Brick Fundraiser Launched At TRF Vocational Program

The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) has launched a brick pathway fundraising campaign at the Wallkill Correctional Facility in Wallkill, New York, the organization said in a release Thursday.

Honoring the flagship location of the TRF Second Chances Program and their partnership with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the fundraiser will commemorate 40 years of “Saving Horses and Changing Lives.”

To support its mission, a brick pathway will be constructed on the horse farm near the historical Walstein Childs House. Bricks will be available through the summer of 2024, with a planned installation and unveiling set for that fall.

Click here for more information and to purchase a brick.

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Limited Edition Bourbon Raffle To Benefit Central KY Riding For Hope’s 40th Anniversary

Central KY Riding for Hope (CKRH), a nonprofit organization that provides equine therapy activities to more than 300+ individuals with physical, cognitive or behavioral disabilities each year, is offering a raffle opportunity to own a “Bottled in Bond Day” commemorative edition of E. H. Taylor, Jr. Single Barrel Bourbon (750 ml) signed by multiple Grammy and CMA award winning artist Chris Stapleton.

A partnership between Buffalo Trace Distillery and Stapleton's charitable fund Outlaw State of Kind, this special release celebrates the 1897 legislation which authenticates a genuine whiskey from other liquors. Considered the holy grail for distillers, a Bottled in Bond whiskey must be distilled in one season by a single distiller in one distillery and aged in a federally bonded warehouse for a minimum of four years. Barreled on Jan. 5, 2012, this 100% proof bottle is not available for retail sale.

Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at https://onebidpal.net/bourbonraffle2021.

Only 200 tickets are available and the drawing will be held at 12:00pm, Dec. 15, 2021 at CKRH's therapeutic riding center (4185 Walt Robertson Rd-KY Horse Park. License # EXE-0000237.)

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Scientists Confirm Horseback Riding A Viable Mobility Treatment For Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) affects around two out of every 1000 children born worldwide. Physical therapy is the foremost way of improving movement, balance and posture in children with CP. Research has shown that hippotherapy, a form of physical therapy involving horseback riding, is effective for treating CP. But how exactly does it help? In a recent study, researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea explored this question and provided insightful answers as well as a baseline for future research.

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a common disability among children, characterized by abnormal gait patterns and the inability to maintain posture and balance. While the condition is incurable, physical therapy treatments can go a long way in improving movement and balance. One such treatment approach is hippotherapy (HPOT), which uses horseback riding to improve functional mobility in children with CP. Although supported by scientific studies as an effective treatment approach for (CP), there is, unfortunately, little data concerning how HPOT results in improvement.

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Recently, a team of researchers from Korea and the United States addressed this question, investigating physical interaction metrics between horses and children with CP during HPOT. “My original research interests lie in the rehabilitation of people with neurological impairment, specifically gait and balance. However, I did not know about hippotherapy until  2016. After realizing how effective it is in treating children with CP, I was motivated to explore it further,” explains Dr. Pilwon Hur, who headed the study. This paper was made available online on September 6, 2021, and was published in Volume 18 Issue 132 of the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 

The research team studied four children with CP over the course of eight physical therapy sessions. They placed sensors on the horses and children to record their movements and track their acceleration and angular velocity. They found that the data from the horses and children began to resemble each other as time progressed, indicating a synchronization between the horse and the rider. They also gave the children mobility tests after each session and observed improvement in their motor skills at the end of the experiment.

“We found that physical interaction between the children with CP and the horses, characterized by the children adapting to the horse's movement and vice versa, is extremely important for the rehabilitation to be effective,” says Dr. Hur.

Excited by these findings, the team hopes their work will provide a baseline for further research on HPOT. “To the best of my knowledge, ours is the first study to quantify these interactions and relate them to effectiveness,” says Dr. Hur. “Such an understanding would help us optimize physical therapy programs, improving the quality of life for children with CP.”

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Much To Gain For Horses And People At Therapeutic Horses Of Saratoga

Horses got an early hold on Laura LaRue.

