IAN COUCH RIDES Tanner, a 17-year-old quarter horse, at the Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center in Brush Prairie. Born with developmental disabilities, Couch, 19, loves his hippotherapy sessions and has gained confidence as well as core strength, his mother says.
NANCY ELDER (LEFT), owner of the Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center in Brush Prairie, praises one of her therapy clients, John McQueen, 34, of Camas, as he rides Tazz, one of the therapy horses available at Healing Winds. On the right, Healing Winds volunteer Pat Brown, assists McQueen in his weekly therapy lesson.
OHN MCQUEEN, 34, rides his therapy horse, Tazz, at the Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center in Brush Prairie, while his therapeutic riding assistant, Pat Brown, a volunteer at the therapy riding center, helps him work on his motor skills. McQueen, of Camas, was born with developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy. The horse riding therapy helps him gain physical strength and provides a weekly lesson in joy and confidence, says McQueen’s mother, Sue Kaufer (not pictured).
CLIENTS AT HEALING Winds Therapeutic Riding Center in Brush Prairie choose their riding bridles by selecting the bridle hanging underneath a photo of their therapy horse. All quarter horses, ranging in age from 17 to 30, the Healing Winds therapy horses are gentle and forgiving, the perfect blend for special needs clients. For more information, visit www.healingwinds.org.
SPECIALIZED GEAR, INCLUDING the high-backed saddle pictured here, means that the Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center in Brush Prairie is able to accommodate a variety of special needs, including children (and adults) who have cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, vision and hearing impairments, attention deficit disorders and multiple sclerosis.
BRUSH PRAIRIE – When John McQueen goes to bed on Tuesday nights, he does it with a feeling of joyful anticipation for the next morning.
“He knows, on Wednesday mornings, this is the day he gets to come ride the horses,” says McQueen’s mother, Sue Kaufer, of Camas.
On this particular Wednesday morning, Kaufer is standing outside the Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center stables in Brush Prairie, watching her 34-year-old son ride a white quarter horse named Tazz.
Born with developmental disabilities and cerebral palsy, a permanent movement disorder that affects muscle control and coordination, McQueen works on his motor skills, holding the horse’s reins and grasping a series of brightly colored plastic rings, while Tazz walks in a slow circle.
“This is the highlight of his week,” Kaufer says, smiling and waving as McQueen and Tazz pass by. “He just loves it.”
Nearby, 19-year-old Ian Couch, another Healing Winds client who comes once a week for riding therapy, manipulates a yellow flag while sitting upright on his therapy horse, a gentle brown and white quarter horse named Tanner.
“Ian came here when he was young, around 3 years old, and we’ve recently come back,” says Ian’s mom, Teresa Couch. “The horses really help him strengthen his core muscles and I’ve seen improvement, physically, but also mentally and emotionally.”
For Teresa and Sue, the weekly therapy sessions at Healing Winds also provide a much-needed respite and chance to catch up with parents who understand what it’s like to care 24-7 for a child with disabilities. The two women have become fast friends, trading stories, successes, worries and resources with one another while their adult children sit astride the Healing Winds therapy horses, under the steady guidance of Healing Winds owner Nancy Elder, her daughter, Brenda, or one of the therapy center’s trained volunteers.
“It’s nice to have this type of outlet,” Teresa says of the time she spends at Healing Winds, watching Ian conquer another therapeutic milestone and chatting with Sue about life and its many ups and downs. “When we’re at home, Ian rarely leaves my side. He wants to be with me all the time. So this is a break for me, too.”
The act of using horses to help treat patients with neurological and physical disabilities has been gaining in popularity since the 1970s. Therapists worldwide incorporate therapeutic riding to help treat patients who have autism, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries, behavioral disorders and head injuries.
At Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center, owner Nancy Elder and her daughter, Brenda Elder, have been working with disabled clients since the late 1980s, and have seen a variety of success stories.
“There was one boy, a few years ago, and he must have been about 12 years old,” Nancy Elder recalls. “He was in a wheelchair and he’d never been around horses … but he got up there and when that horse started to walk, he got so excited! He asked us, ‘Is this what it feels like to walk?’ Later, when the horse started to trot, he cried and asked, ‘Is this what it feels like to run?’ Moments like that are what I remember the most.”
Nancy’s daughter Brenda grew up on horseback and has seen the power of therapeutic riding on the hundreds of clients that pass through Healing Winds’ doors. The horses are gentle and forgiving, Brenda says, and help special needs riders develop a greater sense of independence and confidence.
Ian’s mother, Teresa, says this has certainly been true for her son.
“Coming here has definitely helped with Ian’s confidence in his own abilities,” Teresa says. “When he first came here, he was terrified of the horses … but Nancy and all of the people here are so patient with the kids, and they have the nicest horses … they helped Ian with his fears, and now he just loves it. I can tell that he’s proud of himself.”
John’s mother, Sue, agrees.
“John is very proud and loves to tell people about the horses,” Sue says. “He’ll tell people at church and his friends about coming here. Now we even bring our friends out here to show them around and introduce them to Nancy and the horses.”
With their stable of therapy horses, specialized gear for every type of physical disability – including a hoist for clients who cannot walk and saddles with high backs and five-point harnesses for clients who have trouble sitting upright on their own – Healing Winds is able to accommodate a variety of special needs, including children (and adults) who have cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, vision and hearing impairments, attention deficit disorders and multiple sclerosis.
The Brush Prairie therapeutic riding center is a member of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, and many of the Healing Winds’ clients make their way to the therapeutic riding center through the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities’ list of approved therapy providers.
Some people find Healing Winds via word of mouth, and the Elder mother-daughter duo have hosted children and adults who don’t have a traditional disability, but are, rather, going through a tough emotional time, like a divorce or the death of a loved one. The horses’ seem to be a calming force for many people who find themselves in emotional distress, Nancy says, and they provide the weekly stability that many children crave.
For horse enthusiasts who want to have more traditional riding lessons, instead of therapy, the Elders also run Crosswinds Stables, which offers riding lessons and birthday parties. Income generated through clients’ riding fees and parties helps the Elders keep Healing Winds open for special needs clients, but there are always unforeseen expenses and volunteers – as well as donations – are always needed and welcomed, Nancy says.
On the Healing Winds website, at www.healingwinds.org, the group lists several donation options and tells donors about what their money can go toward. For instance, a $35 donation provides one 30-minute therapy session for a child or adult with special needs, while a $375 donation might sponsor a special horse, providing feed and care for one month.
“It gets very expensive, especially feeding and caring for the horses,” Nancy says. “We are always looking for donations and for people who want to donate horse feed or hay.”
To find out more about Healing Winds Therapeutic Riding Center, visit them online at www.healingwinds.org, call (360) 254-5387, or visit the center at 12414 NE 212th Ave., Brush Prairie. If you are interested in volunteering at the center or in making a donation of horse feed or hay, call Nancy at (360) 903-1265.
