Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 7 - NCEFT National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy

Be Worthy.

July 24, 2012 by Development Director

We used to lay sheepskin blankets over our horses’ backs, protecting patients’ gastrostomy tubes from catching on the nappy felt pads. We learned to work with G-tubes, tracheostomy tubes, AFOs, and hearing aids, and at some point our sense of normal was flipped on its head. Looking past the medical baggage we would see a two-year old learning to tell her horse to go and stop, or a pair of teenagers talking movies while they warmed-up their horses for a group lesson. Mundane and ordinary, our conversations rarely touched on their so-called disability. But every now and then an event would occur to shatter these attempts at normalization, and all too quickly we’re faced with a truth both sharp and dangerous.

“I had a clean MRI.” She’s a little peanut of child fresh from her day at summer camp, still wearing the hand written name tag proclaiming her assignment to the orange group. She refuses to be called Miss or Princess, she’s just herself and you better remember it. “Whatever happens, I know it’ll be okay because I’m not going to die.” She delivers these statements while clipping oversized ladybug clothespins to her horse’s mane, casually throwing it out there as if we’d asked her favorite ice cream. You realize despite the headband and floral appliquéd shirt this is not a child, this is a person who is grappling with the very adult reality of life and its fragility.

Working with a survivor is akin to a crucible, an experience that acts to distill you into your most pure self. You want to be the very best person you can be, to do everything within your power to be worthy of the person in front of you. You stop acting and start feeling. Smiles aren’t forced, laughter isn’t faked. For the next 30 minutes you give all of yourself. The session inevitably comes to end, she dismounts, goodbyes are exchanged, and the horse is led back to its stall. The saturated reality of life and death begins to fade, replaced with something softer.

Each week isn’t an epiphany. But each week we come a little closer to being worthy.

DRIVE for a New Carriage Horse

May 15, 2012 by Development Director

Just over a year ago, we lost a horse who epitomized the phrase “Gentle Giant.” Jet black and standing 6 feet at his shoulder, Sunny the Percheron was the foundation of NCEFT’s therapeutic driving program. His sudden passing came just months after The Order of St. John, Knights Hospitaller donated the handicapped accessible carriage that Sunny so steadily pulled. Without Sunny, staff were left with no choice to but to suspend the driving program.

422846_131910020267819_1089108482_n — Sunny, NCEFT’s late driving horse

For some of our patients, therapeutic driving is the only opportunity they have to interact with horses. Faced with physical, sensory, or emotional disabilities that prevent them from riding, they can learn to control a horse from our specially adapted carriage. The carriage’s automatic lift allows students to do all this without ever leaving their wheelchair, eliminating difficult or uncomfortable transitions from one chair to another. Students range from children to veterans, and between the instructor, patient, and other associated staff or aides, the carriage’s four seats are always packed. It takes a certain kind of horse to pull such precious cargo, and that horse is personified by the Percheron.

Bonnie, NCEFT’s therapeutic driving instructor, has been scouring the country for another horse who fits the impossibly high standard set by Sunny. Quiet, hard-working, patient, strong, careful, generous, you name the positive adjective and there’s a good chance it’s a requirement of a therapy horse. Thanks to Bonnie’s hard work, we’ve found a couple of prospects who show promise. Now comes the equally hard part of raising the funds to get one of these old souls to California and get our students back in the driver’s seat.

NCEFT is launching a ‘DRIVE’ to purchase the new horse and ship him to our facility in Woodside, CA. Upon his arrival he’ll undergo the training necessary to step into Sunny’s colossal shoes and settle into his new life as an equine therapist. After adding up the cost of purchasing, shipping, and training the new horse, we estimate we’re going to have to raise $10,000 to make this dream a reality. A generous donor has offered a matching grant of $5000, and we’re asking for your help in raising the other half.

Join the ‘DRIVE’ with your contribution and recruit friends, family, and coworkers to donate to the cause in your name. Whomever raises the most will win the opportunity to go for a special carriage ride with the very horse they helped purchase.

Whether you love horses, support people with special needs, assist wounded veterans, or support animal-facilitated therapy, your donation, regardless of size, will make a difference in the lives of countless individuals.

Click for instructions on entering

Moms Who Make Our Lives…

May 11, 2012 by Development Director

We wave to her with our left hand, right hand, sometimes even both hands. We pick her dusty stalks of lavender from the sensory trail and climb onto our knees to grab her handfuls of star-shaped leaves from the Japanese maple. We let her put our helmet on and listen when she says to hold her hand, even though there’s a cat, two donkeys, and a spider web more deserving of our attention. She’s our Mom and this week we tell her thanks.

We don’t always make it easy on her. There’ve been weeks where we spend the first 15 minutes of our half-hour session refusing to come out of the bathroom, insisting that as a little boy of 9 we are perfectly capable of going by ourselves. Or the days where we channel our inner Olympian and make a mad dash for the nearest hooved animal, Mom calmly, or not so calmly, telling us to freeze.

But then there are the days where we do her proud. We follow directions, keep our hands to ourselves, and remember to say please. We use our iPad to choose between a ball or ring, and don’t circumvent the activity by instead asking for a green M&M. The answer is more often yes than no, and we remember to get a sticker not only for ourselves, but for our little sister as well.

We want to take this opportunity to tell all of our Moms, whether they’re volunteers, patients’ parents, fellow staffers, or just fans, how much we love them. Even if we can’t always find the right way to say it, know that we think you’re pretty great. Whether we get you chocolate or make you breakfast in bed, buy you a dozen roses or present you with a handful of rosemary, know that we’re thinking of you and the many ways you make our lives wonderful.

Thanks team!

