Chapter 6, Our Equine Angels

And God took a handful of southerly wind,

blew his breath over it and created the horse.

Bedouin Legend

Hippocrates was the first to describe the benefits of the horse for rehabilitation purposes, calling horseback riding a universal exercise. In the time following Hippocrates, medical professionals in Germany, Italy, Austria, and England, and eventually the United States, used horses in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities of many different types..

Many children with disabilities have spent a lot of time hospitalized, sometimes tethered to machines.Many of them come to dislike their therapist, at least in a traditional setting.“Put kids on a horse, though, and they light up,” says Ellen In, a physical therapist at EquiTherapy.

Since my brother began riding a few years ago, he has better motor control, vocalizes more often, and always has a huge grin when he gets on the back of a horse. He now participates in the equestrian events for the Special Olympics, and each week you can see his smile when the riding helmet comes out, and the car ride to the horses begins.

Time spent in the saddle is never wasted

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