Kids with disabilities thrive on horseback

A classroom aide pushed what looked like a cross between a stroller and a wheelchair into the riding stable. In it sat a tiny, pink-clad girl who looked half asleep, eyes gazing at nothing.

After a few seconds, the little girl realized where she was and sprung to life, jumping out of the chair and running over to Janet Gross, program manager at the Beekman Therapeutic Riding Stables.

“Good morning, Faith! Are you ready to ride?” Gross asked.

Faith bounced up and down enthusiastically as Gross located a riding helmet small enough to fit the girl’s head.

Once she was suited up, volunteers helped Faith get situated on Flash, one of Beekman’s three ponies ridden by the littlest kids. She grabbed hold of the reins and said, “Horse!”

And just like that, Faith was in her element.

Thanks to a grant from the Capital Region Community Foundation, the Beekman Therapeutic Riding Center can provide scholarships for horseback riding lessons to young people with disabilities.

During the school day, riders come from the Beekman Center, which serves students ages 2 to 26 with physical and cognitive needs. After school, outside students pay for lessons.

“Many of the kids who ride here are autistically impaired,” Gross said. “Riding helps connect the dots for them, it helps them focus.”

She talked as Charlie rode around the arena on Scooter, another pony. Volunteers surround him on all sides to ensure his safety, but it’s Charlie holding the reins and doing the steering, and he’s encouraged to give the horse commands such as “walk on.”

The tasks may seem simple, but they’re doing important work for kids like Charlie and Faith.

“It helps improve their muscle tone and balance and their motor skills,” Gross said. “Little tasks go a long way for these kids. It even leads to changes in the classroom.”

“We try to make them feel they’re doing it all themselves,” said Maggie Fenger, a Beekman volunteer who recently became a part-time instructor on the staff. “The teachers tell us the kids who come here are much happier. They have more core support and can hold themselves up better.”

A natural approach

In 2008, the structure of Beekman’s riding program changed from a traditional approach to one that emphasized Parelli Natural Horsemanship practices. The Parelli method focuses on the holistic approach to training horses, emphasizing a development of a natural relationship with the animals.

“The difference is amazing,” Gross said. “Instead of walking away when we came out to get them for lessons, they come to the fence, wanting to work with us and the kids.”

The horses are given extra attention between lessons by volunteers like Kamerin Bell, a large-animal vet tech student at Lansing Community College.

“I love it here,” she said, brushing Flash between lessons. “It’s a great program.”

‘It helps us breathe’

Gross said the students at the Beekman Center get very attached to the horses.

“Classes will come out here just to feed them.”

She said the funding the program receives throught the community foundation is essential.

“Because of the grants for the lessons, we’re able to take money from other fundraisers to use to pay our instructors. It helps us breathe.”

Technically Gross is paid for 20 hours a week, but as program manager she said she spends about 70 hours a week at Beekman.

Gross came to Beekman after a career driving carriage horses.

“I never imagined I’d be doing this. I just love it,” she said. “At the end of the day, I feel really good about what I do.”