She is very limited in the activities that she can participate in because of her disability.She loved swimming too, but she can not do this safely anymore because of her seizure disorder. She has always loved large movement activities and bouncing is one of her favorite activities. Horse therapy gives Valerie this input and she is not able to get this by herself because she can not run and jump and play like other 6 year-olds her age.

The colder weather is very hard on her because it is much harder to give her this type of input that she is unable to gain on her own. This often frustrates her because her favorite activity is to be outside. Valerie really misses riding and she is unable to do this year around due to the outside arena. She would really benefit from an indoor arena because it would be a wonderful activity for her to do in the winter months.

She made much progress in a short amount of time because it really helped strengthen her trunk and her gait also really improved.She still needs assistance when walking, but she has definitely developed a better balance. She has even started walking around furniture since her last riding lesson!

It would be wonderful if Valerie could ride all year because there are so many benefits from riding a “real” horse.She can sit on the horse with little assistance, which really helps strengthen the trunk and she can even hold onto the saddle, too. She also grabs the horse with her legs, which really helps strengthen the leg muscles. She would love being able to get out during the winter and do something that she loves and makes her so happy. She will definitely look forward to the day that she will be able to ride all year around in an inside arena.