# Kids who just make ya smile :)



## SouthernTrails (Dec 19, 2008)

.

Very Nice 

.


----------



## aliliz (Dec 24, 2012)

Ooh, I love this idea! I have one little boy I've been working with for about 5 years. I'm very close to him and his family... they even came to my high school graduation! This is one of the cutest kids I've ever met. He loves to make new friends and goes out of his way to ask how the other kids, volunteers and instructors are. For example, today, he ran out and greeted one of the other kids with a hug. He's also incredibly smart and even though he's young, you can talk to him like a much older child. I get a hug from him at the beginning and end of his session every week 

There's another kid who always makes me smile. I don't know him too well, but I worked with him a few times over the summer. I led for him 2 or 3 times and sidewalked for him a couple of times. Apparently, he remembered my name. I was back at college, but there was a new volunteer who had the same type of car as me. Whenever this little boy saw her car, he would ask his therapist where I was. He would look around the barn, calling my name. I saw him again over winter break and he spent the whole session trying to hold my hand and had trouble focusing on directions until I told him to pay attention.

And then there are those kids that are so ridiculously adorable that you want to steal them  We have a lot of those!


----------



## HorseCrazyTeen (Jul 29, 2012)

Awww. Great idea!

One little 4 year old girl is the sweetest, CUTEST thing you'll ever wish to meet. One time the hippotherapy instructor had her riding backwards with a bareback pad while we were going down "the trail". I was behind her leading another pony, and we all saw her lie down on her belly and put her head in her hands, with her elbows on the pony's rear. She let her head bob as the pony walked and just smiled. SO _SO _adorable. I just wanted to kiss her face off! She is definitely one of those students that anyone would just want to take home with them 

Another girl--around six, is always cracking me up. One time I was showing her how to groom, and she was doing real well and using all the different brushes and everything. We were doing it in a stall during a storm and there was a pile of horse doo. She was so, so incredibly careful not to step in that pile of poop--it was just hilarious. Anyway, I had the grooming bucket out and she picked out the hoof pick and started brushing her pony with it. She was just holding it by the handle and brushing with the pick part. Ha ha. I had to hand her two other brushes before I could take it back, too. LOL

This same girl rides a pony names Bubbles. Her sister's pony is called JJ, and for some reason she's plum crazy about her sisters horse. She calls her horse "BubblesJJ" and will only ride Bubbles if you call it BubblesJJ-- NOT Bubbles. So if you ask her "Do you want to ride Bubbles?" then she will not ride. But if you say, "Do you want to ride BubblesJJ?" then she will ride. Doesn't matter if it's the same horse, just so ya have the "right" name! Hahaha. It's like when I was little, my mom had to call all meat "fish" or I would not eat it.


----------



## nikyplushbreyer (Dec 4, 2012)

i have never done therapeutic riding before bbut i would love to i have heard so many good stories about it


----------



## Almond Joy (Dec 4, 2011)

There is a little girl who rides at our therapeutic riding session day, she does the cutest thing! We have an overhead radio system and she says every song is her favorite and then proceeds to sing to some of the lyrics! She also rides a little shetland pony and loves to ride backwards and pat all the dust/dirt out of his "dirty butt." She is so cute! She giggles all the time when she trots around and since no helmets fit her, she wears a hat with big ears that makes her look like a kitten, and she loves it!

I absolutely love ALL of the kids who ride at therapeutic riding and I have so much fun volunteering! I don't think I could ever be an instructor though, I'm not THAT patient, however it is still fun!


----------



## faiza425 (Dec 21, 2012)

There's a girl who comes to ride at my barn who is obsessed with three things: sneezes, national anthems, and Dewey the Library Cat. Every time she comes, she'll ask me how I sneeze, how my friends sneeze, and how my parents sneeze. She'll laugh histerically when I tell her. Then she'll ask the sidewalkers and then tell us how she, her Japanese friend, and her cats sneeze. 
After that, she'll sing the American, Canadian, and Japanese National Anthems. Then, she'll ask me all about Dewey the Library Cat - what color he is, how he got to live in the library, and about her cat that she named after him.
Finally, when the lesson is over, she will ask me to pet her. Yes, actually pet her head (apparently in Japan all of the Japanese girls like to be petted), and she'll say in Japanese, "I like that!"
And it's so funny because every time she comes, she'll do the same thing in that order!


----------



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Way to many incidents!

We had one girl a quadruple paraplegic, then aged about 6. She had some control over her neck and that was it. No speech but eyes to die for.

We started her in a chair saddle which was not very successful in that it only had a short back and short of tying her in there was no way to stop her flopping forward or to far back. Raising the back stopped her falling back but not forward so, I decided that the only way to help her was to have her ride with me (bareback) so I could support her with my body from falling back and with a hand from falling forward,
The mare I used was a Welsh Cob, had done a lot of driving and was very voice obedient. 

I rarely ever rode with this child, in the arena but we would go out and about. She loved trotting and cantering, but her favourite was for us to ride down to the stream and wade to where the water was slightly deeper and let the mare paw and splash soaking us both. He laughter was infectious and soon we would both be crying where we were laughing so hard.

Another boy about 10 years was blind. He lost his sight after a brain haemorrhage. I would take him out of the arena too. 
We had been for a long ride one afternoon and were walking back up a quiet lane. It was lovely spring day and the farmer had just turned some heifers out in the field, which was higher than the lane. 
We were chatting away and he was riding off the lead. The heifers suddenly charged down the field towards us which was fine but, one never made the turn and came over the fence turning base over apex as she fell down the bank. 
The horses both jumped to the side and D. fell off. He wasn't hurt and had landed on his feet. His pony only went a few feet and started grazing from the bank. 
I never got off my horse but directed D. to the pony and told him how to get the pony's foot from the reins. he did all this and when he had remounted and we had driven the heifer back into the field and were riding back home he said to me "Do you know the worst thing about being blind?" 
"Not being able to see?"
"Nope, you get use to that."
"What is it then?"
"It is that nobody will let you do anything but I fell off on my own and caught Rocky on my own and got back on and am riding on my own so, I can do something!"