April 22, 2012 by Development Director

At the end of every session each patient or student is asked to thank their team. Some kids need to be reminded to make eye contact, others are coached to use each person’s name, and some simply touch their fingers to their chin, signing their thanks. However they do it, the whole “team” is acknowledged. We try not to label anyone disparately, because in doing so we would fail to acknowledge just how many roles each person plays in a given therapy session.

Perhaps the most versatile actor is the volunteer. Calling them a sidewalker, barn aide, event helper, or facilities assistant is too limiting. Every day tens of people come to NCEFT to give their time to those who need help, and in doing so, they themselves often leave feeling nourished. They fill envelopes with stickers and watch a little girl’s face light up when she visits the mailbox and finds the perfect flower to stick on her helmet (one already littered with felted-butterflies and silver-edged hearts). They show up early to swap stories with wounded Vietnam veterans and stay late to put away the hula hoops after interactive vaulting. And despite the drool, the endless rounds of “Wheels on the Bus”, and the need to occasionally dodge an errant rubber ball, these volunteers keep coming back week after week.

With National Volunteer Appreciation week drawing to a close, the staff at NCEFT would like to take a moment to thank everyone who donates their time to make our work possible. Without your tireless support and enthusiasm each week we’d be entirely unable to make such a positive impact in the lives of so many. Sometimes we get caught up in our own tasks and struggle to find the time for the many wonderful volunteers who come through the facility, but know this, not a second goes by that we don’t feel deeply grateful for your presence. You are part of our team and though there is no “I” in team, we’re glad there’s a “U” in volunteer!

A Parent’s Perspective

March 21, 2012 by Development Director

Our cheerleaders come in all sizes, but are most often sticky handed, Oshkosh bedecked and under three feet tall. They shout encouragement while kneeling upon white plastic chairs in the viewing deck, and look-up from impromptu soccer games on the nearby lawn to wave to brothers and sisters riding by on the trail. Though lacking pompoms and kick pleats, these pint-sized spirit leaders accomplish their goal; they make those they’re cheering for feel special.

Part of this blog’s effort is not only to share our thoughts and experiences, but those of our patient’s families. Each of NCEFT’s staff members has a unique background that colors our daily interactions. From firsthand experience living with a sibling with a terminal neuromuscular diagnosis, to suffering the loss of a loved one who’s left us too soon, we all come to the table with a different set of eyes. The one experience we can’t personally attest to is that of being the parent to a special needs child. When the opportunity to sit down with one such NCEFT parent presented itself, we jumped at the chance to hear how our facility has affected their son.

68107_185217641493427_129655497049642_788299_516763_n — D.M. checks out the Woodside Fire Engine at NCEFT's 2010 Holiday Party

It was during the evolution of that conversation we came to a singular conclusion. Though as adults we may praise the physical and cognitive benefits of hippotherapy and adaptive riding, from this parent’s perspective, the greatest benefit to his son is something much different. “My son is eight-years-old, has Down syndrome, and has been coming to NCEFT […] for more than five years. His visits to NCEFT are unquestionably the highlight of his week.”

DM (we’re using initials to maintain his privacy) likely can’t remember a life that hasn’t included regular visits with his four-legged friends. First a patient in our hippotherapy program, he’s since graduated to adaptive riding lessons. He rolls up each week in style, riding proudly atop his Dad’s shoulders as they head over to grab his helmet. Often running up the mounting block steps, it’s clear how much “he loves ’his’ horse, Valentine.”

Unless it’s pouring rain, or tornado force winds are ripping through the trees, DM makes sure to fit in a leisurely ride on the sensory trail. It’s the same each week, he huddles down over Valentine’s neck, head buried in a mane so thick it can’t seem to decide which side to fall on. His sidewalkers hunch over and tiptoe as quietly as possible across the short stretch of pavement that connects arena and trail. “DM?” his Dad faithfully calls out, “DM where’d you go?” Feigning ignorance of his son slinking by behind him—and the giggles coming unbidden from the boy’s mouth—his Dad spins in confusion on the viewing deck. The group continues their stealthy march until they reach the dirt path, whereupon they dissolve into laughter, celebrating another successful escapade. “There you are,” Dad exclaims, “Where are you going? Hey, don’t you have any fun out there,” he jokes, fists on his hips.

381765_342697315745458_129655497049642_1681932_271308101_n — Notice a trend? D.M. at last year's Holiday Party.

It’s interactions like these that go so far towards illustrating the ease with which DM interacts with horses. His Dad believes these lessons have “increase[ed] his overall comfort level, his sense of self and help[ed] him understand more about the care and proper treatment of animals.” Many of us could likely benefit from improved sense of self, and who among us doesn’t feel special when we’re singled out for something unique. DM’s Dad feels like horseback riding is this unique activity. “Every Friday when he leaves school a few minutes before the end of the day, all his classmates know he’s off to go riding, and many tell him to say hello to Valentine for them. He takes a lot of pride and gets a real sense of contentment from all the positive attention he gets from his peers.”

So, back to the cheerleaders; back to the brothers and sisters, friends, volunteers, and staff who suspend their lives for a moment. They pause in their work or their games and looking up, find time to wave. “So, for other parents considering […] hippotherapy or adaptive riding, I would certainly encourage them. Our experience has been entirely positive, not only for our son, but for our entire family. We appreciate everything the folks at NCEFT do, and the bonds we’ve built with the staff and volunteers. They clearly love our son just as much as he loves them.”

Thanks to DM’s Dad for taking the time to sit down with us. If you’ve got a unique story or perspective you’d like to share with NCEFT, please send ideas and submissions to Shayna@NCEFT.org

Be Worthy.

Be Worthy.

DRIVE for a New Carriage Horse

Moms Who Make Our Lives…

Thanks team!

A Parent’s Perspective

NCEFT: HORSES. HOPE. HEALING.

Sign up for our Newsletter