Therapy a 'Main Stay' for Riding Facility's Patients

Horses aren't just for cowboys, ranchers and enthusiasts. As we reported with Hope Reins, Main Stay is also utilizing the animals and therapeutic qualities they bring to those with special needs.

Main Stay Therapeutic Riding in Richmond is a facility focusing on equine therapy. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping those with physical, developmental, emotional and social disabilities.

With indoor and outdoor arenas on its 41 acres, a staff of seven part-time PATH-certified instructors, 11 horses and a handful of administrative employees, Main Stay depends on private donations and grant funding to keep it in operation. More than 100 trained volunteers help out each week during the 11 months of the year it is open.

Initially a stable for the able-bodied when opened to the public in 1984, it eventually transitioned into a therapeutic-only facility in 1987, and has remained so since then. 

Today an average of 85 students, ranging in age from 3 to 70 years, visit Main Stay each week for private and group therapy sessions. 

Main Stay collaborates with various social service agencies in six counties in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Classes start at $25 and there is a yearlong waiting list for participation it the program, said Executive Director Loriann Dowell. All clients accepted into the program are referred by physicians.

Students participate both in ground work with the horse of their choice and/or riding.

Classes are comprised of activities with the horses that will challenge and teach students something about themselves or how to manage their disabilities better.

With the popularity of various forms of animal therapy today, horses continue to stand out from others when it comes to the specific challenges a Main Stay student faces.

The pure physicality of the horses has a calming effect on students, said Development Director Ann Henslee, and their gait mimics human walking, which strengthens the communication between the pelvis and the brain.

“There is nothing more compelling than controlling something big that is so warm and close to you,” she said. “It’s an ancient therapy.”

Dowell added that clients have little control over their surroundings due to their disabilities.

“One thing they can control is when they get on the horse,” she said.

Using lower body muscles provides physical therapy for riders, helping them function at a higher level in their lives.

Self-Confidence Boost for Kayla and Taylee

Julie Reed of Woodstock said her 10-year-old daughter, Kayla, has benefited from the riding sessions over the past three years.

Kayla has delayed motor skills and tight legs and calves. Riding the horse has improved her walking and stretching, Reed said, as well as builds her self-confidence.

“She’s thrilled to come here. They’re really great with her and the horses. It’s a great program,” she said.

Horses also provide physical cues that therapists note and work on with students during various exercises. If a horse won’t respond to a student coaxing it to approach, it is an opportunity to explore why not with the student, Dowell said. 

Outside the indoor arena are tracks with different surfaces for students to ride on, which helps some students, particularly autistic riders, expand their horizons with different noises and sensations.

For Jennifer Gulas of Wonder Lake, Main Stay has been a blessing for her 10-year-old daughter, Taylee.

After a six-month wait, Taylee was admitted into the program about two years ago on her physician’s recommendation.

She wasn’t speaking, had poor coordination and didn’t have the confidence to do things for herself, Gulas said.

“Now she has the self-confidence to teach herself things,” Gulas said. “The riding has made more of an impact on her than school or therapy. The horse keeps her focused.”

Riding the horse has helped her physical strength, and her coordination has improved to the point she recently rode her bicycle for the first time on her own, something Gulas said might have never happened without the therapy at Main Stay.

As for talking, Gulas laughed that now Taylee never stops.

Her most frequently repeated words are, “Is it horseback riding time?”

For our report on psychologist Douglas Neal's work with Hope Reins, click here.