Tucked away on the north side of Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek is a place that has been empowering all who pass through its gates — both two-legged and four-legged — for almost 40 years. That place is Equine-Assisted Therapies of South Florida (EATSF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing therapeutic riding and equine activities to children and adults with special needs.
“We’re here to build people up, no matter what their ability is,” emphasizes Molly Murphy, executive director of EATSF.
And that’s exactly what the organization does through its hippotherapy, therapeutic riding, equine-facilitated psychotherapy, and equine-facilitated learning programs.
“None of my peers rode horses,” recalls Murphy, who participated in both EATSF’s therapeutic riding and hippotherapy programs as a child. “This was something I did and was really good at, and I felt really powerful. For kids with disabilities, that is not the case a lot of the time. You don’t feel powerful in a lot of ways because you don’t have power over the way your body moves or your mind works.”
Throughout the years, EATSF’s program has demonstrated that fostering a connection between horse and human consistently produces inspiring results for participants on both a physical and an emotional level.
A 4-year-old, nonverbal participant rode with the program for a full year and out of nowhere in January exclaimed to everyone, “Happy new year!”
Another participant qualified for nationals for the Special Olympics. Others have started out only able to lie across the back of the horse and, over time, developed the muscle strength to sit up with support.
“It’s moments like that that have shaped and defined me,” says Missy Tussing, certified therapeutic riding instructor and barn manager, who has been involved with EATSF for 25 years. “One of the most important things I’ve seen is the growth of the participants.”
The sense of empowerment derived from working with horses is not limited to the riders.
“I’ve seen volunteers come across our threshold with no horse experience develop confidence and leadership skills that have transcended other areas of their lives,” says Murphy.
What is it about horses that makes them such effective therapy animals?
“They understand emotions. They’re a lot more knowledgeable than we give them credit for,” explains Tussing. “I’ve seen a horse you wouldn’t expect to reach out and catch his rider reach out and catch his rider.” That horse is Goose, an off-the-track thoroughbred that EATSF acquired through its partnership with Florida Thoroughbred Rescue and Adoptive Care.
Goose serves as an example of the positive impact that therapeutic riding can have on the horse as well. “For him, that was the day everything clicked,” says Tussing. “Off-the-track thoroughbreds come with their own set of challenges, and for him as a horse to overcome that and become such a wonderful horse for the program is a testament to him as well.”
EATSF is open to new participants, volunteers, and horses. To get involved, visit its website at http://equineatsf.org or call the office at (954) 974-2007.