Stacey's Therapeutic Horseback Riding Journal

July 31, 2003

Isaiah has been horseback riding for about 4 months. He is now saying several words regularly and without prompting. I do not know if his progress can be attributed to the therapeutic horseback riding. Isaiah is still receiving speech therapy from a private therapist and from a therapist at preschool. I think it is a combination of all of the things we are doing. We plan to continue with all of the therapies and perhaps add new programs.

Today when we arrived at Ready, Set, Ride 3 or 4 volunteer sidewalkers immediately greeted us and began to discuss who was going to get to sidewalk with Isaiah. It was nice that so many of the volunteers wanted to work with Isaiah. Ready, Set, Ride is nonprofit organization and depends on volunteers. It uses mostly kids as volunteer sidewalkers. A sidewalker walks on either side of a horse, making sure that the child riding the horse remains stable and does not fallf. Depending on the child’s age and ability, some need one sidewalker, others needs 2. Because Isaiah is only 3 and is so small, he requires 2 sidewalkers. In addition to the sidewalkers, another volunteer leads the horse. The sidewalker and the leader all participate in games with the child. The games help the children work on various skills, such as learning colors, shapes,and the concepts of “in” and “out.” They also help improve fine motor skills and encourage speech.

A sidewalker named Emily and another girl were assigned to sidewalk with Isaiah. Emily has been assigned to Isaiah for the passed few weeks and they seem very comfortable with each other. As with any type of therapy, consistency is important. I am happy that each week Isaiah rides Schnapps and works with Emily.

Stacey 7/31/03
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