Luke so far this week has not wanted to cooperate with his physical therapists. I am almost to the point where I feel like it’s a waste of time for all of us. He is definitely acting like a two year old now!
I was very frustrated today after our therapist left. He doesn’t want to do much for her and we haven’t really been shown much to do with him that is new. I remembered reading about horseback riding as a form of physical therapy. It is called hippotherapy. I found two places that are certified to do it, but they are both about an hour and a half drive from our house. I thought that he could still benefit from ordinary horseback riding though. There is an agricultural museum semi close to us that does lessons. I’ve been meaning to make a trip out there to check the place out, but we haven’t gone yet. I called them today and set up an appointment for this weekend for Luke to try therapeutic riding. The instructor has a daughter with special needs, so she knows exactly where we are coming from. How refreshing for us! She said that the therapeutic riding that she can show him is more enjoyable for the kids whereas hippotherapy is more actual “work” for them and they don’t always enjoy it. She said she started her daughter with riding, then tried to switch her to hippotherapy and she hated it.
I’m hoping this new type of therapy will be a fun experience for all of us. Luke loves animals and it’s always nice to do something outdoors. He’s seen horses up close, but never been on one, so we will see how the first session goes:)
I’m also trying to find somewhere for him to do some aquatic type therapies. If I can’t find anything, I may just sign him up for swim lessons locally. That will be fun, useful and therapeutic.
I’d be very interested to hear how he does with it! My E is very lucky to have a pair of Uncles who have a farm with horses, about a half hour away. We are considering purchasing a pony for her sometime in the future if it would be worthwhile, to have out at the farm. They have already offered to board it for us.
The long wait list for hippotherapy seems fairly discouraging for us too, but I hope you can have success with this therapeutic riding! Please keep us updated on how it goes!