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Where the horses reach out
It may be therapeutic and educational, but kids typically use a different word to describe New Castle County’s Therapeutic Riding at Carousel (TRAC) program.
A child enjoys the ride as part of the Carousel Park Equestrian Center therapeutic riding program.
It may be therapeutic and educational, but kids typically use a different word to describe New Castle County’s Therapeutic Riding at Carousel (TRAC) program. It’s fun.
“The kids just light up when they get on a horse and start to ride,” says County Councilman Joseph Reda, a longtime therapeutic riding supporter who helped bring the program to Carousel Park. Carly White, TRAC’s riding instructor adds, “I think the parents enjoy it as much as the kids.”
About three dozen kids with chronic illnesses or disabilities, age 4 and up, take part in the hour-long classes, which began in November 2006. Participants enjoy assisted rides on the most mild-mannered of Carousel’s 65 horses for about 30 minutes, plus a half-hour learning to groom and care for the horses.
Because the park and its horses and instructors were already in place, the county was able to launch the self-funding program at little cost to taxpayers. Participating families pay $200 for eight weeks of riding in a program. Scholarships will soon be available to help families with limited financial means.
Riding helps children develop motor control skills, a sense of balance and range of motion. It also improves their sequencing ability and hand-eye coordination. For a child with autism, contact with the horses offers a new channel of communication. It also works toward improving attention span, speech and social behavior.
“Horses are non-judgmental,” White notes. “A natural bond develops between the students and horses. They connect on a different level, opening the students to a new world of possibilities.”
For more information about Therapeutic Riding at Carousel, contact the Carousel Park Equestrian Center at (302) 995-7670.
Photo by Stephen Cherry
