For those who use hippotherapy.

[Shari]

I'm sure this is a stretch, and if its not ok to post, please delete...

But I thought I'd post it, cause I sure didn't know these were out there.

I met Frank Lavato Jr this weekend at the horse expo. He's a jockey that has designed a piece of equipment that accurately mimics the movement of a horse. He originally designed it to train on, and it has had a lot of success as a therapy aid.

I had a chance to "ride" one this weekend, and they are amazing. They are pricey, but so is everything else we do for our kiddos.

The website is www.Equicizer.com. If you ever have a chance to "ride" one, give it a shot. It truly is amazing. (and they are fairly ok to look at!)

 

[DammitJanet]

Kind of like a full size rocking horse! Lord knows I was afraid of what was going to come up when I clicked the link...lol.

 

[GoingNorth]

The 'equicizer' has actually been around for ages. They are heavily used in jockey schools and in training riders in some areas.

When i started taking Dressage lessons in Germany, I used an equicizer there. It does a good job of mimicking motion, but obviously does not provide the human/animal bond that a live horse does.

 

[totoro]

K uses one at TROT when the weather is bad... which rarely happens. I forget what they call him, it is something cute.

 

[Abbey]

haha, Janet. I was thinking...is this bonding with hippos therapy? I'm so out of the loop.

 

[totoro]

Abbey, I am sure you have seen one in Vegas... corner.

 

[Star*]

When I was 16 - my dream was to open a stable that catered to kids with disabilites working and riding on horses for equi-therapy. Once I checked with Lords of London on how much the insurance was - Dream over.

This looks very interesting. And you don't have to be under 4' to ride.

 

[Shari]

My BFF says that will be what I do someday. She has said it for years. She's an otherwise very grounded woman...so I can't completely discount her statement. I dont' see how it will ever happen, but she is so utterly convinced that one day...

we'll see. Right now, I just need to ride for my own therapy. lol

Before I blow up.

 

[Star*]

Well......

Things are SO bad here in SC that people are GIVING their high dollar horses away.....Craigslist is full of them everyday and people are snatching them up.

It's very sad. If we had more than 2 acres at the DA Ranch? I'd be riding bareback every night. I've been offered 4 horses gratis....this year....and these people have SEEN my place....we have a 5' CL fence....around about 1/2 acres....the rest is woods, and we're off a (now) fairly busy road. (are they nuts?) no place for a pony.

 

[totoro]

I'd send my girls to either you Shari or Star*!

 

[totoro]

It's bad here also. They are finding horses starving and cut up from the drugs they hauled across the border and then were left wandering out in the Sonoran desert... Luckily we have a few places that can keep them and rehab them. Not many... ticks me off is a nice way to put it.

 

[Shari]

I don't have ins to cover it, but we let kiddos come ride frequently. There's just too much to be gained for a kiddo for me to say no cause some jerk out there might sue me cause the kid falls off. I know that's putting my butt on the line, but so what.

But I'd take the girlies to ride, Toto!

Star, if you run across any that are broke to gunfire...lol. I could get a shooter for easy child as an excuse to visit a really awesome person on the way! (the market is really sad, tho...in northern MO, people are just turning them loose... :-( )

 

[Shari]

It's bad here also. They are finding horses starving and cut up from the drugs they hauled across the border and then were left wandering out in the Sonoran desert... Luckily we have a few places that can keep them and rehab them. Not many... ticks me off is a nice way to put it.

That's awful. At least up north the animals have a chance to find food and water. Not that's its right, but they aren't starving to death in a dessert.

 

[GoingNorth]

Remember too that "given away" horses all to often wind up being taken by meat buyers who truck them into Mexico to sell them for slaughter.

Sadly and entirely MO, we didn't necessarily do any favors be closing the US slaughterhouses. The poor horses still wind up as meat.

AND, very few pet/show/race horses can safely go into the food chain due to medications, wormers, etc. At least at the US houses, the animals were held long enough to clear medication residues before being slaughtered.

We produce way too many horses in this country, many for the racing industries, and we need to do something about that.

 

[totoro]

We do a lot of stupid things here... especially to animals.

 

[Shari]

GN and Toto: Agreed.