LAFAYETTE, IN — The girth tightened over Dreamer’s stomach as the American Quarter Horse threw his head in the air, pinned back his ears and bit at the wind.
He is the tallest horse at Robinson’s Equine Therapy and Riding, which could intimidate some riders, but not 17-year-old Eli Van Gorder.
When Eli was 4 years old, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Although Eli has been in remission for 12 years, his body is vastly changed. Side effects from 33 proton radiation treatments to his brain and spine left Eli wheelchair-bound.
“He used to walk and run until he finished treatment back in 2014. He developed a limp, and then that limp got progressively worse … so now he has been wheelchair-bound for seven years,” said Eli’s mother, Sheila Burton, who has noticed significant changes in the strength in Eli’s legs since he began riding.
As Eli was about to mount Dreamer, he asked every volunteer helping to compete in a thumb war with him as he told them he was excited to see “Toy Story 5” soon.
Once Eli was wheeled up the ramp, Kevin picked him up and sat him on Dreamer’s saddle. Dreamer’s earlier sassiness was replaced by patience.
Dreamer is not the only horse at Robinson’s Farm trained to handle kids with physical and mental disabilities. Five of the farm’s seven horses are used for riding lessons.
One of the horses not ridden, Footloose, is completely blind but also one of the sweetest in the herd. Footloose’s calm energy is used to help relax kids who have never been around horses before.
“If we have one (a student) that’s like really afraid to ride and everything, they always just want to go pet him because he always sticks his head in and lets them just love on him,” said Shelby Borgestad, who took over ownership of the barn with her husband, Caleb, from her grandparents, Donna and Jim Robinson.
Shelby grew up on this farm, and she has known the horses in the fields her whole life. She even rode some of them, including the oldest mare in the herd, Whisper.
Whisper, whom Shelby refers to as the herd’s “matriarch,” is 29 years old and no longer being ridden. She instead happily grazes all day in the green pastures.
All riders at Robinson’s have a chance to ride most of the horses.
Faith, a 9-year-old, said her favorites to ride are Regina and Allie.
When she first started at the barn a year and a half ago, her foster mother, Kayla Brant, described Faith as “a ball of anger.” Now Brant is able to see a side of her child she has never seen before.
“She’s being more vocal and I swear it’s mostly due to that (riding). She’s getting more confident. Her emotional regulations have become better,” said Brant, who is working through the adoption process for Faith.
When Faith began riding, she battled with memories of trauma from her life before. Faith wasn’t excited about anything in her life.
Now, whenever Faith goes to school, Brant said she tells all her teachers what she learned about riding and how excited she is to see her horses again.
“She was going to a new school, and to have something that she could say that is cool and different really helped her feel more comfort and fit into that new school,” said Brant, who in the spring also enrolled her son James, who has special needs.
James loves to ride and said he finds it impossible to choose his favorite horse.
His eyes light up when he speaks about the exercises in his lessons. His favorite, however, is the “dragon game.”
“We have to collect all the rings and put them on the poles to we can get a laser beam, and all the other dragons can help us with that. Then you can defeat the evil dragon,” said 6-year-old James, whose voice rose as he spoke about how much fun it is to beat the “evil dragon.”
Eli’s favorite activity is, surprisingly, the sit-ups. Despite repeatedly telling his horse to “walk on” after his head hits the horse’s butt, and he must use his core to raise himself back to a straight-spined position, he cannot stop bragging about how good he is at them now.
“The motion helps with his body. His hips and all that … there’s gained strengths everywhere like that,” Kevin said.
Sheila and Brant hope that Robinson’s will continue to grow, especially with the Oct. 3 Robinson’s Round Up fall fundraiser that will include live music and games.
Shelby continues to push for new clients but ensures that they are aware that the Robinson’s staff members are not licensed therapists.
“We don’t want it to seem like there’s actual therapists out here, but we do a lot of the same ideas of activities,” Shelby said.
Many of Robinson’s clients, however, apparently do not mind the lack of licensing because of the positive changes they see in their children.
“We’re real happy and glad he has the opportunity to ride out there and get to know them,” Sheila said. “They’re good people. Can’t say enough about them.”
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Robinson’s Equine Therapy helps kids find strength, confidence
Reporting by Ava Westendorf, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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By Ava Westendorf, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
