Hands and Hearts for Horses hosts summer camps

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, June 15, 2023

THOMASVILLE — On the surface, Hands and Hearts for Horses may seem like a simple horse camp where kids can go ride horses for a week in June and July. However, it is much more.

Since their founding in 2000, Hands and Hearts for Horses has been helping kids with physical and mental disabilities through therapeutic horseback riding.

“Just being able to offer this opportunity to our young people with special needs is a huge thing,” said Hands and Hearts for Horses director and instructor Susie Shin.

Therapeutic horseback riding can help kids of any age and with multiple different disabilities. For kids with physical disabilities, the actual movement of riding a horse can be very beneficial.

It’s the horses hips that move similarly when walking as a human’s pelvis might. This allows these kids to move their muscles and bones as if they are walking with out having to bear weight on their legs. It works and strengthens their core which many people with physical disabilities struggle with.

It also stretches the muscles that people in wheelchairs don’t always get to stretch, providing them with some muscle relief.

As for kids with mental disabilities, many of the things they are taught at camp can overlap with day to day skills. For instance, teaching them to groom a horse can help them gain the skills and confidence to bathe themselves, brush their hair and other similar daily tasks.

“Horseback riding and teaching horseback riding lessons, there are a lot of overlaps in day to day living skills and processing patience and confidence,” Shin said.

Kids also get to play many games at camp that encourage them to learn skills like counting and color identification.

Hands and Hearts for Horses will have plenty of opportunity to impact campers as they have over 90 kids signed up for camps this summer, forcing them to add camps in both June and July. While they primarily serve kids with disabilities, the camps are open to both disabled and able-bodied youth, providing an important social aspect to the camp.

“I think a lot of our clients that come, especially the youth, the social aspect is a huge thing. That peer to peer relationship, I love it because we are inclusive,” said Shin. “We have some kids with some higher functioning special needs that do struggle with that peer to peer relationship and having this opportunity where they can develop relationships with their peers is great.”

During the camps the kids will get the opportunity to participate in many fun activities. They will learn about horses and why they move the way they do, as well as how to ride and groom them.

Campers will also get to take part in arts and crafts like origami and tie dye.

“We do horseback riding lessons, arts and crafts, sensory activities, team building, any kind of horsemanship and horse related things,” said Shin.

The camps will take place in June and July for kids of all ages.