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Horses provide freedom for physically, mentally handicapped students |
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Tuesday, 05 June 2007 |
by JILLIAN SWORDS Active Image | Jillian Swords | The Appalachian
The equine therapy program is located in Blowing Rock.
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Intern Staff Reporter
No, “Blazing Saddles” does not just refer to the 1974 western film, and the one without Mel Brooks uses horses as more than a means to get from point A to point B.
The Blazing Saddles Therapeutic Riding Program in Blowing Rock taps into equine therapy to benefit over 40 students, ranging in age from 5 to 63. Their disabilities range from physical handicaps such as multiple sclerosis to mental and social-behavioral disorders, including dissociative identity disorder, autism, and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
“[The
program] can be a safe escape from the harsh realities of [the
disabled’s] worlds, and they can have fun doing it,” Fiona H.
Chrystall, head riding instructor of the organization, said. “It’s a
completely non-judgmental environment.”
The private, non-profit program, founded in 1985, is a member if the
North American Riding for the Handicapped Association. It relies solely
on donations from others for equipment, supplies and monetary support.
 Active Image | Jillian Swords | The Appalachian
The Blazing Saddles head riding instructor, Fiona H. Chrystall, assists students of all ages.
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In the past year, a group of 25 core volunteers worked more than 1,000
hours with the program. They helped in everything from spotting riders
during lessons to fundraising to exercising and training the horses.
Although several of the program’s volunteers come from Lees-McRae
College in Banner Elk, most are Appalachian State University students.
This is a fact Chrystall attributes to Appalachian’s strong emphasis on
service learning.
In 2002, Blazing Saddles was offered a permanent home at the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show Grounds in Blowing Rock.
The program’s three donated horses are stabled there as well as use of the riding ring and over 25 miles of trails.
Chrystall, who is also assistant dean of Assessment and Effectiveness
at Lees-McRae, said physical as well as emotional benefits stand to be
gained from equine therapy.
“Most people think that you plunk yourself on the horse and the animal
does all the work for you – that riding isn’t any sort of exercise at
all,” Chrystall said before going on to explain just the opposite.
In addition, the rhythmic, back-and-forth movement of a horse’s walk is
similar to that of a human, a fact that greatly helps people with motor
and coordination problems.
One of Chrystall’s students, a 5-year-old quadriplegic boy who uses a
head-operated wheelchair, was sitting up in the saddle by himself by
his third week of lessons.
For people who are physically dependent on others, the emotional sense
of freedom and independence that Chrystall’s students gain through
equine therapy is monumental.
“I think it has something to do with being able to control something
that big and graceful,” she said. “It’s definitely a ‘four steps
forward, three steps back’ process, but it’s amazing how far you can
get with a
little bit of consistency.”
Chrystall said most of her students become much more verbal, outgoing
and concentrated during and after lessons. Parents and friends of
students have told her how the confidence and focus the students gain
continue after leaving the stables.
Brittain F. Long said his son Gabriel, a 7-year old with severe
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has no trouble focusing on
whatever tasks Chrystall may give to him during lessons.
“He’s becoming much more outdoorsy … this seems to come naturally to him,” he said.
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