Props....

In Faith's therapeutic riding lessons, her instructor uses all kinds of random props...

clothes pins on the horse's mane to encourage Faith's fine(r) motor skills.

Egg and spoon game... to work on Faith's ability to follow instructions and delayed gratification and counting.
This game is now her favorite one. I don't know where they found that spoon and egg but I want one! She is supposed to hold the spoon with the egg in it for 3 seconds (which she rarely does) but they hold her hand and count to three then let go. She will fling the egg back over her head and laugh like a maniac!

Sometimes she gets it done by herself!

I really think she could play this game all day! The funny thing is I would have NEVER picked this as something Faith would want to do! NEVER! But something about Miss Caroline and the horse and all makes it the most fun game ever!

They also use pinwheels, balls, pool diving rings and fake flowers to encourage different movements from her.

Faith has made so much progress in the 9 weeks since she started riding that I encourage every parent who reads this to get their kids on a horse! It will be some of the best medicine you can find, I promise! Good for your kiddos and really good for you!
She can now almost completely turn around on the horse with just support when she is turning. She can get her leg over the horse's neck and back end with no help at all!
She is beginning to use the reigns, a little. She can ride front or backwards with no hands and stay on by herself (with people on each side for protection, of course). She can transfer rings across mid line to hang them on a pole. She can follow several new instructions like put something in a bag or kick a ring off her foot.
All of these things are new since she has been riding. We have tried lots of different therapies and different things to get results for her in her life but the horse riding has been the quickest and best results we have seen. I have been able to tell a big difference in the tightness of her interior thigh muscles. This was something that was quite bad before we started. I was having a lot of difficulty changing diapers or dressing her in pants because she was so tight. But she is much more relaxed and actually will lay her legs out for me to do those things now.
We are now on lesson 3 of our 6 lesson scholarship. I don't know what we will do when she uses up her lessons. It will be running into summer and I don't know if we should take a break during the hot summer or if we should try to make it work for a while longer. It gets so hot here and she is so sensitive to the sun that I worry about her. I certainly don't want to give up what we have worked so hard for and have regression so maybe we can make something work. I think we may be able to reapply for another scholarship if she has good progress, which she has.
Hmmmm, decisions.....
We are off today for lesson 9 this morning. The weather man is calling for showers so I hope that we beat them and can get her full hour in before the bottom falls out!

Scholarships and a freaky almost accident.....

I am so excited, we finally got the word today, that Faith got her scholarship to continue therapeutic riding! We got approval for six lessons, six more weeks! YES.

A freaky thing happened, at the end of her lesson, today. The group was walking Faith and the horse down into the cross tie area, in the back of the barn.

Over the cross tie area there is a raised walkway that goes into the top of the barn. Some people were delivering equipment, today and were using the ramp to enter the barn. Just as Hannah, the horse, was walking under the bridge way, a worker started dragging a metal chair across. It spooked the horse and she shied backwards in fright. I started running for them in a panic but Caroline, our instructor quickly grabbed Faith by one arm and dragged her off the horse, just in time before she flew off the horse! Faith came flying off that horse by her arm and Caroline just got her away before the horse tried to take off! I thought Faith's arm was going to be dislocated, as quickly as Caroline got hold of her. It scared the daylights out of me! Faith was OK and just seemed to be surprised but it was such a close call, she could have been killed! She didn't cry and we examined her closely but she seemed perfectly fine. I was so thankful that Caroline was there and prepared. She just moved in one quick motion and before the other helpers even knew what happened Faith was on the ground! Shew....it took 5 years off my life!

I know that horseback riding can be risky but the team is well trained and thankfully well prepared. It hasn't scared me from taking her back, but it did frighten me terribly! It was just a fluke accident. Funny thing is, before we started riding I saw a person walking over the bridge dragging some kind of chain and thought "That isn't very smart to have that bridge there when horses are usually underneath." Little did I know!

Therapeutic Riding lessons 3 and 4.....

We have an ADDICT here, folks....

