On a beautiful 800-acre facility just south of Sheridan, Wyoming, lives an Appaloosa named Spot. He’s a horse who takes his job very seriously and for that, is well loved and trusted above all. Formerly a ranch horse, he was donated to Children, Horses and Adults in Partnership for Equine Assisted therapy (CHAPS) by Marion Neidringhaus in 2005. Executive Director and therapy instructor, Sue Suddith, shared with us how wonderful Spot is.

On Spot

Spot has a really dry sense of humor. He has a way of looking at the instructor during the session as if he is saying, “Can you believe that?” He never does anything that would be considered unsafe and he is very aware of his riders. If they don’t pay attention or if they are not following directions, he knows it and brings them to the center of the arena where the riding instructor is standing as if to say, “talk to this rider, would you?” He also enjoys gently investigating pockets for treats and for some of our clients who are tactile defensive, this helps them to stretch their boundaries and let someone touch them.

Spot’s job is varied, so that he never gets bored. He provides up to two hours of session work per day. On one day he may be carrying a veteran with Multiple Sclerosis who is working on balance, ambulation and core strength, another day he is helping to teach a nonverbal young man with Autism to use words, “walk on” and “whoa,” to get the desired response. Spot has been to Special Olympics and carried his riders to gold medals in trail class, English equitation, stock seat equitation and western riding. Whenever we need to take a horse for a riding demonstration, such as the Wyoming Rodeo or the Morton Buildings CHAPS Benefit Polo Cup we rely on Spot’s steady and calm personality to represent our program and carry our riders safely no matter how loud or chaotic the surroundings are.

The thing that makes Spot an outstanding therapy horse is that he accepts his riders regardless of their behaviors or personalities. He has always been interested in what is going on around him without being spooky or flighty. He definitely enjoys being in his stall and relaxing, but is always eager to please when he is asked to go to work, and is as pleasant and trustworthy in an arena full of props and toys as he is on a trail. He has many riders that he looks forward to working with, and he has a funny little nicker that he does when riders dismount, as if he’s saying “thanks for the ride.” One young lady who is fairly nonverbal always replies, “you’re welcome.”

On his riders

Spot is our go-to horse that I can trust with our most challenging riders and also our most timid. He also enjoys being ridden by our more independent riders who are with the program to work on behavioral or emotional issues. His riders have a variety of diagnosis including Down Syndrome, Developmental Delay, Autism, Quadriplegia, Cerebral Palsy, Rett Syndrome, PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Spot’s trot has a great bounce and impulsion that really helps clients learning to post the trot, but he can also dial it down a bit and provide a slow jog if someone is nervous. I’d say the common thread for all of his clients is that they absolutely love him and look forward to spending their hour with him every week. If Spot is missing a shoe or cannot be ridden for some reason, his riders would rather spend the time grooming him than riding another horse.

On being inspirational

One of our clients who has quadriplegia and is in a wheelchair was getting ready to groom Spot and forgot to set her brakes. I looked up to see her roll slowly under Spot until her chest and face were planted in Spot’s side—she does not have much range of motion and could not push herself back, and one of her arms was pinned to the arm rest under Spot’s belly. He just turned around and looked at her as if to say, “what the heck?” and waited patiently until we pulled her chair out from under him. He never moved once, but the look on his face was pretty funny.

Because Spot is mostly white, he makes a great canvas upon which our riders paint the names of the parts of the horse or color in stockings, socks, stars, blazes—all in garish colors. A number of times I have looked out the window and seen clients playing connect the dots with him. All the while, he has a patient look on his face and regardless of how silly he looks at the end of the session he is quite dignified.

One inspirational story involves our veterans. We have a group that comes out once a week that is receiving treatment for PTSD and traumatic brain injury, arriving with their therapists from the VA Medical Center to work with the horses for 2 hours and then have a group session in our patio area. Two of the gentlemen that were working with Spot were grooming him and giggling. I didn’t pay too much attention until I turned to ask them if they were ready to saddle up and they had fashioned a mohawk hairdo with Spot’s mane and forelock. He looked ridiculous and the look on his face was one of long suffering—but the two veterans were laughing uproariously. I had to laugh too, but later when the therapist took me aside and said, “You realize that the only time they can relax and let down like that is when they are out here working with Spot” it made me cry. I was so pleased that Spot could give them that.

What everyone should know

I’d like to let your readers know how important it is to have good, sound, healthy, well-trained horses donated to therapeutic riding and equine-assisted activity centers. If you are considering finding a home for your horse, please consider making a donation to your local program if your horse is suitable. We are so grateful to Marion for thinking of us when she needed to find a home for Spot, and he has provided so many of our riders with the opportunity to discover their abilities, rather than focus on their disability. If you have good horse experience, donating the gift of your time volunteering at a center would mean so much to its participants. Many riders cannot have their session without volunteers. Just an hour or so of your time each week means so much to people who participate in therapeutic riding. If you want to find a center near you, please go to www.narha.org and click on ‘find a center’ to discover the wonderful world of equine assisted activities and therapeutic riding!