“I've been obsessed with horses for as long as I remember,” said LaRue, who turned her passion into a position as Director of Equine Care at the Saratoga-based Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga [THS]. “I remember begging and begging my parents to ride – and that dream became true when I was 8 and I got to take lessons.”

LaRue rode through her childhood, competing in English show jumping. But at the University of Albany, horses took a backseat as she planned to turn a job working with at-risk youth at summer camps into a career as a psychologist or a counselor – that is until she discovered the growing field of equine therapy.

THS specializes in equine assisted therapy, which rescues and retrains retired racehorses for hands-on work with individuals in need. THS horses get a new purpose by serving as a source of support while engaging in confidence-building and improving coping abilities for people of all ages. Their assistance can cover the gamut from children dealing with anxiety to victims of domestic violence and veterans.

LaRue called it “the best of both worlds,” which combines her knowledge of and desire to work with both horses and people. Retraining the horses at the 27-acre THS farm off Lake Avenue means a new start for those in the 20-horse herd. Of those 20, 11 are therapy horses, a mix of retired thoroughbred and standardbreds.

Equine-assisted learning is about rescuing horses, and a lot more. Partnering with the Saratoga-based ECS Psychological Services, THS works with licensed mental health therapists in making up a vital part of the mental health organization's animal therapy program, in which the horses play a vital role.

At the heart of the ECS animal therapy program is the belief that having a dog, cat or even a horse present in counseling sessions can be comforting – and that bonding with an animal reduces stress levels while increasing positive emotions. For children who are nervous about attending therapy, the presence of a therapy animal can make the experience less stressful and more fun.

“Time and time again, we've seen the proof that animal therapy works,” said Dr. Erin Christopher-Sisk, the founder and clinical director of ECS.

Dogs, Cats & Horses

After launching her counseling practice in 2004, Dr. Christopher-Sisk incorporated her two dogs as therapy animals. At the time, she and her husband Jim Sisk owned a trotter named DW's Regal; and a few years later when they started looking for a post-racing second career for their horse, they made him a therapy horse. At the founding of THS in 2015, DW's Regal was its first horse.

At the time, equine therapy was beginning to gain a real foothold in the aftercare community. But fortified by demonstrated success stories and several comprehensive studies that document the benefits of equine therapy for people with mental health issues, the field has gained a lot of adherents in the wellness field. Last year, the State of University of New York [SUNY] Cobleskill even added a Therapeutic Horsemanship program.

“There's nothing better than to give a horse a loving home while helping people with mental issues,” said Dr. Christopher-Sisk. “It requires licensed therapists and people with horse-handling skills. We have those people here and we have the horses – and it's really worked well.”

Horses getting a new start at THS include its newest arrival, the New York-bred filly Dr. Capote, who arrived last year. Bred and owned by Joe DiRico, Dr. Capote appeared headed to a good career on the track. Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Jerry Bailey, she was retired due to a tendon injury and, at 18, deserved “a new start,” as DiRico put it.

“I was thrilled to be able to find her this new home,” says DiRico of Dr. Capote. “Dr. Capote is a sweet and intelligent horse, perfect for working with people with mental issues. And with all the brushings she's getting and the attention, she thinks she's the 'Queen Bee.' I wish there were more places like Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga, which are really looking after the needs of retired racehorses.”

That commitment shines through in other programs as well. Working with ECS professionals, the organization uses members of the herd to provide team-building exercises to businesses, school classes, teams and other organizations. The THS program, HorsePlay, provides non-therapeutic, individually-tailored opportunities to learn horsemanship skills and how to care for horses. It also hosts birthday parties, where 5-year-olds-and-up can interact with the horses through obstacle courses and learn how to groom and lead them.

Strolling amidst the herd on a recent morning, trailed by DW Regal's best friend, Broadway Straight or “George,” a Standardbred gelding who wants his ears scratched, LaRue delved into what it takes to fulfill the THS mission.

“Growing up, it had been more about teaching a horse just to obey,” she said. “Here, we are working in partnership and helping a lot of people in the process. It's an awesome job and I love it.”

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