Faith is having so much fun riding, she is a natural! Two weeks ago they moved her up to a faster horse, Rose. She did great but her heart stayed with Hannah and we were lucky enough to get to go back to her, last week, due to an accidental switch.

Watching Faith on horseback is a spiritual event. Truly, I have never been happier or more free, watching her.

The faster they go, the happier she is. She is fearless and over the last two weeks....

Prepare yourselves, people....

She has been going out on trail rides....

WITHOUT ME!

They have been taking her out into the trails and I have been staying behind, letting her be...

A BIG GIRL, A FREE GIRL, A REGULAR GIRL, A HAPPY GIRL....

She has also been participating in transfers on horseback. Meaning, she has been doing things like lifting her legs and turning, on command, to transfer to going backwards. It is the first time she has ever participated in any transfers....

EVER!

This GIRL.....


is....AMAZING!

Therapeutic Riding....Lesson 2....

Today.....

Another beautiful day.....

Perfect for horseback riding....

Today, they worked Faith pretty hard. They had her ride, holding pool rings instead of the handles so she could work on her balance.


When she would ride past the stakes they would stop and have her hang the rings on the stakes...
She did pretty good, although she accidentally dropped one and everyone laughed so she decided she needed to do it again "accidentally"!

Then Faith decided that Hannah the Horse needed some earrings...



Then.....
Faith got to go on her first little trail ride...
Up into the woods, behind the barn....
Up a steep trail with log steps that the horse had to negotiate, all while Faith did not hold on!


She looked so big out there, riding her horse out on the trail.
I had a ball, watching her. And of course, she talked her head off the whole time! Two new ladies helped today and they kept commenting how chatty she was!
Good things, for this mom's ears and eyes...

Therapeutic Riding....Lesson one...

Tuesday, Faith had her first therapeutic riding lesson at Eden Farms...

I was not sure that Faith would cooperate and even get near the horse as she has issues with large animals...

But she surprised us all....

They plopped her right down on Hannah, the horse and off she went like a professional equestrian...

I tell you, you could NOT wipe the smile off of her face! She kept calling "Ahna" (her word for me) and pointing to the horse. She had four girls working with her the therapeutic riding teacher and three volunteers, all who were kind and friendly and gentle and encouraging.

I am quite sure I have NEVER seen her smile so much in one hour! She was thrilled! The riding instructor kept commenting on what good posture she had and how she hardly needed any assistance at all! It was a wonderful thing to hear! I have become used to hearing negative things about her abilities but it was a real thrill to hear her talk about how great Faith was doing!
They let her ride the horse backwards to work some different muscles and she got to hold the horse's tail which was great! They wanted her to use her arms to push up while she was riding backwards but she wouldn't do it. But the girl said in a way that was a good thing b/c she had such good balance that she didn't need to. WOW!
Then they took her out of the riding ring and up a big hill to make her work her core muscles differently. She thought she was SO big!
I thought her posture was wonderful, she sat so tall and easy....

Faith was particularly fond of the girl in the pink shirt. She kept chatting away to her like a little mocking bird. I was amazed at how her speech came out, once she got up there!

Faith had the time of her life and I was on cloud nine! So happy, we both were!

She was head over heals in love with riding and now I have to come up with a way to fund this long term! LOL! It was a great dose of BIG medicine for Faith and for me!

I was so proud of my girl and we can't wait to go back, next week. I certainly think that this will be great for her muscles and for her confidence...

Some additional notes...
They did not use a saddle with Faith to help her feel the horse under her and to make her work her leg muscles more.
They did use a little handle that went around the horse so she could have something to hold on to and for the most part she needed very little assistance.
I was also very impressed that she tolerated the helmet because she hates hats but she never complained one time!
The horse, Hannah, is trained to work with special needs children. She was used to wheelchairs and being handled strangely and nothing bothered her.
It was very interesting to see how she did for strangers instead of me or her regular therapists...she just accepted whatever they did.
They told me to expect her to only last for about 20 minutes, as most kids with CP become exhausted quickly from the strain. But this girl rode for 40 minutes...

MY GIRL!