My first experience with Equine Special Needs Therapy Riding

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I went to a special needs Equine therapy riding class today. I basically observed. This was one of the booths I had signed up for at the Autism Expo. It is a really great program if you are LFA. They gave me an application to be a volunteer leader and when I got to the part of the application that said do you have any medical conditions that could interfere with this position I wrote yes and put Undiagnosed Asperger's and Misophonia. I also wrote that I had originally thought that I could be a rider but since they wanted me to volunteer to help I would be glad to do it. As soon as they realized that I was HFA, they gave me a rider form to fill out as well if I wanted to ride. So that was cool.

But the most interesting thing happened. When the lady I had met at the expo introduced me to all of the volunteers as a volunteer, most of them were in their forties or fifties, they all spoke to me like a normal equal as if they were speaking to a regular adult person. Then once I said I had Aperger's and that I had thought that I might like to ride sometimes, the lady that I met at the booth took the person leading the exercises aside, I had already met her, and whispered to her so that she thought I could not hear that I had Asperger's. All of a sudden the lady leading the exercises turned to me and started talking to me again but this time rather than talk to me as a peer in the normal voice she had spoken to me before, she began addressing me in a tone of voice and manner of speaking as if I were a two year old. I just looked at her as if she was an idiot. It must have shocked her when she heard me talking to one of the parents about his son's brain surgery and I was talking to the parent in the most eloquent and educated way as if I knew a thing or two about how brains work. She must have been shocked out of her mind. I think the minute she heard I was Aspergian she must have thought that I had become a ret*d imbecile at that very moment.

Then later on I was talking to another parent of an LFA young man and I told her that I had Asperger's. The first thing she said then was, "Wow, you must be really high functioning." Why do NT"s feel the need to say that? Do they think that we don't know where we stand on the Spectrum? Does she think that if she had not told me I would have spent the rest of my life wondering? I wonder how she would feel if she told someone her son was on the Spectrum and the person's first response was, "Wow, he must be really low functioning!" It's a Spectrum people. Don't be so shocked that there are people on both ends.

Other than that I thought that program was great. The horses themselves are wonderful. Most of them are retired police mounts. I actually worked out a situation to work at the actual farm caring for the horses rather than doing the therapy with the students. This way I can spend time working only with the horses and that will be very therapeutic for me. I already ride pretty well and I hope to be able to learn to train the horses for therapy as well. I think that this will actually do a lot to meet my equine therapy needs.

I am happy to volunteer to help with the LFA students. They told me that I could ride with the adult group as well but I don't know that I would be comfortable doing that. The way it is done since the students are LFA is that one volunteer leads the horse by a lead and walks him around the arena and through the obstacles and there are three other helpers, one walking along the right side of the head and one on each flank. They are there to help the rider and to keep the rider feeling safe and secure on the horse. The riders then do stretches with their arms and this is great to teach them basic balance and build core muscle strength as well as building their confidence and self esteem. It is a really fantastic program and you can see how happy the students are to be there and the horses are very content also. They also have chariots that the horses pull for adult students who can't ride and the adults learn to have the horse lead the chariot. They also have formation riding for adults and a drill team which I did not get to see.

They told me that I could be a rider as long as my doctor signs a release form that I am fit enough to ride. I am certainly fit enough to ride but I don't know if he will be willing to sign it just to get back at me because I had a fit when he was so unhelpful with the diagnosis issue yesterday. If he does not sign it I can't get on a horse but either way I don't care. I have a horse that I can ride and train on anytime I want so I don't need to ride a therapy horse. I would be very happy to help out with the students and work at the farm. And I have been riding for a while and am fairly proficient so I don't think I could ride a horse with four people walking with him. I think that would make me very nervous. I have ridden plenty of times where the horse has taken a mis step or spooked and even though these horses are being led in a slow walk by a lead line, I don't think I could be on one with all those people so close. So I figured I would just enjoy helping and when I want to ride I can ride on my own at the other barn where my buddy boards her horse. But it is a great program and I am very glad to be able to be associated with it.

Horses are great therapy for anybody, and great entertainment as well.

That's one of the events you want to pursue at the Special Olympics, I believe.

I have a phobia of riding a horse, though.

This stems from the fact that I fell off a horse--twice--when I was 8 years old and going to a camp near Montrose, PA. The first time I fell, I told the counselor I didn't want to get back on because I felt hurt. He said, in essence, stop being a baby and get up on that horse--and I was forced back on that horse. Immediately, I fell again. I don't know when I broke my elbow--but I did. Owing to my not doing the exercises properly, I have a slightly-deformed left elbow to this day--only noticeable if I bring attention to it.

I rode a couple of times after that--but I never liked it, never looked forward to it. To this day, there remains a bit of a fear.

However, my parents gave me a book about horses, which taught me about horse shows and horse breeds; I read that book in camp until I was at least 11; I was 8 when I first received. it. They were visiting me after seeing "The Graduate," which was a hush-hush adult-type movie at the time: 1968.

That is really sad Kraftie. Horses can be so wonderful and gentle and it's a shame that you were treated that way. Maybe one day you will be able to eventually get over your fear. It would be great if you could.

