Success Stories
Emery
Emery is a five year old with Cerebral Palsy who lights up every room she enters. We invite you to watch the video above to see the incredible transformation she has experienced within a few short months here at GAIT. Her trusty lesson horse, Hviske, allows Emery to build her core through slow, repetitive movements while also building leg and neck strength.
Ashley
Community support and donations help us to reach our goal and make a direct impact on the lives of our clients such as Ashley, who has brain damage and developmental delay issues due to seizures that she suffered as an infant. Ashley's passion is horses and she is able to realize her dreams through her regular therapeutic riding sessions at GAIT. Ashley’s story is just one of many that happen at Green Acres Interactive Therapy each week.
Addison
Ben
Ben
I am a retired Occupational Therapist and moved to CA last year from VA where I headed up a Therapeutic Riding Program with the Powhatan County Public School System for seventeen years. I brought my Grandson Ben to the GAIT program last year to help Ben's delayed motor development and low muscle tone due to a brain tumor at age four which was treated successfully with surgery, chemo, and radiation therapy. Ben is now 11 years old and because he didn't grow for three years he is now receiving growth hormone shots daily and as a result he is even more challenged with his walking and balance. I have seen great improvement for Ben's gross strength and fine motor skills with the horse therapy intervention. Whereas he used a walker last year for school, that is no longer needed and his falling accidents have greatly diminished. Nicole his instructor has helped him in so many other ways. He always confused his left and right and she has helped him with his direction and listening skills. She is firm but so patient with him and he has responded beautifully to her directions. I have nothing but praise for Nicole and the Program that is GAIT."
- Betsy (Ben's Grandmother)
addison
"We LOVE coming to Green Acres for therapy! Nicole and staff are AMAZING! When Addison started the GAIT program she couldn't walk steadily without falling. Walking to the barn was extremely difficult for her, we had to hold both her hands...now she can walk to the back arena unassisted!! Her gait and trunk control have improved tremendously and I attribute that to her weekly therapy with Green Acres Interactive Therapy!"
-Anjanette (Addison's mother)
Manny
"My son Manny was born with Down syndrome and with autism. At the age of 6 months he started to get “head down” seizures and so I told my doctor he was having these weird movements. My doctor told me it was fine but something in my gut told me something was wrong, so I asked to be sent to a neurologist. He said it was part of Down syndrome. Manny started getting worse at the age of 2, his head would go down and he would start bleeding from his tongue. That's when I decided to change doctors and so at the age of 2 years old he got treated for seizures. The doctor told me that my son would not walk. I was terrified when he told me that, but as a mother I didn't want to give up on my son and I knew my son one day would walk. Manny started getting therapy at home at the age of two and a half years old and started to receive OT PT therapy once a week. As the years passed by I saw my son having some results but not as fast as I thought he would, he was still very weak. One day I started to research more stuff and this website came out horse therapy and I told my husband about it. The only thing is that it was in Burbank and I lived at that moment in Downey. I told my husband “I don't care I'm going to drive anywhere for my son to walk”. Sure enough I did it and I started taking my son twice a week to Burbank. He was such a happy boy when he got on that horse, he was somebody else. I've never seen him so happy and have so many emotions than on that day. Just by seeing him smile was making me happy. Manny started walking at the age of 5 which was amazing…At the age of 9 years old my son started to receive OT PT therapy at Littlefield and when I walked into the facility I saw that they were connected with Green Acres Ranch. I was full of emotions and I came home to my husband to tell him. “I was so happy I couldn't believe it”. I told Melissa about the horse therapy and she was so helpful. I had to be on the waiting list she told me, but it didn't matter as long as I knew my son was going to get horse therapy again. My son Manny has been riding with Green Acres Interactive Therapy since March, I see so many improvements in my son as he walks straighter than when he got here. He is less tense with his hands in his mouth and he is just a different kid when he gets on the horse. I see that my son focuses more, he starts giving Nicole the rings and he gets happy when he is doing it. That is only once a week and I wish I can bring my son three times a week or every day. The staffs are amazing .We love Green Acres Interactive Therapy. That's my son’s life."
-Lizette (Manny's Mom)
KAITY
“The Green Acres Interactive Therapy program has provided some fantastic experiences for me. I have always had a passion for horses and for children; this program gives me the opportunity to enjoy both. I look forward to seeing the students and watching them accomplish new goals. Each student is unique in personality and in the challenges they work to overcome. When they start lessons for the first time, most of the students are a little bit shy. As lessons continue, their personalities blossom. Some are quiet and observant, while others are talkative, busy, and curious. Their happiness and desire to learn is inspiring. Through repetition, they develop better balance, mobility, strength, and the ability to command the horse. It is so much fun to watch them confidently participate after a few weeks of lessons; they know where the supplies are and what the system is. Their faces light up, and soon after that they can 'do it by themselves'. The feeling I get when the kids flash a great big smile at me is incredible. The staff is awesome and work hard to help each student achieve their best. They bare so kind and patient. The horses are sweet, and let the kids explore them. Being next to a horse while helping a student is the best of two worlds for me. Whether I am leading, side-walking, or even watching, I am happy to be involved in the program. It is such a joy to help and encourage each child, and so rewarding to be there when they succeed."
- Kaity (GAIT Volunteer)
