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It’s pure, unbridled joy!
The magic that exists between a horse and rider with
sensory or physical disabilities transcends all language and physical
barriers at the Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian Arena.
Vision grants us a sense of physical space. It dictates our posture
as we see what's before us. Denied our eyesight, we lose these
advantages.Place a blind or low vision child on a horse and suddenly,
there's a new space to master. There's movement that calls for balance;
there's a posture that must be held. Mastering this, a child gains a new
sense of confidence that makes the world a wider, more inviting place
to be.
Hippotherapy literally means therapy with the help of a horse. This
therapy is a goal of the Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian
Program at AIDB. Students who have been in wheelchairs or on walkers
since their earliest years have spent many painful hours of physical
therapy on mats. While they accept it, many of them lose motivation for
the incremental progress they make. But hippotherapy motivates the
movement of tightened or restricted muscles and limbs. One student
fought physical therapy on the mat, but would stay on a horse for hours.
The relationship between a horse and student reaches deep inside,
touching their hearts and opening communication. One autistic child, who
never stopped moving, never relaxed, immediately stretched out across
the horse's back, calmed by the horse's presence. Another child who
refuses to communicate and who avoids touching other people, will seize
the therapist by the arm and walk her to the horse, taking her hand and
petting his mount.
The Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian Program has a covered
indoor arena and a 3/4 mile Sensory Trail for students from preschool
age to middle age for both therapeutic and recreational riding year
round.
It was Marianna's dream.
Marianna Greene Henry was a giving young woman, a wife and a mother,
and a beloved daughter. Her dream was a program that combined her two
loves: Horses and helping. She founded the six-week pilot program that
introduced hippotherapy to AIDB. But before she could see her dream come
true, Marianna, at 31, was stricken with a fatal heart disease.
But her dream didn't die. Her family caught her enthusiasm and
dedicated themselves to growing her dream into a reality that impacts
the lives of hundreds of AIDB students each year. Her parents,
Now with 10 acres of land donated by Marilyn and Pat Greene, time
and other resources and were joined by many volunteers and donors to
establish the Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian Program where
special children can pursue dreams of their own. The program is
accredited by the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.
Click here to read more or volunteer at the Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrian Program.
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