Saddle Up For Therapeutic Horseback Riding

Therapeutic riding offers many people with spinal cord disorders a fun way to improve balance, mental outlook and overall health.

By Celina R. De León

Brenda Smith (in chair) gave up most sports when she began
raising her children, but recently she’s discovered a
passion for horseback riding.

Brenda Smith of central Florida said it was three years ago when she realized she needed a change-a recreational change. “Sitting in a wheelchair for 25 years resulted in my body feeling weak and hunched over,” said Smith. “Plus, traditional physical therapy is boring.”

Smith acquired her spinal cord injury (SCI) in 1981, when she was hit by a drunk driver while she was a front seat passenger. She was 29, mother of a 2 ½-year-old daughter, on the verge of a divorce, and a registered nurse working towards becoming a midwife, a career she was then forced to give up because of her physical condition. Smith’s injury is at T-10, basically at her umbilicus.

In the early years of her SCI, Smith was very active in adaptive sports and volunteering. She played wheelchair basketball, tennis, and road racing. In 1988, she was crowned “Ms. Wheelchair Florida,” and served as a state advocate for people with disabilities. But remarried and with two step-children and a child of her own, Smith found herself with no time for active recreation. She took a break from recreational sports until her biological daughter, Beth, started college.

It wasn’t until Smith placed an online ad to sell some of her bedroom furniture that she discovered Freedom Ride, Inc. in Orlando, Florida. A woman who had corresponded with Smith over e-mail brought her husband, Jack Kapanka, a singer and Freedom Ride volunteer, to help pick up the furniture. Kapanka told Smith about Freedom Ride and she instantly became intrigued with the organization. Her interest was solidified when she attended Freedom Ride’s “Spring Fling” in 2004, an event that invites the general public to watch horse demonstrations and visit its stables to learn more about the program and its services. “Once I saw what they were doing I was inspired to give it a try and applied for the fall session,” said Smith.

Finding the Balance

At the time of her first encounter with therapeutic riding, Brenda Smith hadn’t been on a horse in 25 years, nor had she had any formal training-just trail rides here and there. Her doctors hesitantly gave her permission to participate in therapeutic riding. They definitely weren’t too keen on the idea. “They were more like, ‘Are you out of your mind?’” recalled Smith.

Now more advanced in her riding skills, Smith fondly reflects on when she was just starting out. A lift is often used to place individuals with spinal cord injuries/disorders (SCI/D) on top of a horse. Beginners start out with a horse leader-a person who leads the horse-as well as two people who walk on either side of the horse who are called “sidewalkers.” Sidewalkers are there to hold down the rider to ensure s/he does not fall off the horse. They usually do this by placing one arm on a rider’s thigh and using their free hand to hold the rider’s ankle. Smith said she felt like a fish out of water, or “the weeble that wobbles” when she first began riding.

“I couldn’t move anything from the waist down,” said Smith. “It was definitely a learning and acclimatization process for me and each horse I rode.”

Freedom Ride taught Smith a series of arm and balancing exercises to do while on a horse: hold her arm straight up above her head, then out to her sides, behind her head, and then behind her back; crossing her arm to the left to touch the opposing knee and then to the right to the other opposing knee; place rings over poles; use canes to place rings on the hooks on fences; and place objects in a post mounted mailbox.

“In the beginning, they all were challenging,” said Smith. “Although the horse stands still, it still has some gentle movement which is always a challenge for your balance. It works muscles that one wouldn’t ordinarily work just sitting in a wheelchair.”

Smith is now able to independently trot over ground poles, pole bend and weave, and change the direction of her horse with the help of adaptive equipment such as barrel racing straps to keep her securely fastened. But all adaptive equipment must be “tear away” to prevent the rider from falling while still attached to the horse. Smith also purchased a well padded saddle with an added gel cushion seat to take extra precaution against pressure points.

Unable to give the horse a leg cue such as a light kick to its side to command it to run faster, Smith uses a voice command and a riding crop-a short type of whip without a lash- to tap behind the horse’s leg, along with signals delivered through various positions and holds of her reins. Once Smith could trot, it became necessary to tie her stirrups to the girth strap of her saddle to keep her legs from hitting the horse and confusing it with unintended commands. Smith still has trouble sliding on the horse here and there but now she is able to self correct.

Along with learning how to ride a horse, Smith learns grooming and equestrian skills and techniques to help further her education of horses and how to read them.

When she’s not riding horses, Smith is riding the motorcycle her husband gave her.

“The bike is great, but there is nothing like being on horseback. It’s an incredible sense of freedom, independence and accomplishment,” said Smith.

National Therapeutic Riding Destinations

Modern therapeutic riding began in Europe after the Second World War. In 1944, a polio outbreak in Scandinavia struck 23-year-old Lis Hartel while pregnant with her second child. She became paralyzed from the knees down. An avid equestrian, Hartel was determined to keep riding. Helped on and off her horse, Hartel won the silver medal for Grand Prix Dressage in 1952 (the first year women were allowed to compete in Olympic equestrian competitions) and in 1956. Hartel went on to start one of the first therapeutic riding programs, which helped spur the movement throughout Europe, North America, and Australia.

Today, there are over 700 therapeutic riding centers certified by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) in North America. Established in 1969, NARHA promotes equine facilitated therapy and activity programs throughout the U.S. and Canada for people with and without disabilities.

Celina R. De León formerly worked in public affairs.

Below are just a few of the NARHA centers that are out there. Visit www.narha.org for more information.rong>