Howdy Folks,
Last weekend I
had the honor and pleasure of conducting a 2 day Horse Therapy Event at Verde
View Equestrian Center (VVEC) in
Harpursville NY. Saturday was for the therapy horses, instuctors and
volunteers; Sunday was open to neighbors and friends as a fund raiser. While
the Therapy For Therapy horses clinic is tailored to hard working Therapy
Horses, these release and relax exercises are wonderful for all horses.
 |
| The Healing Place at Verde View |
VVEC is a lovely
farm nestled in the mountains of south central NY offering equine assisted
therapy to children with a wide variety of health situations. The barn is
beautiful, safe and inviting. With 2 PATH certified instructors, a host of hard
working volunteers, wise and careful horses, the atmosphere at the farm is one
of healing, understanding and love. Whether you're in the indoor arena where
the horses do their magic, or the spacious gathering room where families can
watch through a wall of windows, or strolling the lovely grounds surrounding
the barn, the feeling of welcome, peace and healing embrace you.
The feeling of
well being at VVEC extends to, and embraces, the therapy horses, too. Lifelong
horse women, Lori Piccrilli and her daughter Marissa always have the horses'
best interest in mind and do provide the best of care, in every way.
Understanding
that therapy horses have jobs which are demanding both physically and mentally,
Lori and Marissa go to great lengths to ensure the horses' good health,
happiness and contentment. Off duty the horses have room to roam, and relax.
Included in the care giving horses' routine are regularly scheduled trail
rides; a few volunteers sole responsibility is to ride the therapy horses
though the beautiful mountains ... This is one thing I strongly recommend at my
Therapy Horse clinics. And it is important to note, riding in the ring is not a
form of relaxation for the Therapy Horses. Neither is standing in a stall.
Even
understanding and implementing all the best of horse care practices, Lori was
not quite satisfied with everything about her Therapy Horses. She noticed they
sometimes seemed less eager to do their jobs. Little things like not standing
still, or walking hesitantly or with short choppy strides, or offering a nip
during therapy sessions told her all was not as it should be. Being an astute
therapist, Lori knew these were signs of discomfort or pain and she began to
search for solutions. So when she heard about my "Therapy For Therapy
Horse" clinics she immediately contacted me. My clinics are designed to
teach instructors and volunteers easy to do and learn exercises that release and
relax the horse's body, promote proper body carriage and even clear their mind.
We gathered in
the barn Saturday morning, the Therapy Horses, Lori, Marissa, volunteers, and a
very friendly cat. We start without the horses. Well, without real horses,
anyway. So that the volunteers and participants might fully appreciate the
needs and benefits of the Therapy Horse exercises, we start first by role
playing. We divide the group in pairs, and one person is the horse, the other
the person, or rider. We do a few little exercises so each person can see, and
feel, the world through the horse's perspective. When participants take turns
riding each other, and the rider makes moves most riders will do, the gasps
from the "Human Horse" are telling, as most people are shocked to
learn what a horse feels, especially a Therapy Horse.
 |
| Instructors, volunteers, and Healing Horses gathered together as we start our exercises. |
After I'd tired
out the "human horses" we invited the real therapy horses to join us,
and everyone did a terrific job learning a series of about a dozen easy
exercises. What a fine time we had, eager questions, some laughs and stories,
great efforts to learn how to do the exercises and wonderfully noticeable
differences in the horses. Lori and Marissa commented how they noticed the new
posture and strides of the horses. Lori even commented that she was surprised
to learn all the horses were sore and needed this so much, because most of the
horses had seemed just fine. "There is not a single horse who is not
moving better and happier tonight," Lori said. She also told the group she
could see how it not only benefited the horses of course, but also the quality
of therapy the children would receive.
Sunday we had a
brand new group of participants, friends and neighbors who wanted to learn the
exercises for their trail horses. We had just as much fun, lots of great
learning, too. Also included in the Sunday group were 2 of therapy horses who
had been through the clinic on Saturday. Lori and Marissa were working with
them ... Important to share with you here, is that these two horses have
significant old injury issues, and could never stand still, and always nipped
the leader. Sunday morning, after just Saturday's clinic, they both stood
quietly, ground tied, and never once tried to nip.
 |
| Moxie, who could not stand still Saturday was so relaxed on Sunday we thought he fell asleep. |
Lori and her
husband Ray took such great care of me all weekend, showing me the sights of
the mountain, town and a great restaurant! Their boys, Jonathan and Ryan are
simply a delight to be with. And of course I whooped up on Ray in chess!
 |
| I was explaining something ... |
Thank you Lori
and everyone at Verde View for caring this much about your horses! What a
wonderful weekend and I can't wait to go back!
Gitty Up ~ Dutch
Henry
