Meet Zara. She rides on a Friday afternoon session and as you can see from her face she is very excited when she visits Muirfield Riding Therapy.
Although she has many friends amongst the other participants and volunteers her best friend is undoubtedly her pony Harry, with his cheeky demeanour and striking appearance. They are such a good pairing for her therapy sessions.
Zara has chromosomal duplication syndrome which has resulted in several health and developmental issues.
She can struggle with attention and staying focused on tasks. However, her team are very good at encouraging her to follow instructions and communication skills. This social interaction helps build Zara’s confidence.
She has a minor visual impairment, so the brightly coloured toys and equipment help her to see the hoops and balls used during the class. The satisfaction she gets from successfully putting the hoop over the cone is wonderful to see and boosts her self-esteem.
While all the fun and interaction is going on, her pony is addressing Zara’s low muscle tone, another aspect of her condition. Low tone can result in “floppiness”. Every step that the pony takes he challenges Zara’s balance which works her core muscles and improves her physical strength – a workout without knowing it.
Zara LOVES her time at MRT, it is the highlight of her week and she asks every day when she is next seeing Harry, her wonderful therapy pony. It really is a joy for us, as parents to see Zara develop a hobby out of a therapy she loves so much. We are grateful to the whole MRT team for the support and guidance Zara receives.
Zara is a joy to work with, and her evident enthusiasm adds to the fun that is Friday!
