Horsing Around: Local Riding Center Boosts Children’s Health

    Saddle on up and head to Xenophon Therapeutic Riding Center, a place that provides equine-assisted activities to 60 disabled children every week.
    The non-profit opened in 1993 and relocated to Orinda in 1996. The center benefits those with a wide range of disabilities, including individuals with muscular dystrophy, Down syndrome, autism, visual impairments and cerebral palsy.
    While Xenophon offers many different services, its main focus is therapeutic riding with Haflingers, quarter horses and Arabians.
    The physical component of this therapy comes from the horse’s natural gait, which provides a three-dimensional movement for the rider’s hips, simulating walking. Therefore, when a child who uses a wheelchair is placed on a horse, they experience the neurological pathways of walking without bearing weight.
    This is extremely beneficial for individuals with spinal injuries, as they can emulate the hip motion from riding, allowing them to slowly begin to walk while bearing weight. Without a backrest, riders have to engage their core to stay upright and use their arms to handle the horse’s reins. This strengthens the riders’ muscles to help them perform daily skills.
    In addition to physical benefits, therapeutic riding provides a social benefit. Horses are non-judgmental partners that provide people with a sense of peace. For children with autism, a horse’s calm nature does not create stimulus. They are willing to develop relationships with the horses that can bridge over to human connections.
    For children with speech impediments, the need to speak clearly to command the horse helps them practice being understood. Riding also helps with focus, as one can’t get distracted while on the back of a 1,000-pound, gentle giant.
    Although the effects are different for every child, there is one shared benefit from the therapy – confidence. Growing up, many children gain confidence through sports. The participants of Xenophon gain confidence through riding.
    When riding instructor, Jen Wineman, starts with a new student, she evaluates their needs, collaborates with the participant and their family to establish goals and ensures the participant is comfortable. She wants the rider to feel challenged and successful simultaneously.
    Participants truly enjoy their time at Xenophon. They develop a bond with their horses and therapists through interactive game play – a far cry from a visit to a doctor’s office or hospital room.
    Sarah Berman’s daughter Zoé has myotonic dystrophy and has been riding at Xenophon for 13 years.
    “She feels confident on the horse,” said Berman. “Zoé feels comfortable and she loves her therapist … for her self-esteem, it’s been great.”
    As Executive Director Mari Parino describes, “They don’t even realize they’re doing therapy … they’re out there having fun.”
    At 18, students age out of the therapeutic riding program. However, graduates are welcomed back to Camp Alumni to strengthen their riding skills and reunite with their equine friends.
    Xenophon also provides “Operation Hooves on the Ground” to Veterans living with PTSD or traumatic brain injury, with eight to 12 participants per week. This program is geared toward learning horse-handling and training skills and involves mostly groundwork.
    The center also offers Connected Horse, a program for people with dementia that invites caregivers and care receivers to interact with the horses, cultivating a space where individuals can live and enjoy the present moment.
    Visit Xenophon, located at 60 Don Gabriel Way, or at Xenophontrc.org or call 925.377.0871.