Riding in the Sunshine

It was nice to ride outside when the weather was warm.  The sunshine was nice.  The warmth was nice.  The horses were happy to be out and so were we.

Haley did exercises when she was on the horses.  They were mostly stretches.  She got really good at listening to the owner. 

She would tell her to twist and sometimes point to a side of the horse or to the back and Haley would twist.  She sometimes used the horses tail or mane to get her attention.  I don't have a picture of it, but she would even tickle Haley's nose with the horses mane.

Here Haley is bending backward for a stretch.  She would also give the horse a hug and pat them on the neck from the saddle. 

Riding Outside the Arena

After riding around the arena for several years Haley got to ride out in the open.  The owner walked Haley around the lot where the stable was located when it was nice.  Haley loved to walk under the trees.

She liked to touch the branches and the horses liked to eat them.  This was taken in March so the leaves were young, later on on the year she really liked it when the branches were covered with leaves.

The owner had her reach out and grab the branches as part of her therapy.  Occasionally she would lean a bit too far and move in the saddle.   She would have to be adjusted several times.  The pad you see in this picture was belted on to the saddle, it was a bath mat with a non-slip surface on it.  It served to keep her in place on the saddle, notice that she is no longer tied on with rope.

I adored this riding helmet.  Haley did wear a motorcycle helmet for several years and then one day the owner brought this helmet out for her to wear.  She was just so darn cute in it.

This was Chelsea.  Chelsea was built a little differently from Lady.  She had a much different gait.  This was a cool day, but I remember when the sun would shine Haley's legs would get really warm in the sun.  She would let us know that she was done by rubbing her legs.

Notice that her feet are in the stirrups, but those hands are still not on the horn.  She still would not hold on to the reins.  I wonder what that is about, remember she won't hold the steering wheel on Grandpa's tractor either.  Hmmmm.

This is a horse that Haley loved to visit, Haley never rode this horse.  He was an old timer that was allowed to live out his days in relative idleness.  He died shortly after this picture was taken.  I explained it to Haley, but I don't know if she understood.

She missed him.



Are We Having Fun Yet?

I think Haley liked to ride horses.  I don't have that many pictures of her doing it.  Like I said, she rode horses at the stable for years, but I didn't always have my camera with me.  In all of the pictures that I took she looked like she was having a great time.

Notice how she was tied on to the saddle.

She didn't always enjoy herself.  It took a long time for her to get used to riding.  We went once a week.  Just like her other physical therapies it was work.  The movement of the horse made her body move.  It made her body work.  She didn't like it when her body worked.  She cried.  Sometimes she screamed.  The horses were so good, it didn't phase them.  Sometimes she would get on the horse and ride around the arena once and then want to get off.  We didn't let her.

Occasionally she went about half of the session and then she wanted down.  Sometimes if she had been good and she asked to get down without screaming and crying we would let her get down.  It was on those days that she would visit the other animals that lived at the stable.  There was a dog, a great big pot bellied pig, several pygmy goats, some chickens, some ducks and some cats along with all of the horses.  Haley loved to visit each one.

This is Cajun.

Haley would ride around and around on the lunge line.  The owner/therapist would stand in the middle holding the lunge line talking to the horse as well as to Haley.  These pictures were taken after Haley had been riding for a while.  When she first started the therapist would walk alongside of the horse the whole time.  Notice how Haley has a good seat on this horse even at such an young age, I was so impressed by that.

Haley would always ride over to the water barrel so that Cajun could get a drink.  Cajun didn't always want a drink, but the owner would have her do it anyway.  It gave everyone a little break and it taught Haley to think of the horses needs.

Haley always thanked the horses for letting her ride.

Little Girl, Big Horse

Haley was very tiny when she first started riding horses. 

She had no fear.  Even before she could walk Haley could climb.  She would climb up the stairs, onto chairs and even up on the kitchen table.  She didn't have a problem being up high on top of a tall horse.

The first horse that Haley rode was Lady. 

Lady was a very gentle horse. 

The owner of the stable wanted Haley to learn how to care for the horses as well as how to ride them.  When we would arrive at the stable Haley would help the owner put the saddle on the horse.  Once the horse was ready I would lift Haley get up on to the horse and the owner would guide her foot over the saddle.  She would then lead her out into the arena and I would stay on the outside of the gate.  I stood there and watched.  I occasionally answered questions, but I basically stayed out of it.  I wanted Haley to get her instruction from the owner. 

The stable owner adjusted the stirrups as far as they would go for Haley, but Haley would pull her feet out of them.

We had a hard time getting Haley to hold on to the horn or the reins.  She had a little figurine in each hand.  I wanted to take them from her but the owner/therapist thought that they were a comfort item for her and so she wanted her to keep them.  She seemed fixated on them most of the time.

The therapist would guide Haley through several exercises while she was on the horse.  I was already a bit nervous that Haley wouldn't hold on to the horn and then here she was with her arms up over her head.

At the end of her ride I would lift Haley down from the horse and she would pet the horses nose and say "Thank You" for the ride.  We would lead the horse back out of the arena and Haley would help brush the horse after the owner removed the saddle, then she would put the brush away.  Sometimes Haley would help them feed the horses. 

Just before we left Haley would say "Goodbye" to the horses and the owner.

Hippotherapy

I have been thinking about the years that Haley rode horses lately. 

Not only was I reminded of them by her Yoga sessions and her superior core strength, but at Confirmation class this week we talked about horse riding.  Haley had with her two of her Schleich horses. 

No surprise there. 

Pastor asked Haley if her horses had special meaning, did they represent actual horses?  One of them she was carrying did.  She had Chelsea and Shire.  I told him about Chelsea, about how she had ridden a horse that looked just like her and that she was named after that horse.  That got us into a discussion about Haley's experiences with Hippotherapy. 

Kids asked questions, they were interested.

We also talked about the Shire horse and the fact that Pastor had experience with big draft horses when he was a kid.  We found out that his grandpa had a tree farm too.  It was kind of neat, Haley shares something with everyone in the class.  They had all ridden horses at some point in there young lives, but none of them had ridden as much as Haley.

Haley's physical therapist had suggested to me that I try Hippotherapy for Haley to increase her core strength when she was about three.  I started taking Haley to a stable that was just getting started in Hippotherapy, they had several clients and they were building their business.  During the time that we took Haley there they improved the stable and built a ramp so that kids could get on the horses easier. 

Haley was very small when she started and the horses were very big.  I was a bit worried that she might fall off of the horses or get bucked off.  I didn't need to worry, that never happened in all the years that she rode. 

I have decided that the next several blogs will be about Haley's Hippotherapy.