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Equine Therapy
Hippotherapy (Hippo - The Greek word for Horse)
Our love of horses grew when Vicky first started Hippotherapy - or physical therapy on horseback. She rode for an hour 2X per week with the help of a horse, a handler, sidewalkers, and a physical therapist.
Insurance covered about 60% of the $180/hr fee and we saw Vicky grow, become confident and love being a part of the barn. Unfortunately, when insurance realized it was a horse she was on, they balked at the payments, and after a long, arduous fight, they paid for lessons already taken, but would not authorize more.
So, what did we do after they would no longer pay for it?
I made friends with a horse person at work who let us ride her mare through shareboarding and ended up falling in love with her little yearling. A year or so later, we bought the horse.
But horses are expensive and take lots of time, so after owning Robina for about 2.5 years, we sold her, eyes full of tears.
And then Stormy came into our lives - 8 years of shareboarding this handsome gelding gave Vicky the chance to ride whenever she wanted or needed to. (We called him the Algebra horse because whenever Vicky had an upcoming test, a canter around the arena bareback took care of her anxiety!
Vicky on a picnic with Stormy!
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T he relationship with this beautiful horse, let to a lifelong friendship with the owner.
When we lost Stormy at 29 years of age, the owner of the horse, Monika Sukowski, started working with Mike Buskohl, an Equine Chiropractor and they started a horse rescue:
Centerpoint Cavvy Thoroughbred Rescue.
Their mission is to rescue Thoroughbred horses off the track and re-purpose them for adoption or allow them a place to live out their lives in serenity.
However, the Rescue wants to be so much more - In the near future, they hope to open the farm, located in Poplar Grove, to children with autism, anxiety, and other disabilities to experience farm life and get up close to groom and pet a horse.
Therapy isn't just about riding -
it is about experiencing these magnificent animals.
Visit
www.ccthorserescue.org
for more information.
