Post by -Irwin Girl- on Feb 3, 2008 15:21:25 GMT -5
Heres my essay.I don't really need help but having soembody besides my teacher and the contest judges read it would be nieXD
Does Therapeutic Riding Help Kids
As a horse lover I have seen and been a part of the bond between the horse and it’s rider. As a horse camp counselor I saw the light, happiness and sparkle in an autistic boys eye as her rode his favourite pony. The bond between the horse and the rider is so strong, so amazing and so unexplainable. As Neil Cutler, a disable rider once said ‘When on a horse, your strengths are combined, and your weaknesses diminished’
It’s not clear when therapeutic riding became a specialized field. But records show that the ancient Greeks used equine assisted therapy or therapeutic riding. In 1875, the first study of the value or therapeutic riding was done. England recognized riding for the disabled and offered it to their wounded soldiers. Equine Assisted therapy was introduced to Scandinavia in 1946 after two outbreaks of poliomyelitis. Therapeutic riding came to the United States and Canada in 1960 with the formation of the community association of riding of the disabled. The British Riding for the Disabled Association along with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association was founded in 1969.
Liz Hartel was one of the two who got poliomyelitis in Scandinavia. Hartel was an accomplished horsewoman. She went through surgery and physiotherapy that helped her gain the ability to walk again with the help of crutches. Hartel was extremely determined to ride again, and more importantly ride independently again. She began daily supervised riding sessions which improved her muscle strength and coordination. Not only did Hartel ride independently, but she brought great attention to therapeutic riding when she competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. The she competed in dressage and won a silver medal.
CRH(Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship) did a research study, to prove that therapeutic riding does work. They chose to focus on autism, which happens in one out of 166 births. They did an 8 week study with four autistic children under the age of 10. They videotaped the lesson from the time they arrived to the time they left. They observed the amount of positive and negative behaviors exhibited. In this study researchers saw the ratio of positive and negative behaviors change from a 1:1 ratio to a 9:1 ratio after the study.
The kids gain friendship, not only with the people but with the best friend, the one who tells no lies nor their secrets, the horse. They become part of a team, something they would have never been able to do. They learn to put the horse’s needs before their own. Riding and being around horses is just plain fun, and who doesn’t like having fun?
These kids spend so much time in hospitals, therapy rooms and just places that aren’t very fun so coming to a farm where they can be a normal kid is a huge thing. To them kids like me live the life. Riding gives these kids something to talk about and more importantly something to look forward to.
The kids learn patience, for a whose has a mind of it’s own and may not do something the want the first time they ask. They learn emotional control for they learn if the rider acts up so does the horse. It’s like nuts and bolts, if the riders nuts the horse bolts.
When a kid sits atop a horse, they are automatically forced to balance. When a horse moves the child is constantly thrown off balance, meaning the riders muscles must contract and relax in an attempt to rebalance. This exercise alone helps reach muscles that are not accessible in physical therapy. And just like any source of exercise it helps strengthen the child’s muscles. The rider also gains much improved coordination and faster reflexes. Riding stretches the child’s muscles and decreases spasticity.
Horses change lives. Not only with disabled kids, but with anybody. Who ever came up with the idea to put the wounded hearts of humans with the most forgiving creature, the horse, was pure genius. The CRH research study, Liz Hartel and many other people are proof therapeutic riding works. Everybody needs somebody, and when going through tough times having somebody there for you is a key thing, that’s why kids and horses get along so well. As I said earlier, horse change lives and I know my horse changed mine.
Kansas McNicol
Does Therapeutic Riding Help Kids
As a horse lover I have seen and been a part of the bond between the horse and it’s rider. As a horse camp counselor I saw the light, happiness and sparkle in an autistic boys eye as her rode his favourite pony. The bond between the horse and the rider is so strong, so amazing and so unexplainable. As Neil Cutler, a disable rider once said ‘When on a horse, your strengths are combined, and your weaknesses diminished’
It’s not clear when therapeutic riding became a specialized field. But records show that the ancient Greeks used equine assisted therapy or therapeutic riding. In 1875, the first study of the value or therapeutic riding was done. England recognized riding for the disabled and offered it to their wounded soldiers. Equine Assisted therapy was introduced to Scandinavia in 1946 after two outbreaks of poliomyelitis. Therapeutic riding came to the United States and Canada in 1960 with the formation of the community association of riding of the disabled. The British Riding for the Disabled Association along with the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association was founded in 1969.
Liz Hartel was one of the two who got poliomyelitis in Scandinavia. Hartel was an accomplished horsewoman. She went through surgery and physiotherapy that helped her gain the ability to walk again with the help of crutches. Hartel was extremely determined to ride again, and more importantly ride independently again. She began daily supervised riding sessions which improved her muscle strength and coordination. Not only did Hartel ride independently, but she brought great attention to therapeutic riding when she competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. The she competed in dressage and won a silver medal.
CRH(Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship) did a research study, to prove that therapeutic riding does work. They chose to focus on autism, which happens in one out of 166 births. They did an 8 week study with four autistic children under the age of 10. They videotaped the lesson from the time they arrived to the time they left. They observed the amount of positive and negative behaviors exhibited. In this study researchers saw the ratio of positive and negative behaviors change from a 1:1 ratio to a 9:1 ratio after the study.
The kids gain friendship, not only with the people but with the best friend, the one who tells no lies nor their secrets, the horse. They become part of a team, something they would have never been able to do. They learn to put the horse’s needs before their own. Riding and being around horses is just plain fun, and who doesn’t like having fun?
These kids spend so much time in hospitals, therapy rooms and just places that aren’t very fun so coming to a farm where they can be a normal kid is a huge thing. To them kids like me live the life. Riding gives these kids something to talk about and more importantly something to look forward to.
The kids learn patience, for a whose has a mind of it’s own and may not do something the want the first time they ask. They learn emotional control for they learn if the rider acts up so does the horse. It’s like nuts and bolts, if the riders nuts the horse bolts.
When a kid sits atop a horse, they are automatically forced to balance. When a horse moves the child is constantly thrown off balance, meaning the riders muscles must contract and relax in an attempt to rebalance. This exercise alone helps reach muscles that are not accessible in physical therapy. And just like any source of exercise it helps strengthen the child’s muscles. The rider also gains much improved coordination and faster reflexes. Riding stretches the child’s muscles and decreases spasticity.
Horses change lives. Not only with disabled kids, but with anybody. Who ever came up with the idea to put the wounded hearts of humans with the most forgiving creature, the horse, was pure genius. The CRH research study, Liz Hartel and many other people are proof therapeutic riding works. Everybody needs somebody, and when going through tough times having somebody there for you is a key thing, that’s why kids and horses get along so well. As I said earlier, horse change lives and I know my horse changed mine.
Kansas McNicol
