CROWNSVILLE, Md. — Lana Robinson’s short-term memory has been weakened from Alzheimer’s, but her childhood memories of horseback riding remain intact.
Today at 62, Mrs. Robinson rides Chrissy with ease. A volunteer and instructor walk along her left, and another volunteer is at her right, but Mrs. Robinson maintains full control of the reins.
Her husband, Paul Robinson, credits her sessions at Maryland Therapeutic Riding as the most helpful treatment option since her diagnosis three years ago.
“The fact that she’s able to control a thousand-pound animal all by herself gives her a great deal of self-confidence,” said Mr. Robinson, 68. “Her symptoms are worsening, not improving. But they improve when she’s here, on a short-term basis. And that’s good enough.”
Mr. Robinson beams as he talks about his wife’s “halo effect.” She radiates happiness on the way home from lessons and remains upbeat for the rest of the week, he said.
She has been riding Chrissy ever since her first lesson a year ago.
“They’re animals, and they have hearts,” said Mrs. Robinson, a former vice president of an advertising agency. “If I’m out there, and they know my voice, they’re like, ’Someone’s there for me.’”
Naomi Parry discovered the benefits of horseback riding during her recovery from a car accident that left her temporarily paralyzed. In 1996, she founded Maryland Therapeutic Riding in Crownsville to share this type of healing with others.
The nonprofit serves about 90 clients per week with therapeutic riding and equine learning psychotherapy. In therapeutic riding, patients with disabilities or developmental disorders gain confidence and life skills through independent horse riding.
Maryland Therapeutic Riding also offers therapeutic riding at no cost to war veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or are struggling with amputation.
Kelly Rodgers, director of programming, said horses are more than tools — they’re partners.
“They’re very intuitive horses, and they have a great sense of what they’re feeling around them,” said Ms. Rodgers. “If somebody’s anxious, they’re going to feel that energy. They just know their job, and they know they’re helping people.”
Horses, like humans, use three-dimensional movement. Physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists use this similarity to help clients improve poor muscle tone and core strength.
The horses go through 90-day trials so instructors and directors can evaluate which ones are fit for the job. Only one out of eight make the cut.
Maryland Therapeutic Riding’s 11 horses and ponies of different breeds are leased, donated or purchased from a variety of sources, Ms. Rodgers said.
Joan Chevalier said these horses have a magical and indescribable connection to the rider.
Ms. Chevalier’s younger brother Charlie has had with a developmental brain disorder all his life. During the 1970s, her family lacked support from institutions and their neighbors. She said she hasn’t seen anything as effective as Maryland Therapeutic Riding.
“When Charlie started therapeutic riding, he was shut down, very shy and withdrawn,” said Ms. Chevalier, 60. “But now, he gets out of the car and greets everyone. He loves it so much that he looks forward to it every week.”
She gushed over the volunteers’ contribution to Charlie’s life. For the first 2 years of Charlie’s lessons, the same volunteers have walked by his side to provide stability and community.
Executive Director Cathy Rosenbaum also credits the physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists for the changes in riders’ lives.
“[Therapists] set objectives and find ways to achieve things in a stepwise fashion,” Ms. Rosenbaum said. “We talk about miracles happening, but they happen because of the groundwork laid.”
She said one miracle happened because someone believed in the unthinkable: Charlie’s instructor let him ride by himself.
“This is a guy who really is profoundly disabled. Looking at him. You’d think he wouldn’t be able to do anything,” Ms. Chevalier said. “But he was steering through an obstacle course by himself. That’s the miracle, because it allows him to use his skills in a special way.”
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