WELFARE WEDNESDAY: It feels a lot better to ride a horse. It makes me happy and it changed my life, said 19-year-old Emma Jeffries. Emma, who has Down syndrome, went through a difficult time in high school. Nothing helped until she started horse therapy. As soon as Emma got on and rode the horse the first day, like she said, it changed her life, and her depression has lifted and shes been a happy-go-lucky girl, said her mother, Phoenix Jeffries. Emma is a client at Triple Creek Ranch, which offers riding sessions to people with mental and physical disabilities. Director Eileen Reese took over the therapy program nine years ago. Weve had kids that have been severely depressed, and they come out and spend time with the horses, and it really helps inspire them and get their lives going again. I kinda believe theyre angels in horse hair, she said. Triple Creek Ranchs therapy horses go through extensive training before working with clients. They know their job, and they do their job, and we treat them differently than a lot of other horses. We get up on them from either side, and we handle them just in a different manner than typical horses are handled, Reese said. Thanks to Eileen and her horses, her students have a new hold on life. I just enjoy being able to see the world from a different perspective, being able to connect with the horse and just being outside. If my mom hadnt met Eileen I dont know where I would be, Derek Longwell said. VIDEO: clipsyndicate/video/playlist//5076530
Posted on: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 14:00:00 +0000
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