When Melissa finished her horse riding session last fall, it seemed like we would be waiting forever for the spring riding season to come. Well, here it is! Though it takes Melissa what seems like an eternity to get ready for school in the mornings, she was ready and out the door in less than a minute this afternoon. She was proudly wearing her new boots and horse sweater, her gloves and helmet in hand. She was glowing with anticipation as we drove to her favorite place on earth...to be with her horses.
Melissa had a one on one session today (interesting note: the girl who was finishing her lesson before us happened to be a neighbor in Jonny's class who gets off at the same bus stop as Melissa!). She got to meet a new horse, Tango, and help saddle him up. She took a few laps around the arena with her trainer at 
the lead rope. Melissa had to use some more definite movements with Tango as he is neck trained, not simply bit trained as her horses last fall had been. She also had to get use to using her legs to squeeze his belly to get him to trot. These are all good things for her and will help her to develop more strength and muscle control. After a few rounds, Melissa was already getting the hang of it, so her trainer detached the lead rope. For the next 30 minutes, Melissa was riding and guiding that horse all by herself! It was great....she was so proud! She has such confidence on the horse and seems so comfortable. She was even able to precisely move him through some cones as obstacles.
the lead rope. Melissa had to use some more definite movements with Tango as he is neck trained, not simply bit trained as her horses last fall had been. She also had to get use to using her legs to squeeze his belly to get him to trot. These are all good things for her and will help her to develop more strength and muscle control. After a few rounds, Melissa was already getting the hang of it, so her trainer detached the lead rope. For the next 30 minutes, Melissa was riding and guiding that horse all by herself! It was great....she was so proud! She has such confidence on the horse and seems so comfortable. She was even able to precisely move him through some cones as obstacles. This is coming at such a good time for her....she really needs this boost of self esteem. Pairing riding with the warming weather and more chances to be outside will greatly improve her opportunities for fun. I have heard from her adaptive physical education teacher at school, and from Melissa herself, that she can now ride a bike without training wheels! That had been a rather lofty goal set at the beginning of the year. I am really looking forward to seeing that at conferences on Thursday. She never ceases to amaze me!
1 comment:
How wonderful! Great work Melissa, and good job supporting such a cool hobby Julie! I don't know how you manage to keep up with all your kid's activities, but you seem to do a great job.
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