I had to laugh to myself but it taught me a valuable lesson in that it was important to concentrate on what these children could do rather than what they couldn't and to push them hard.

My attitude is that if they get to the arena under their own steam whether it is in a wheelchair, using a frame or sticks, there is no reason why they cannot ride as independent people with no side walkers or leaders.


----------



## Sarahdakota (Nov 5, 2014)

^^^ these are all great stories that made me smile


----------



## michaelvanessa (Apr 25, 2012)

*great storys.*

to foxhunter thay are great storys and it does open your eyes to people with disabuilatus.
my girl frend is disabled to and her spine is fused with rods from her neck to her pelvis.
we went for a holiday in the new forest and i put nancy on tammy and we went for a walk down the trail.
and finaly the pain got to her and we had to go back she had 45 minuits in the saddle.
i ended up buying her a horse drawn cart were the back folds down and you remove a seat and her wheel chair sits beside me and she can drive to.
and she has been out for a few drives with tammy and tricky.
its great to get people with disabuilatys to join in horse rideing or driveing and broaden there horizons.


----------



## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

One little boy, Peter, came with the school he attended. He was CP. Profoundly deaf and away with the fairies. He enjoyed the riding but was impossible to do much with other than just lead him around
He was about eight and not walking, his legs would not straighten and his knees would go up. 
After a year or so we, as a committee decided to stop him riding and to take another child that riding would help more.
During the summer holidays I was in town and saw Peter in his buggy. The woman with him was talking to another. 
I stopped amd crouched down to speak to Peter, he recognised me, his little hands waved, he arched his back, smiled, which broughtt about a dribble which I wiped from him, and the noises he made when happy. 
The woman looked down and her friend moved on. I introduced myself and the woman who was his mother, told me that he missed the roding in the holidays and how on a Sunday he wouldn't go to sleep unless his roding hat was by the side of his bed and on a Thursday, his swimming things. 
I walked away and knew that if this child had only two things to look forward to, no matter how 'useless' he was we had no right to deprive him of one.
When the new term started the new physiotherapist was interested in seeing these children ride, the only one that had. 
She knew nothing about horses at all and, at that time riding for the disabled had only just started.
What a difference speaking to her about each child and what to aim for. With Peter she wanted to get his legs more relaxed. He came off the saddle and stuck on a rotund pony bareback. 
In a matter of a few circuits you could see how the pony's movement was causing his legs to drop. No longer was he looking like a jockey with his knees up by the withers but they were dropping right down. 
Peter kept roding and his parent would often bring him down after school for a twenty minute ride. 
We worked hard with him, he worked hard and on his own his concentration was much improved. 
Within two years, with caliipers he was actually walking.
There had been many times at the end of the day when I thought "Oh no, Peter's coming." But the day when his Mother said look at this, and Peter walked a few wobbly steps with his calipers and crutches made it all worth while.

Several times I have been asked what were the best or greatest moments in achievements with riding and several of mine would have to be achievements made with these children.


----------



## kirre (Dec 10, 2014)

I had a little boy who flat out refused to get on. No way hose he was TERRIFIED. Anyway I bet him that if I could make my horse 'smile' at him then he'd give it a go. 

To an eight year old - I guess he thought that was a super safe bet xD Anyway I dribbled some water on my ponies nose and naturally he curled his lip up into a 'smile' and low and behold dan got on the horse xD 

It took forever to get him comfortable and even longer to get him to trot (and a LOT of bargaining from me giving him a hi-5 to him getting to lead the pony & also I get pony to pick up a hoof & he gives him a hi 5 too xD 

Anyway the other day he didn't want to get off.. he just wanted to keep trotting and had no interest in his parents or the other people in the arena. he just wanted to ride his pony. Complete 180 in his temperament towards riding  it really put a smile on my face.


----------



## NatalieSchimp578 (Jan 3, 2015)

These are all great stories and they just warm my heart!


----------



## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

subbing.


----------



## irydehorses4lyfe (Sep 8, 2009)

I've been teaching and helping teach therapeutic riding lessons for about 5 years now, and we have one girl at the barn who has hit national news for her alternative medical treatment in the past couple years.
(If anyone knows who this is and her name, please don't release it)

Over this time we've seen her flourish from a 5 year old who was barely being able to walk, talk, or communicate due to having thousands of grand mal seizures in a month(she was told she wasn't going to live even a couple years past her diagnosis initially). And in the past 2 years has re-learned to sign, then walk, talk, and is now seen running around when she's not riding, and is able to ride independently on a horse(with side walkers). Between her treatment and therapeutic riding, she's made huge strides and progress from where she used to be. Now days, she's still quiet and has grand mal seizures on occassion, but she has improved greatly and grown into this lovely, very smart young girl who is now 7 years old. Her two siblings ride horses when she rides so her siblings are treated equal to her too. She is still very behind for her age, but she's a bubbly, cute, funny girl who LOVES pink(even when she couldn't talk anymore, she'd randomly blurt out "pink!!!" and make everyone laugh and smile), and disability or not, she has impacted and continues to impact and change the perspective and lives of everyone who knows her and her family.

I'm leaving out her name, but I'm sharing a photo of a moment from our fundraiser we had for this organization who funds her alternative treatment. This photo and story has already been shared publicly and on national news, so privacy is not a concern.


----------

