Fjord Archives - NCEFT National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy

Selecting a Driving Horse (Part 1)

May 21, 2012 by Development Director

A nation-wide search. Many readers are going to see that and wonder why NCEFT has to go so far to find our next driving horse. You may pass countless pastures on your way to our facility, each a bucolic scene of green grass and dappled horses, and think to yourself, “But there are so many horses in California?” As you break down the criteria of not just a driving horse, not just a therapeutic driving horse, but an NCEFT therapeutic driving horse, you may begin to wonder if in fact our search shouldn’t be global.

268229_259485467399977_129655497049642_1322610_6924832_n — Stormy and Tonka pull the wheelchair-accessible carriage

First there are the practical considerations. Weighing in at nearly a ton, a Percheron like Sunny could easily pull a carriage with four passengers. But what would happen if we put a smaller draft between the shafts? Only half as big as Sunny, our Fjord Sebastian could barely pull the same carriage with only two people aboard. If one little horse wasn’t strong enough how about two? Bonnie was able to modify our wheelchair-accessible carriage to be pulled by a pair and we set out to see if her Fjords, Stormy and Tonka, could share Sunny’s shoes.

They were certainly strong enough, but asking new driving students to manage two horses was a challenge. Not only did it take twice as long to get the horses harnessed and hitched, it was twice as hard to keep both horses on task and working in tandem. Imagine trying to get two children to walk side-by-side at the exact same pace without touching each other. Now imagine getting them to do that for half an hour while navigating circles, turns, and figure-eights. Even on their best behavior one horse was always a little slower, one horse quicker to turn.

dream horse results — DreamHorse results. Only 31 driving Percherons in the entire United States

No, using a pair was just going to be too difficult. What we needed was another Sunny, another Percheron. Like most things these days, horse shopping has gone high-tech. Gone are the days of flyers pinned to a corkboard at the grocery store, now it’s all about the internet. With this in mind, one of our first stops was DreamHorse.com. At the time this post was being written, there was a grand total of six Percherons listed for sale in California. Of those six only three had any driving training. Searching on Percherons trained to drive turned up only 31 horses in the entire United States. If we were to rule out all the unsuitable horses, how many would be left?

What characteristics and skills do we use to determine if a horse is suitable? Stay tuned for our next post that breaks down the criteria from age to training and everything inbetween!

A Game by Any Other Name

August 24, 2011 by Development Director

Though NCEFT treats patients of any age, the majority of those we see are kids. If therapy itself is like a foreign language, pediatric therapy is one of those South African dialects composed mainly of clicks and glottal stops. Not only is the patient less able to verbalize their thoughts and emotions, but often more interested in pointing out their car in the parking lot than weight bearing through their hands. It becomes a balancing act, combining the key ingredients of authority figure, playmate, and practitioner, and hoping the result is worthy of a Michelin Star. In effect, the key to a successful session rests on the ability of those involved to disguise hard work as nothing more than a simple game of basketball.

Reaching for Sebastian's mane works on acceptance of tactile stimulation and functional reach

If you’ll bear with me, I’m about to both go off on a tangent and break anonymity for a second.To many I’m the faceless voice of NCEFT, though some know my face, one often flushed and framed by flyaway hair. For those that don’t, my name is Shayna, I’m a horse handler and “Jill of All Trades” for NCEFT; I was also once a soccer coach. Here’s where the relevant story comes in: One day after practice I was approached by a parent. They expressed concerns I wasn’t running enough drills, that too much time was being spent on meaningless games. They were afraid their child, at the time only 5 years old, wasn’t cultivating the skills necessary to be a competitive player. What they didn’t realize was that a game of “Keep-a-Way” improved ball control, or that “Monkey in the Middle” was a great way of working on passing.

DSC_8658_0706 — Tossing the football to a sidewalker helps to improve hand-eye coordination and challenges postural control by occupying hands

The number of ways we use games to accomplish Physical and Occupation Therapy goals is limitless. While sitting backwards or performing a “bear stand” may appear to be simple fun, they encourage improved sensory integration, confidence, and postural control. Playing “Tug O War” with a ring or scarf is a great way to encourage acceptance of tactile input. Patients work on visual attention and problem solving while going on scavenger hunts or playing “Hide and Seek”. The simple act of getting on and off the horse involves degrees of hip extension and flexion, antigravity control, mid-range control, co-contraction around the joints, and so much more. Every minute of a session is productive, even when stopped for a break, patients are working on eye contact, sitting independently, and participating in conversations.

Think about it, how many of us would rather play a game of tennis or go kayaking than spend an hour on the treadmill? So, the next time you look at children playing, consider the ways in which they’re improving motor planning and developing appropriate social responses. Consider how strategy and flexibility factor into a game of “Sardines”, or how “Capture the Flag” promotes teamwork and cardiovascular function. Stop thinking drills and lessons, and start playing.

TUF Stormy Weather

August 18, 2011 by Development Director

It’s impossible not to anthropomorphize when it comes to horses. We can’t help but assign the emotions of joy and contentment when we watch some of our therapy horses in their sessions. Where they sometimes fidget and mouth their handlers when they attempt to touch their faces, they move not a hair as patients unsteadily reach out small hands to pet muzzles or cheeks.

: Stormy’s always happy to socialize with visitors

Stormy is as precocious a young horse as you’ll find, wise beyond his years and seemingly born to do therapy work. With most Hippo and TR horses well into their teens, at only 6 years old Stormy is far from ordinary. He belongs to our Barn Manager, Bonnie, who has generously been leasing him to NCEFT for the past year.

In 2005 Bonnie was living in Visalia, CA, running Sunny Days, a private carriage service. While searching for a pair of white horses to use for formal events, Bonnie fell in love with Fjords and began looking for a matched set of grey duns. After seeing a photo of Stormy online, at the time only a month old, she fell in love. A couple months later Stormy stepped off the trailer from Michigan, a gift from Bonnie’s father. Over the next year Stormy was more dog than horse, going for long walks with Bonnie and her kids around their neighborhood and in downtown Exeter. By age two he was being ground driven, by three he was between the shafts of a light cart, and by four he was attending schooling shows.

: Stormy and one of his Hippotherapy patients

A year later, Bonnie loaded up her three horses (by then adding a second Fjord to her small herd) and moved up to Los Gatos. Believing their strong driving background made them ideally suited to therapy work, she began looking for a facility interested in using the horses. Three months went by before Bonnie found NCEFT, and it wasn’t long before they were participating in sessions.

Stormy is now following in his Uncle Sebastian’s footsteps, well on his way to becoming an invaluable member of the NCEFT team. A regular participant in hippotherapy, vaulting, therapeutic driving, and soon therapeutic riding, Stormy is the definition of versatile. Though care is being taken to make sure our star player doesn’t get burned out, his positive attitude and laissez faire outlook lead us to believe he’ll be a happy member of the program for many years to come.

Selecting a Driving Horse (Part 1)

Selecting a Driving Horse (Part 1)

A Game by Any Other Name

TUF Stormy Weather

NCEFT: HORSES. HOPE. HEALING.

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