Disabled Horses Find New Life Providing Therapy for Disabled Kids

Elvis is a pigeon-hoofed paint quarter horse who has a clumsy trot.

Scooter is a sorrel fox trotter who doesn't trot at all – he can only walk dragging his left rear leg.

Sadie is the golden girl at Ready Set Ride. At 22, the aging brood mare has decaying teeth that can only chew mush.

Therapeutic riding stables that mount special needs children (or adults) on horses aren't much of a novelty any more.  It's not news that horsing around helps kids build confidence and body control.

But Ready Set Ride, right here in far northeastern Plainfield, is a horse of a different color.

"We take in horses with special needs, that don't have any other function in life," said Lisa Ashfari, who founded the non-profit nine years ago. "These are often the horses that are perfect for kids with special needs."

Ready Set Ride is home to 10 horses on a small five-acre patch Ashfari rents on the banks of a creek slicing through Plainfield's upscale subdivisions and sprawling new school complexes. Kittens, dogs and – yes, that's a duck –  scramble through the barn as a team of 60 volunteers stagger stints of daily chores, bathing horses and scooping stalls.

Kids as young as 3 come from all over the Chicago area for developmental therapy based on North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA) guidelines that harnesses horses as a means of mobility for the children.

I was born into a horse family and spent my youth raising and showing quarter horses. As an adult, I spent several years working with people with cognitive disabilities. So, when I discovered Ready Set Ride not a mile down Essington Road from my farm, it was a seamless fit. I did a stint last fall leading horses during classes and helping out with noontime chores.

Therapy sessions start when volunteers help students strap on helmets and hoist them to their steed. The hour slips by as a horse leader and two side walkers follow cues from Ashfari in a series of games on horses she specifically plans to target individual areas for growth. The activities on horseback, ranging from baseball to the hokey pokey- incorporate physical, speech, occupational, developmental and recreational therapy.

Nine-year-old Kayla Gere of Naperville told her mom she wanted to be buried with the laminated "driver license"  Ashfari gives students with a picture of their horse. Gere's favorite horse Lamb Chops died that year.

"I want to make sure God knows I can ride Lamb Chops," the little girl with a brain injury told her family.

Ready Set Ride's therapeutic benefits don't end with the riders and the horses. Horse tending is therapeutic for the volunteers as well as the students. Kids who've landed on the wrong side of the law can choose Ready Set Ride as a community service option. Toting hay bales and sudsing up steeds gives them an alternative to finding mischief after school.

The horses come from race tracks and from owners who can't keep them anymore when they fall on hard times or move from a horse-friendly environment. Many of the mounts come from illustrious backgrounds, but might be throw-aways if it wasn't for Ready Set Ride.

Cubanna, a 9-year-old bay (that means she has a brown body with a black mane and tail), is a retired polo pony who doesn't know she is retired or that she is not a pony. Bugsy, known around Ready Set Ride as a giant teddy bear, is a cream-and-white paint quarter horse who loves marshmallows He used to be a Western show horse who won his share of Wisconsin state awards and is trained as a rescue and police horse.

There's even a miniature horse –  April, who came from Michigan, where she pulled a cart in shows. She's a pint-sized pony, just the right amount of horse for kids to groom and learn around. April comes when you whistle, can shake hands and loves baby carrots.

The Ready Set Ride string of horses gets all the indulgences – right down to regular message therapy treatments.

"It feels good to be able to make a good home for these horses that, otherwise, would have no place to go," Afshari said. "And here, they're doing something so important."

The nonprofit is gearing up for its fifth annual fundraiser Nov. 6. It is looking for cash donations, advertisers for its event program, or contributions of equine supplies and services. The event, at Sky's Banquet Hall in Joliet, is a buffet dinner with a silent and live auction. If you would like to donate an item or purchase tickets, visit www.readysetride.org or call 815-439-3659.