A group of mass communication students were assigned to write about a unique form of therapy available in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. One of the students, JEE MENG SZE shares her experience.
It was a fine Friday morning with bright sunshine. I have just reached the Royal Selangor Club located in Kuala Lumpur with the children from the Special Children Society of Ampang.
I was lucky to have the opportunity to visit the Selangor Polo Club to watch the children have their weekly horse-therapy, also known as Equine Assisted Therapy sessions.
I have always related the Polo Club with the sport of equestrian and horse riding, and have never heard of horse therapy before in my life, so this trip means a lot to me and by sharing my experience, I hope will create awareness and influence readers to support this as well.
Before the session, programmed coordinator Sandra Cooper briefed us on the benefits of Equine Assisted Therapy, the training and some ground rules we have to follow during the therapy programmed. We were not allowed to speak loudly or take photographs using flash as these actions might frighten the horses.
The special children were divided into three groups with four to five students in each group.
According to Sandra Cooper, equine assisted therapy combines therapy and fun - on a horse.
What is equine assisted therapy?
Interestingly equine assisted therapy is also called Hippo therapy. Hippo means horse in Greek, while the term “therapy” denotes curative treatment in a medical sense. Hippo therapy, therefore, means “treatment with the help of a horse”.
Horse therapy = horse and fun
Equine therapy originally started as a programmed that involved the use of horses in rehabilitative riding for individuals with physical disabilities. The horseback riding experience provided the rider with a gentle rhythm similar to the human gait; that often helped improve muscle strength, flexibility and balance. It has also been found that the individual forms a relationship with the horse that can help build his/her confidence, patience, and self-esteem. Horse therapy can help the individual achieve a variety of therapeutic goals, including cognitive, physical, emotional, social, educational and behavioral goals. Because of the varied benefits, horse therapy is now used in dealing with the following conditions, such as:
physical disabilities caused by neurological, motor and sensory disabilities, including rehabilitation and re-education for post stroke and trauma patients, psychomotor and cognitive problems-ADHD, developmental delayed, psychological and psychiatric problems, including depression, eating disorders, and persons with learning disabilities, including Down Syndrome and Autism.
After the second session of the equine assisted therapy programmed ended, I managed to have a short interview with Charmaine Chan, one of the special students from SCSOA (Special Children Society of Ampang). Charmaine is 19 years old. My first impression on meeting her was that she is active and talkative and indeed, a very cheerful girl.
Although Charmaine is a special child with Down Syndrome, but she behaves like any 19-year-old girl.. She likes to hang out with her school friends and enjoys meeting and knowing new friends from outside. Charmaine, who loves to sing, dance, act and bowl, enjoys her horse therapy sessions and would never dream of missing a lesson.
Charmaine lives with her parents in Kuala Lumpur. She has an elder sister named Jezzamine Chan , who is studying in Australia. Charmaine loves her sister so much and misses her all the time,
However, thanks to the advanced technology today, they chat daily through the
internet and can see each other with the webcam.
I really enjoyed interviewing Charmaine, as she is a girl who appreciates life and cherishes everything around her.
In fact the cheerful and happy smiles of the special children and the passion of the volunteers have made me change the way I see the world. I now feel there is more to life than just studies, getting a job and making money. I think we should all help others when you can and are able to do so.
Watching the volunteers patiently helping each child through the lessons, seeing how the children had gain a higher sense of self-satisfaction and confidence in themselves through the regular weekly sessions. I feel proud to have this chance to join them in this programmed.
According to one of the horse therapist, most of the horses here are from Argentina and a horse can cost up to RM30,000 each while monthly food expenses for a horse may cost from RM10,000 and above. It’s really very costly to maintain a horse!
RDA (Riding for Disabled) is now a worldwide organization and in Britain alone there are several hundred groups, with established similar Associations in the United States of America, Europe and Australia. Successful and growing groups in South East Asia are found in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia…and of course, Malaysia.
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