi-
cal activities such as yoga, snowshoeing,
kids activities andmore. All Hope Haven
programsarediverseenough toaccommo-
date individualswithdisabilitiesand/or lim-
itedmotion.
Hope Haven embraces inclusion. For
thosewhoprefernot toride,orwhoareun-
able, they offer horsemanship techniques
such as catching and haltering the horse;
properly leading thehorse throughstop,go
and turnswhilemaintaining control of the
horse. Participants will ask the horse to
walk-on, trot, back up, pivot and towork
with them throughvariousobstaclecourses
in thearena.
“TheHorsesareveryprimary in thepro-
gram,and it takesaspecialhorse,”explains
Executive Director Thérèse Defoy. “We
havehorses thatareverypatientandquiet
for new riders. Then we have horses for
thosewhohavegotten to the level ofwalk,
trot, and canter. They have to be able to
dealwithallkindsofexteriorenvironmental
factors.Weplaygameswithour riders like
throwing items intoabucket,and thehorses
need to be spook-free with loud, sudden
noises.”
All existing and future ambitions are
madepossibleby thededicationandgen-
erosityofvolunteersanddonors.Volunteer
opportunitiesrange fromworkingwithpar-
ticipants and horses, to being part of the
BoardofDirectors, tobarnhandsandother
necessarypositions. As aHopeHavenvol-
unteer you will have the satisfaction of
knowing youaremakingaprofoundand
life altering difference for children and
adultswithspecialneeds. It isnotnecessary
tohaveequineexperience—theprofession-
alsatHopeHavenwill trainyou.
Formore information onHopeHaven
programsand to inquireaboutvolunteering
and todonate,pleasevisit
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