Heavenly Hoofs (final article)

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Many children are involved in sports. It’s estimated that 65 percent of children play sports in America (http://WikiAnswer.com). The ones neglected are those with disabilities.

Heavenly Hoofs is changing that statistic. They are a therapeutic horseback riding center, started in 2002, and located at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee. Their mission is to provide equine assisted activities to enhance the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of individuals with life threatening illnesses, disabilities, and at risk youths.

“Animals can be a bridge between a kid’s world and our world,” said Shelly Williams, 40, an instructor at Heavenly Hoofs for five years.

The gate of a horse is similar to the gate of a human. This helps kids with disabilities to gain balance, focus, coordination, flexibility, and muscular strength.

“A kid came to us with leg braces and after two years here, he now runs and plays with no braces,” said Williams.

After an eight to 10 week session, Meredith Syed from Orlando saw a dramatic change in her son, Adam, nine years old who has Down syndrome.

He has become gentler with the horses and other animals, follows directions, and has a new vocabulary to use.

At age three, Adam was “afraid to sit on a swing and now he’s sitting on a horse backwards,” said Syed.

Another parent who saw a great chance in their child was Thomas Bufkin from Saint Cloud. His daughter Grace, 11 years old has Autism. She used to shake her hands constantly, but since riding she learned to use her hands to grip, showing motor skills.

“Programs like this really help,” said Bufkin. “Instead of banging her head on a wall, she’s learning motor skills and how to use her body.”

Volunteers warm up the horses before letting the children ride. The children then help groom and saddle up the horses.

Each horse has a 90 day trial period for the instructors to see if the horse can handle the special needs of the children. Usually the best horses have mellow attitudes, are not scared of loud noises or fast objects, older, and/or ex-show horses.

While riding each child has two to three volunteers at their side walking with them offering support and encouragement.

The children learn how to make the horse walk, trot, stop, and back up. At the end of each lesson they play games such as Red Light-Green Light, basketball, and Simon Says.

To volunteer or have your child ride at Heavenly Hoofs, contact Amy Glester or Megan Edge at (407) 933-RIDE or at http://volunteer@heavenlyhoofs.com.