Help us to help others

The Evergreen Riding Center is very pleased to support the Shining Horizons group – with therapeutic riding.  Therapeutic Riding is a form of therapy using horses to help persons with disabilities, the disabilities range from physical through learning and even emotional disabilities.

Many riders experience a connection to the horse that few sports can create. For those riders who cannot walk, the horse is their feet, their vehicle of transport. Not only does this help raise their self-esteem but it also teaches them essential skills. It improves balance, creates trust and creates a friendship between rider and horse.

Volunteers

Therapeutic Riding  could not be possible without volunteers. The volunteer is one of the most -- if not the most -- important component in the riding program. Volunteers act as horse leaders, or as sidewalkers, assisting the riders with balance. The volunteers also help the students with the grooming and tacking of the horses.

For more information, and if you are able to volunteer or help with fundraising please contact the Evergreen Riding Center  or  Karen Kincaide at (506) 696-1935, email kisraelk@nb.sympatico.ca 

Therapeutic Benefits of Riding

Muscular Improvement
Riding is particularly beneficial for wheelchair students who have no natural means of locomotion. The action of the horse relaxes and stimulates unused muscles, building muscle tone and improving coordination and balance.

Boosts Self Image
Riding gives a tremendous boost to self-image especially for those with learning disabilities which involve visual perception difficulties. "Wow, I can do it!" -- a tremendous feeling that they can do something as well if not better than anyone else! For many, this is the first time in their lives that they've felt this way.

Provides Love and Reassurance
For the emotionally disturbed, the fuzzy, friendly quality of horses serves a marvelous purpose. The approach, the petting, the grooming -- all on a horse who stands immobile -- the mounting and walking in absolute safety, surrounded by people who are also warm and friendly, are all so reassuring.

Offers Incentives for Learning
Mentally retarded and Down Syndrome students are able to learn to mount, walk, trot, canter, do all the exercises, dismount, "run up the irons," and put the horse away. For many, riding becomes the most important part of their lives, and their interest in horses provides new incentives for learning. Their vocabulary increases and they develop a desire to read about horses.