I don't know if Special Olympics is going to work out for me. I might just do my sports as I always have. The cool thing about skiing and even the horse I ride, is that I can do them completely alone if I want to. I realized last night that the part that might scare me the worst and be detrimental for me is not the actual sport or program at all but the other people involved, namely parents of other special needs people and the other workers who would have no idea what to do with an HFA athlete or student. They might even cause me to have a meltdown or react badly just by stupid things they might say to me. One of the parents last night who was talking to me kept suggesting that I could work and kept suggesting jobs that I could do. They had been talking about how they had trusts and all kinds of situations set to care for their kids for the rest of their lives in case something happened to them and I mentioned that as someone who was trying to get a diagnosis at my age if something happened to my support system I would have to just figure out how to live and survive with no help. She even suggested that I could work directing and living in a group home of other disabled people. I have not held a job in 26 years and that is not by choice. If I could have worked steadily during that time I would have. I would be so stressed out if I had to care for a home of disabled people I would probably lose my mind. It takes a lot to be able to do that and I know that I would not be able to. One of the requirements for that sort of thing is that you have to be able to be with the people almost all the time. I had to explain to her that it took me six weeks to recover from a three day church meeting and how when someone came over to my house and slightly disturbed one of my little routines I had a severe meltdown. I don't think I would be the one they would want responsible for a household of lower functioning people. I would have to figure out how to pay my bills and manage but having some parent tell me how hard things are for her kid and then "suggest" I can do this or that for ten minutes because I look more NT than he does is not the way to help me figure out what my options might be if I ever lost my support system.

It seemed impossible for her to understand that my issues are not that much different from her son's because I just look too normal to her. Just because I am verbal and don't have muscle movement issues does not mean that I don't struggle with the sensory overloads and with being around people all the time and all the other stuff I struggle with. It would be really hard for me to direct a live in group home if I could not be around the people all the time. But she kept saying, why don't you do this or why don't you try that? I was boiling up so much inside it as all I could do to hold myself in and not explode and make a scene. Does she think that at my age, in my 40's, I have never tried working? I have had more jobs than I can even remember and not managed to keep a single one of them for more than a year or two. Does she think I can magically just hold a job, or the two or three I would need since I might only be able to make minimum wage, not having worked steadily for so long, now because I look more NT than her son? I think that I will just stick to working on the farm and just ski and ride on my own like I always have. That way I don't have to interact with these people if I don't want to. And if they want me to lead the horses around or help walk next to them while the students are on them I will be glad to do that since I would be in the arena and away from the parents.

And the craziest thing is that I was the only one there who was having issues. Just after there I got there the church next door started its service and they were playing bass music so loud that I could not tolerate it. I even had to leave and then come back later when they were done because I was going to have a meltdown. Then I started stimming and shaking and losing my speech a little bit and then I started perseverating a little bit when I was filling out the forms. Then I started getting really uneasy when that parent was talking to me and I did not really know how to get out of that situation. All the LFA students were great. No one was stimming they were all smiling and having a great time while I, the only HFA, was freaking out. Yet because I look like an NT they just assumed that I did not need any help.

But the program itself is phenomenal and I saw what a huge difference it makes for the LFA students. I would be very proud to be a part of it and to be a part of helping them even if it was from behind the scenes. Taking care of the horses at the farm would be helping the LFA students indirectly and enriching their lives by caring for the horses who serve them. And that would be great for me. It would provide a more direct Equine therapy for me because I would be engaging with the horses rather than with the people.

Last edited by skibum on 12 Apr 2014, 8:43 am, edited 2 times in total.

It seems you're in a fine situation now. It's an NT-type instinct to want people to work. Forget about those parents. Just continue to do what you've been doing. Those closest to you have no objections to your life. Why spoil the harmony?

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 12 Apr 2014, 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hello Skibum, this sounds like a good place for you. I'm sorry you were talked down to.

From personal experience I know that many people who chose to work as carers do it because they want to help and are relatively tolerant of sensory extremes. It does not mean that they are very skilled at trying to put themselves into someone else's position, learning from them or adapting their own behaviour either.

With someone like the insistent lady you met, I think it is fine to make an excuse and leave to do something more useful. Unfortunately she can not grasp how ridiculous her idea is and she is "just trying to help".

You can demonstrate how capable and able you are interacting with the young riders. Through this you can help these people to better understand their own children, and will bring them on further than someone who can not see the world through their eyes.

There is no reason not to get the benefit of riding as a trade off for volunteering your time. Maybe just give a little bit of time before approaching the doctor and allow the memory of the stressful interaction to be reduced.

Last edited by neilson_wheels on 12 Apr 2014, 9:02 am, edited 2 times in total.

I've been on special needs kids horse riding. Very bumpy.

You need to learn the up and down riding technique, sorry don't know the correct name. It means you are moving with the horse not just sitting on top.

Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate your responses very much. I will definitely stick with this and make the very best of it. It is great to be able to help other people on the Spectrum.

That is so awesome! How wonderful for you! How wonderful for the kids! How wonderful for the horses [ I am not envious. I am not envious. I,am not envious]And, as frustrating as the parents can be,you are working as an ambassador, teaching them who you are,who we are, teaching them acceptance and understanding. [ try to be patient and understand that NTs' can be very slow in learning]

I am so happy for you!