Triple Creek
Therapy Riding and Rescue

Horse Therapy Helps Those With Disabilities

Redding Record Searchlight 2014*

by Alayna Shulman

The story of Austin Bassett's first words is a particularly memorable one.
Austin, who has autism, was looking at horses with his mother, Dianne, when she showed him how to brush the horse's neck. That's what inspired Austin to talk for the first time at 6 years old.
"Austin said, 'No, Mommy, that's not his neck, that's his hair.' He had never spoken before - ever," said Dianne Bassett of Anderson.

Austin and nine or so other people with disabilities or emotional issues are among the current clients at Triple Creek Ranch Inc. Therapeutic Riding & Youth Programs, which uses horses both to help them strengthen muscles and find comfort in life.

"Putting horses in kids' lives is so important," said Eileen Reese, director of the program. "It's an experiential program, where people get to experience the horse; it's not just get on the horse and ride."
Reese and her volunteers for the nonprofit meet with clients just about every day. 

 

Horseback riding not only helps the kids with physical disabilities strengthen their muscles, Reese said, but the creatures' unique nature brings many of them to connect with another being, sometimes for the first time.  That was the case for Jamie Miles, a Shasta Lake 26-year-old with Rett syndrome, similar to autism.
While she loved horses just about all her life, she was terrified the first time Jamie met one in person, recalled mom Janet Miles. "But she worked through it," Miles said. "She actually overcame it, and she loves it now. She's just as comfortable on a horse as a kid would be on a bicycle now."

Jamie's syndrome keeps her mentally isolated much of the time, Miles said, but that changes when she comes to the ranch."She seems to be kind of in her own little world at times, but when she comes out here, we can see her smiling at the other people and looking around," Miles said on a recent cloudy afternoon at the ranch.

For Austin, the horses have such a calming effect and he is somehow able to process language better while riding than any other time, Bassett said. "It just calms him," she said. "The world just makes sense when he's on a horse."

Indeed, horses are known to benefit children with autism, said Sarah Newton-Cromwell, an instructor with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International and a master's student in the Horse Science program at Middle Tennessee State University. "The movement of the horse provides a symmetric and repetitive motion that can stimulate the brain," she said. "For children with autism, riding the horse provides a sensory stimulation they need. ... Using major muscles can help students with autism come into their body' and enable them to then focus on other learning tasks."

Apart from the positive mental impacts, Austin also benefits from an especially strong bond with Cali, Bassett said. "She will follow him with her muzzle right on his shoulder, and she'll swish her tail and all the horses will stay back," she said. "Cali just understands. She just is a neat girl."

Others use the horses to strengthen the muscles their disabilities render weak, including 8-year-old Regan Engelhardt, who has a severe form of epilepsy. Regan's epilepsy causes seizures - sometimes up to 40 a day - that weaken her core, so the volunteers at Triple Creek help her do specialized exercises on horseback to build muscle. "We've seen it strengthen her core so much," said her mother, Suzie Engelhardt, of Redding.
On a recent afternoon at the ranch, Regan, dressed in her favorite outfit, a pink tutu over jeans tucked into Spiderman rain boots gradually lifted her arms as volunteers flanked the horse on all sides for support. "She couldn't do any of that when we first started, "Engelhardt said, noticeably amazed.
But Regan, too, has seen emotional benefits from the horses, especially her favorite, Joe.
"As soon as I tell her, 'horses' she just runs to the car," Engelhardt said. "She definitely has a connection with the horses."

Some kids don't have physical or mental disabilities but just need a fun place to relax every week because of the stress in their lives. Kylee Sloan, 11, will tell you she doesn't have a disability you can see, but she still needs horse therapy since her father died a few years ago. "We just think it helps reduce the stress and tension in our lives," said her mother, Sadie Sloan, of Redding. "This helps me relax. They're beautiful, peaceful creatures."

Horse therapy is particularly effective for people in emotional pain because it takes them out of their head for a while, Newton-Cromwell said. "Working with horses requires a person to just be in the moment, and so for people with emotional problems, that is a huge lesson to learn," she said.
Carla Bell started the program in 2003, but Reese took up the reins in 2009.
Technically each one-hour session costs $30, but Reese said most of the clients are on scholarships.

*This article was written in 2014 so things have changed.  Come visit us to get a tour and see what we're doing today!