“Cannon has a sensory integration problem,” explained his mom, Dr. Paige Ward, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia and a pediatrician in the Special Child Clinic at the MCG Children’s Medical Center. “It means he has an increase in his senses and how he is stimulated. You know how that shrill noise of nails on a chalkboard causes anxiety? Children with sensory integration problems can feel that way from all five senses at the same time, which is very stressful.”
Two years after his first visit to Maple Knoll Farm, Cannon now touches, talks to and rides horses. Through hippotherapy -- horse therapy for children with special needs -- Cannon has improved sensory processing. His favorite horse, Chance, a 10-year-old registered Haflinger gelding, also helps him deal with the physical challenges of cerebral palsy.
“Different children react in different ways to an injury to the brain. With CP, some children have either increased tone or decreased tone. High tone means muscles may be really tight,” said Dr. Ward.
The passive stretching involved in sitting on the horse has helped reduce the spasticity and stiffness in Cannon’s inner leg muscles. “Getting on the horse has helped his posture, trunk control and tone,” said his mother. “It’s really helped him in a lot of ways.”
Claudia Morin, a hippotherapy clinical specialist, has introduced hundreds of special-needs children to the healing powers of horseback-riding since 1982. Last year, she relocated the nonprofit program, Blue Ribbon Riders, to her farm in Grovetown, Ga. The horses’ three-dimensional movement simulates human walking, she says, and sitting on the horse optimizes balance and postural alignment.
“We are using the movement of horses as our primary treatment,” said Ms. Morin, an occupational therapist who worked at MCG for over 20 years before leaving to enter private practice and devote more time to Blue Ribbon Riders. “We also utilize the social and psychological aspects of the horse and the riding environment. Children may be doing tasks like helping groom horses or cleaning the pasture, which provides an opportunity for them to work on motor and social skills, participate in following instructions and learn horse safety.”
The program relies largely on volunteer assistance and donations. Each child pays a $275 registration fee for individual instruction during an 11-week session – merely a drop in the trough, Ms. Morin says, in the total cost of feeding, boarding and caring for the four therapy horses. Parents including Cannon’s seek support from friends, family and co-workers. This year, Dr. Ward turned to her colleagues in the MCG Child Advocacy Group, a volunteer group of faculty, staff and students who advocate for children in the Augusta community.
“The
group picks one main project a year to support and then we organize a spring
fun-run to help raise funds for that program,” said Dr. Ward, who serves as the
group’s co-advisor with Dr. Lisa Leggio, assistant professor of pediatrics. Last
year, the first annual Family Fitness 5K Race benefited the Children’s Medical
Center’s Wee Can Ski Program, which introduces special-needs children to
water-skiing. In May, over 60 runners participated in the second annual race,
which raised $2,200 for the Blue Ribbon Riders.
“When you have any child with a limitation – whether that’s speech, hearing, visual or some other impairment – there is something in the child’s life that he is not able to do. Claudia makes it possible for these kids to do something other kids can’t do,” said Dr. Ward. “Supporting Blue Ribbon Riders really fit the mission of the Child Advocacy Group because it is a program that teaches these children to say, ‘Look what I can do’ and not, ‘Look what I can’t do.’ This program is such a self-confidence builder for these children.”
“As
they grow up, the work they’ve done here with the riding program has provided
the building blocks they need to move on in school activities,” said Ms. Morin.
“Children who couldn’t participate in team sports before gained gross motor
skills and became more confident with moving their bodies through space. They
eventually find they can compete at a level where they feel more comfortable.”
Her greatest challenges, she says, are finding and training suitable horses, funding the horses’ maintenance and finding volunteers suitable for the task. Volunteers age 14 and older can assist riders as horse leaders or help groom, bathe and exercise therapy horses for two to five hours a week.
“The rewards of being a volunteer are countless,” said Ms. Morin. “The relationship between volunteers, riders and horses brings joy and satisfaction to all involved.”
For more information about the Blue Ribbon Riders, Inc., contact Ms. Morin at 706-854-0644 or write to her at P.O. Box 805, Grovetown, GA 30813. For more information about the MCG Child Advocacy Group, contact Dr. Ward at pward@mcg.edu.
--Ellen Gladden