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Health, hope and horses

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Facilitator Ashling Carolan with clients  Chantelle Daly and Ruth  Cunningham and horse Lightning during a session at the Therapeutic Riding Centre in Spancilhill. Photograph by John KellyTHE light clatter of hooves on the Carolan family farm in Muckinish, Spancilhill are audible every Saturday morning.
The sound is accompanied by the uplifting sight of special needs children trotting around the farmyard aboard Lightning, supervised by Ashling Carolan, who is one of Ireland’s first therapeutic riding coaches. A social care graduate, who works in Tipperary during the week, Ashling has been getting up early on Saturday mornings in recent months.
“I work with people with special needs on a day programme in Tipperary. I used to take the lads horse riding at work and I really liked it. I thought it really benefited them so I went off and did a course in therapeutic riding coaching. There are a lot of general riding schools around but I don’t know of any doing therapeutic riding classes at present,” Ashling told The Clare Champion.
“I know the things that need to be worked on and the areas that I can help with. We work a lot on posture, balance, building up muscle tone, building self confidence and motor planning,” she added.
Ashling recently graduated from Ireland’s first therapeutic riding coach training programme in Festina Lente, Bray.
Her weekly therapeutic riding sessions are based in a farm environment and, as a result, are close to nature.
The sessions include a range of physical exercises to help improve co-ordination. A variety of games and learning aids are used as part of the sessions, which help stimulate the physical, cognitive and emotional development of the rider. A therapeutic riding roller is used in the sessions, instead of a saddle, to allow for close contact with the horse’s movement and warmth.
“Research shows that nature can have a positive contribution to health and help alleviate pre-existing stresses and problems. Being close to nature can help us think and concentrate more clearly, which in itself offers a quality environment for therapeutic horse riding,” Ashling explained.
The farm has its own sensory trail which consists of woodland (trees, shrubs, flowers), various surfaces including grass, pebbles and rubber, slopes, hills, turns, sounds and man-made stations.
“This encourages learning through touch, sound and sight. This environment challenges the student’s balance, stimulates their senses and encourages the rider to interact with the world around them.
“When you’re using the brain and the sensory things, the brain is learning all the time. The child is communicating with you and communicating with the horse, which can be a big help for children with autism,” Ashling noted.
Therapeutic riding is considered to be a progressive form of therapy, as it has positive effects on the neurological and muscular functioning, as well as the sensory processing of the rider, which can greatly improve the skills needed for daily living activities.
“Some people with disabilities tend to be floppy so it builds up their core muscles. That opens up the airways and helps respiration. The movement of the horse helps relax people and mimics the walking motion of the person. It can help a person with a walking disability. It can help them to relearn how to walk. When you’re on a horse your pelvic muscles move forward, backwards and sideways, so you’re actually getting almost physiotherapy without getting physiotherapy,” Ashling revealed.
She has noticed how some special needs children, who find it difficult to communicate, build up a bond with Lightning, who is very tame and placid.
“A big thing is the trust in the horse. I would have children who wouldn’t care whether I was there or not but once the horse was there, they are happy out. It’s amazing to see it in action. If you look at a course over 10 weeks, the changes that happen are amazing, even speech-wise. One girl has come on an awful lot in her speech and in interacting with me. Her eye contact is also getting better. One of the main focuses is to have fun. It’s therapeutic, it’s educational and you’re out and about,” Ashling said.
Herself and Lightning go back a while. “I used to show-jump Lightning when I was in school. She’s had four foals. I am very lucky. She can read the clients very, very well and she’s sensitive to everybody. She tends to calm everybody down as well.”
She garners as much enjoyment from the Saturday sessions as the special needs children or, indeed, their parents do.
“I truly, absolutely love it. I get so much out of it when you see someone progressing so much. I’ve had horses since I was seven or eight and I wanted to marry the two together. I don’t see it as a job. I just love doing it,” Ashling smiled.
In the coming months Ashling is hoping to utilise a buggy, pulled by Lightning. This will mean that children unable to sit on the horse will still be able to benefit from a therapeutic session.
“Some people in wheelchairs will ride horses but for others, it may not be for them. It’s going to be therapeutic carriage driving. They’re going to do exactly the same things only on the carriage,” Ashling said.
For more information on therapeutic riding lessons in Spanchilhill, email ashling_carolan@hotmail.com or call 087 7596093.

 

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