E is in a horse class. Confused? LOL, let me explain –

I first heard of horses being used in therapy with autistic kids from a mommy & me music class years ago. The teacher told me she had just watched a fascinating documentary about an autistic boy who went to live in some foreign country to bond with horses and made huge strides developmentally. Honestly, that sounded cooky (it sounded cooky then and it sounds cooky even typing it out now LOL) so I sort of disregarded it but of course, I did go home and Google it. Which led me down a rabbit hole of equine therapy and all the benefits that have been shown for autistic kids who work with horses. I guess learning to care for the horse and reading the horse’s cues also helps kids be in tune with their own emotions/cues and assists in regulating themselves and improving social skills. Who knows if it works but I was intrigued nonetheless.

I looked for facilities in my area that might offer similar services but honestly was hard pressed to find any that would be practical for our family. BUT THEN! A local ranch/outdoor camp that E already attends for social skills classes started offering a version of equine therapy. Really, it’s just a weekly class that doesn’t include any riding but lots of caring for and interacting with a horse (or two) but I still wanted E to participate. It’s a 1:1 class and it had limited spots but IF YOU KNOW THIS MOM THEN YOU KNOW I JUMPED ON THAT AND NABBED A SPOT FOR MY BABY 😂

She’s been attending for a few weeks and while I don’t see any huge differences emotionally & socially, I think she’s enjoying it and having fun which is honestly the most important thing. I found this list she made in her room .. I’m guessing these are rules that the teacher told her for how to interact with the horse and E being E, she came home and wrote them all down BWAHAHA. I love it.

Anyway, we’ll keep trying this out for now until either it’s obviously not working or she’s not having fun with it anymore. And of course “horse class” is not the proper term for it but it makes me giggle to call it that so … you know, I always refer to it as “horse class”, especially when talking to J about it (“I have to go pick up E from horse class”).