Transcriber: Zou Jiabin Reviewer: Amanda Zhu
Hello, and thank you for this opportunity.
My name is Vanya Todorova,
and I’m the founder of Ahil Horseback Riding Center
and “Together We Can” foundation.
My story begins years ago
when I accidentally came across these beautiful and elegant creatures,
the horses.
Initially, I should say that in the past
I did not have much interaction with horses.
I have a master’s degree in Linguistics,
and for me the horses
were just gorgeous animals with four legs, a tail, and a mane.
I started taking riding lessons
just to find out what I had been missing
all my life:
absolute physical, mental and spiritual freedom.
Long story short,
I ended up establishing a horseback riding center
in the beautiful Vitosha Mountain
with the only intention to help other people and beginners like myself
discover this beauty of motion and emotion
that helps overcome fears, mental exhaustion, depression,
or simply helps escape from the everyday routine.
It all went well, but still I felt that something was missing.
I knew that horses, as other animals, dogs and dolphins,
are used toward therapy.
But in Bulgaria, there was not much information about that.
Moreover, I found out
that only a couple of people in the whole country
applied this therapeutic method.
I came across some videos of an Irish lady
working with horses and autistic children,
and it suddenly came to me:
“This is it. This is my calling.”
Since that moment five years ago,
I dedicated all my time, effort, and enthusiasm
to learn and practice.
I got a master’s degree in special education,
and I took part in an Erasmus+ project -
Innovations in Hippotherapy.
Now I work on a regular basis
with more than 50 children with different disorders and disabilities,
such as autism spectrum disorder, the Down’s syndrome,
cerebral palsy, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder,
children with impaired eyesight, deaf and hard of hearing children,
children with cognitive, communication, and behavioral disorders,
and I can say that we achieve great results.
Let me share with you what horse therapy is
and why it is so effective.
It is a combination
of the horse’s movement on the one hand
and emotional interaction on the other.
The movement of the horse while the horse walks
shifts the body of the rider in three places simultaneously -
up-down, front-back, left-right.
The horse’s back becomes a balanced board
producing motion impulses from 80 to 120 per minute.
These impulses are transmitted to the rider
through the pelvis, through the legs, and through the arms in certain positions.
The impulses travel up the human spine to reach the brain,
where they create qualitatively neuron patterns in the cortex.
Nowadays, neuroplasticity of the human brain
is much examined and applied in a number of activities
with small children and children with special needs.
The idea is that if a damaged center cannot be repaired,
then other centers take up its function in order to compensate
so that the child could improve his physical and mental skills.
Let us take an example of a child in a wheelchair.
In his everyday life, he finds himself at low position
and is supported all the time by somebody else.
When on the horse’s back, he suddenly lifted to a higher position,
1.3, 1.5 meters off the ground.
His body is forced to change perspective
and adjust to the new conditions in space.
His center of gravity shifts continually with the rhythm of the horse’s step,
and the axis of his body and the position of his joints
react to the new motion pattern.
This stimulation affects motoric and balance centers in the cortex,
activates the vestibular system,
and builds up new and qualitatively better motoric patterns.
The muscles in the ligaments are also affected,
and spasticity is normalized and relieved.
And this is due not only to the movement
but also to the body temperature of the horse,
which is about 38 degrees.
Indirectly, the horse’s movement affects blood circulation,
the digestive tract, and the respiratory system,
and the child starts breathing rhythmically.
Rhythmic breathing lowers the anxiety levels
and helps develop communication skills.
Horses are not only physical therapists, they are great mental healers.
Children with disabilities suffer from social deprivation.
They live in isolation in the closed circles of their families.
In our activities with horses,
we help autistic children position their body in space
and become aware of the movement of their bodies,
which is called proprioception.
Children love the horses,
and their emotional response is very positive.
They feel safe, and they know that the horse accepts their true self.
What is more,
horses help them get out of their shell
and become more social and communicative.
Many of my autistic children have their favorite horse
and they establish a very special emotional bond with him.
In our activities with children,
we apply different methods
in order to provoke sensory and communication response.
It is interesting
that the balance center in the cortex
is closely related to the center of speech.
Thus,
when we do our activities with the horses,
we stimulate the balance center
- and this happens naturally -
and thus, indirectly,
we stimulate the communication center, and we provoke communication.
Some of my autistic boys,
nonverbal autistic boys,
pronounce their first word during the therapy session.
And of course, this word was “horse.”
This physical workout is connected with great fun.
Children like it,
and they have, ugh,
and they gladly accept to follow instructions.
It has been proven
that only ten minutes on the horse’s back
increase several times the level of the oxytocin hormone,
the happiness hormone,
and this is due to the rhythmic movement of the pelvis.
The positive results in my practice are numerous.
Hyperactive children become more relaxed and concentrated.
Autistic children come out of their shell and become more social and communicative.
Children with physical disabilities
acquire muscle strength and motion control.
The results come gradually,
and the lasting effect is based on the mutual effort
of the therapist, the child, and the child’s parents.
Although it may sound nice and fun,
it requires great physical and mental strength
from all of us involved in the therapy session.
Sometimes I have my own doubts whether my approach is the right one.
Children are very different,
and there is no one solution fits all methods for work.
There is a saying
that when you meet an autistic boy, you have met only one autistic boy.
There are days when the child is not in the mood.
His anxiety level is very high.
He runs and screams around.
He’s not cooperative.
He may even have self-injurious behavior,
or he may try to kick and bite other people.
It is not that the child wants to hurt other people.
It is his reaction to external stimuli that he cannot cope with.
In such situations, we have to be very patient,
and we have to try to make the child calm down.
We tried to involve him in activities that we know he enjoys,
like giving him a carrot to feed the horse
or giving him a leash to walk the horse
in order to help him calm down.
But the truth is that in such situations,
it is the horse who helps the child settle down
by staying calm and patient.
Last but not least,
I should say some words about my horses.
I adore them.
They are so patient, calm, and understanding,
real therapists for all humans around.
Looking at them,
you can say
that they know that they are doing something very, very special.
They also have their good days
and bad days.
They are tired at the end of the day or emotionally overloaded,
but still, they are very patient and affectionate,
and they love treats.
Finally, I can say that the dream that seemed impossible some years ago
is now converted into reality.
And I think that the key word is love.
We are all here to leave a trace, no matter how big or small.
One’s true vocation in life may come early or late,
but it always comes.
Follow your dreams and never yield to fear and insecurity.
Give love, receive love,
deam big, work hard,
and follow your dreams.
Because only working with love and dedication
is what makes your heart sing.
Thank you.