News We Love: Healing through horses — How an Ohio facility uses hippotherapy to treat patients

When you walk in, the notion of "can't" disappears, said a young mother to us the other day.Watch the horse therapy in the video player aboveShe was talking about the attitude and tone of Cincinnati Therapeutic Riding and Horsemanship, and relating it to her own experience and that of her son.He, like many others, is in the process of healing through horses, if you will.It is a treatment that has been around for more than 60 years in the U.S.But Hippotherapy, as it is commonly called, does not receive widespread attention.Chances are, most people in the region have not heard of it. "Hippo" is a Greek word for horse.CTRH is tucked away off Highway 50 in Milford, where dedicated staff and volunteers are trying to shine more light on what they do and why they do it.Emily Kendall would like to bring more attention their way.She likes the way they reject the idea of "can't."Luke Kendall, who's 4 1/2 years old, has been riding for two years. On the day we watched him, he was on Rose, a mature Heflinger who we were told preferred wearing her blonde forelock Farah Fawcett-style.If there's one thing CTRH does not lack, it's personality."Horses do not have a poker face," declared Jenny Evans, the executive director. "They read your body language. They smell your nervous system."Emily smiled as she recalled how it was hard to know how any of this would go at first."He walked up that ramp and got on that horse like he was a cowboy in another life," she told us, adding that it has been that way ever since.Emily's son has Down syndrome and Hirschsprung's disease, which is a condition where part of the colon lacks nerve endings.Luke's small intestine is routed to his stomach and it can come loose. So, strengthening his core is a game changer, and Luke is doing that without realizing it through the natural stride and movement of the trained animals like Hope, Razzle, June, and Pasta.Amy Wenz of Children's Hospital Medical Center said, "If you're working on strength, if you're working on stability and balance, we know there's the scientific evidence behind it that this intervention works."The nonprofit has been at this since 1985.Their measure of success is not just found in the charts and the data, but in shared moments that are indelible."We've had riders who've said their first words ever to a horse," recounted Sally Hayes, co-president of the board. "Parents in tears because they never heard their child talk."With just a handful of trained staff, the nearly year-round operation relies on grants, donations, and dozens of volunteers like Ellie Haywood."I can't even explain how amazing it is to see them light up, the confidence," she offered.Haywood is a sidewalker volunteer. An occupational therapist working with a patient has one or two sidewalkers who, as you can gather from the name, walk alongside the horse, concentrating on the rider's safety.Then there is someone like Teresa Deutsch, who focuses solely on the horse. She explained why."If a bird flies through or a big truck goes by or something that they're not used to, it's most important that I watch them to make sure they're calm," she said.We met Graham Cracker, a miniature horse who is so calm he once lived in his owner's home and rested on the couch.Two others arrived from a school visit.Mocha and Tater Tot, whose registered name is Go Big or Go Home. As you'd expect, the mini-horses were an instant hit with school children.New board member Lindsay Berding spoke about a long-standing partnership with Children's Hospital."Absolutely invaluable to our organization and to the patients and the families that we serve here," said Berding.There were 78 patients last year and 178 for the group rides, according to the director.She said they want to grow, maybe add three more horses and serve more families with loved ones impacted by disabilities and challenging medical conditions."You can see the sparkle in their eyes," noted Corinna Alper, a horse leader volunteer. "You look at them, and they're just so excited to get going." The emotional connection of child-to-horse is undeniable.Framed messages hung on a wall for an Appaloosa named Sunny, for Streaker, and for Dixie, a Welsh pony who was one of the original horses at the facility.There was no Derby dynamism to discover among the 16 stabled horses there, only an intangible that reached well beyond a race track finish line."The children are always very excited to come back every week," said Christine Sikkema, an occupational therapist.Parents have related to her how their kids respond at the gate. Weather conditions allowed Luke to go on a trail ride on the day we were there. Re-connective surgery is planned when he is older.For now, his connection to hippotherapy has helped him blossom, as his mom put it."So many times, if you have a loved one with a disability, you have to navigate people's assumptions that your loved one can't," she said. "When you walk into this barn, that goes away," she said with conviction. "They have an expectation that you can. And that is rare to find."