Free S.P.I.R.I.T. Riders, Inc.

Special People in Riding Therapy

There Purpose:

To provide active therapy.
To provide a valuable experience that is enjoyable though challenging.
To promote the rehabilitation of individuals with physical, psychological and learning disabilities through equine-facilitated activities.

Gambler was called upon because of his Pet Therapy skills to come to Free S.P.I.R.I.T. for a therapy visit. Now Free S.P.I.R.I.T. is a equine facilitated therapeutic services for Developmentally Disabled individuals, so why would Gambler as a canine be asked to come to the barn for Pet Therapy?

Gambler was asked by one of the horse trainers (Monica) who happened to own a Sand Spring puppy at one time if he would come and let one of their riders meet him.

Luke one of the riders goes to Free S.P.I.R.I.T. for therapeutic riding. He opens up when he is riding and around the horses. Luke had a dog when he was really little but hasn’t been around on in a very long time so his mom is looking into getting him his own service dog. He is very shy and doesn’t open up to change very easily.

Monica being around my dogs and having one of my pups for a very short time knew what roles they played in Pet Therapy and thought it would be nice if Luke could meet a therapy dog and have him interact with him as well as getting used to a dog so his mom could move forward in getting him his own service dog.

Service dogs are different than therapy dogs, she wanted to start with introducing Luke to a Pet Therapy dog since he hasn’t been around dogs and she knew how Gambler would act around him. He wouldn’t scare him, he wouldn’t jump on him, he would sit there and let him pet him, read to him or dress him up, whatever Luke wanted to do with him he was there for a hour to do what ever Pet Therapy was needed.

Luke’s mom, sister and therapist were all there for the visit. The therapist took the lead and helped Luke get used to Gambler. Luke was very apprehensive he didn’t want anything to do with Gambler in the beginning. His sister and mom petted Gambler, helped walk Gambler to show him it was ok. I was using one of my double handed leashes for this visit and I was glad I did. The therapist asked Luke to help walk Gambler since he didn’t want to pet him so eventually Luke grabbed the end of the leash and I took the short handle and we all walked Gambler. That was a huge step forward for Luke.

We walked into the family room in the barn, there were books, toys, tables and chairs in there. I brought some wigs and hats for Gambler to wear. Luke still didn’t want to pet Gambler so the therapist would ask him what color hat he would like Gambler to wear and then if he would like to wear it. I had a fireman hat so that was the hat that was chosen. Gambler sat wearing his hat and Luke was asked to touch Gambler. Gambler sat there why Luke touched Gambler lightly, it wasn’t for a long time but it was a touch non the less.

I was amazed at how the therapist worked with Luke. They surely have a special place in this world. Luke trusted her and she got him to interact with Gambler.

After the visit Luke was going to have his riding time on one of the horses. Luke walked Gambler to his horse and showed us which one he would be riding. Gambler has been around horses so he wasn’t scared to walk through the barn and see all the big horses.

During our visit Gambler and I toured their sensory garden. The garden was beautiful with many sensory items in it, the riders had a place they could go and just relax and take it all in. It was cool that they used the horse manure to fertilize the garden, had horse items through out and even had halters from the horses in the garden. All the photos I took were from the garden.

I was proud of Gambler and of Luke, even know it seemed like Luke might not of gotten much out of our therapy visit I know deep down Gambler made a difference that day to a boy that has disabilities and it is the first step in hopefully getting him his own service dog to help him in the day to day life.

Thank you Monica for reaching out to me and Gambler.