Learning the Ropes

Melanie Roby of Brownwood, a regular at Rising Star Farms Foundation, rides Sunny on a trip to the Therapeutic Equestrian Center.

Stacey Murphree of Rising Star sits confidently atop Arrow at one of her regular visits to the Rising Star Farms Foundation. Murphree holds the record as being the youngest rider when she was two years old. She is now four.

Robby Harding, part-time staff, and Connie Reynolds, board member, of Rising Star Farms Foundation show some of the bridles in the tack room. In addition to the tack lining the wall are rows of saddles and pads specially made and designed for the therapeutic program.

A child sits bareback on the equine and three volunteers - one in the front and one on either side - lead the animal around an indoor arena.

The horse stops at a tree made of PVC pipes, and the boy stretches to put rings around various "branches" of pipe.

At the next stop, the boy tosses a ball into a small hoop while maintaining balance atop the horse. Then, for his finishing feat, the child opened and closed a mailbox mounted on stilts and tall enough to be reached from horseback.

For many of the children and adults who participate in the therapeutic equestrian program at the Rising Star Farms Foundation in Rising Star, just remaining balanced on the horse while performing the other tasks is quite a challenge.

The intent of Rising Star Farms Foundation is to place children and adults with various disabilities on and around horses in programs that are specialized for the individual.

Board member Connie Reynolds and her husband, Jim, brought the idea of a therapeutic equestrian center with them to Rising Star from California, where they worked with the Special Olympics for13 years.

In California, the couple had property in the mountains with horses, where state games for the athletes were held. Through a fund-raiser, Reynolds said, she and her husband won tickets to a therapeutic equestrian center.

The Rising Star Farms program was put together under the North American Riding for the Handicap Association (NARHA), which will award accreditation.

Before participating, the rider and his or her family, caregiver or therapist meets with the staff and instructor of Rising Star Farms to design a program that fits the needs of the individual, meets the specifications laid out by the doctor and/or therapist and meets the goals of the client's parents.

If a client does not have a therapist, Rising Star Farms has a full-time instructor, Becky Gover, who puts specialized programs together. All riders are required to wear helmets.

"We are not therapists," Reynolds said. "We just put together a program based on doctor's prescriptions and the parents' goals for the child."

"The closest thing to walking without actual manipulation by a physical therapist is riding bareback," Reynolds said. "We like to start out bareback because the heat from the back of the animal or the pad will cause a person to relax."

Many of the clients have very tense muscles or no muscle control at all. Reynolds said choosing a horse and deciding whether to use a saddle depends on the disability.

For example, a client with tense muscles will ride a bareback horse with a smooth gait to relax the muscles. If a person has little or no muscle control as with Down's Syndrome, the person would be put on a saddled horse with a choppier gait to encourage the learning of muscle control.

Throughout the training, the horse undergoes re-enactments of anything that could possibly happen when dealing with disabled clients. Seizures are simulated on horseback.

In a training video, a horse is shown with an instructor. Plastic bags are wrapped around its hooves and balloons are attached to various parts of the horse's body.

The horse must be familiar with any circumstance that may arise. For example, a wheelchair is pushed into the arena with a horse so the animal may become adjusted to clients who have to use one. The horse must also be prepared if a child runs up behind it or runs up to hug or touch the horse. Each horse is trained not to respond to the sudden movements.

"Once a horse is trained to our standards and NARHA's they are implemented into our program," Reynolds said.

The center has three horses in the program and four more in training. The training process can take 90 to 120 days, Reynolds said.

Throughout the approximately two-year history of the foundation, Reynolds said, the oldest rider they have had was 79 and the youngest was 2.

Stacey Murphree was the foundation's first rider and the youngest at age 2. When Stacey began the program, Reynolds said, the girl didn't want to touch anything. As she continued with her lessons, she has been able to work on her motor skills and learn to use her senses.

Stacey didn't want to touch the animal when she first began, but after various trips to the farm, she fell in love with her horse and would actually touch it. Reynolds said her motor skills improved and she was even able to walk better.

"Horse therapy can be used for more than just physical disabilities," Reynolds said. "It works the senses too."

In addition to horseback, the foundation has a grooming program where clients have interaction with the horses even if they can't or don't want to ride them.

"We can pattern our programs around whatever riders' needs are," Reynolds said. "We're very versatile with what we can do. We can structure a program around anything."

Most clients come from nearby, with clients from Brownwood typically coming the farthest. Reynolds said Rising Star Farms has implemented programs for clients from the Center for Life Resources MHMR in Brownwood, the Brownwood ISD Special Education classes and clients from the Watson House in Brownwood.

They have also hosted field trips for various surrounding school-related organizations including the May FFA. Reynolds said they are more than happy to host field trips for anyone who may be interested. She also added that they are also approved as physical education for home-schooled students

Reynolds said they would like to branch out to include a wider area of service - but they need horses and volunteers.

"We are very grateful to all of our volunteers," Reynolds said, adding that much of the foundation is dependent on those people.

There are currently 13 regular riders and three or four volunteers, as well as four part-time staffers. Many times the staff has to jump in and help out when and wherever needed.

To become a volunteer a person must go through a four-hour training program and does not necessarily have to have any kind of background with horses. Reynolds said that there is so much to be done, a volunteer would not even have to work with the horses if they didn't want to.

"We desperately need volunteers," Reynolds said. "Without volunteers you don't have a program. Volunteers make your program."

The number of volunteers needed per client depends on the abilities or disabilities of the rider. The less volunteers the foundation has, the fewer clients it can serve.

The part-time staff includes Tom and Sarah Davis, Vicki Vogel and Robby Harding. Becky Gover is the only full-time staff member.

Reynolds said that, in addition to volunteers, they are always looking for new and creative props and said they are open to any ideas people may have.

Rising Star Farms is a foundation under the National Heritage Foundation and is a non-profit organization dependent solely on donations. Reynolds said 3M of Brownwood has been their corporate sponsor for the past two years and even donated the money for them to build their wheelchair accessible ramp to help clients mount horses.

On staff are two certified Emergency Care Attendants, one certified EMT and three volunteer fire fighters.

"Safety is our primary goal in all that we do," Reynolds said. "It's all about safety, safety, safety."

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer or learning more about the therapeutic equestrian center may call (254) 643-1177.