Riding Daisy (Day 1 at the NC Therapeutic Riding Center)

The much-anticipated (by me, anyway) day of Henry's evaluation at NC Therapeutic Riding Center finally arrived!

Last fall I drove Henry to the center just to introduce him to the place and show him the horses. He smiled as he gently petted Daisy the pony and then hopped backwards, a little skittish. I asked him if he would like to ride her someday: "No." I didn't push him on that, but allowed him to walk around and take it all in. He really enjoyed our time there, learning all the horses' names, seeing their pastures and stalls, and sitting on a practice wooden horse named Trot.

Over the next few months I casually mentioned Daisy once in awhile. It would go something like this.

"Remember when we saw the horses? Would you like to back there?"

"Yes! And we saw the kittens too."

The hardest part of planning therapeutic riding was the scheduling. Between therapy and ninjutsu, I wasn't sure how to make it work. I finally decided we would just figure it out, and then Brooke (OT) mentioned last week that maybe Henry could take a break from his social skills group in the spring. Perfect.

So, yesterday was the day for his evaluation. I simply told Henry we were going to see Daisy, and we both looked forward to it for days.

Step one: Brushing.

"Ms. Margie, I saw Daisy in September. Is she still 23?" (She's 24 now.)

"Ms. Margie, where are the kittens?"

Step two: Putting on her pad and saddle.

Step three: Leading.

Step four: Riding!

Not very happy about walking to the steps to get on Daisy.

"NO! Shutupshutupshutupshutup!" (His go-to fear language.)

After one lap, cool as a cucumber. He walked, trotted, threw a basketball in a hoop, learned how to hold the reins, and learned to say "walk" and "whoa." Mama quietly watched, tears in her eyes, trying not to shout in excitement. I was told, "No pictures, Mom," but I did manage to slyly capture a few videos.

Rewarding Daisy with peppermints.

What an amazing day for Henry! One might say it's no big deal, that life doesn't require riding horses, and that is true. Henry doesn't need to ride a horse for either therapy or enjoyment, but that argument misses the point entirely. Henry needs confidence. He needs to know he can overcome fears. He needs to learn flexibility. He needs room to improve in his sensory integration. Most importantly (to me), he needs to know that strange situations can become enjoyable opportunities. If we can continue successfully with riding Daisy, and eventually a horse, the NCTRC will be a magical place for all those goals to be realized. We're grateful to our friends Hugh and Lianne for first telling us about this place and grateful to the many supporters who make the fee much less than any other therapy we've seen!

(For more information: http://www.nctrcriders.org.)