Palouse Area Therapeutic Horsemanship, the only therapeutic riding program in a 100-mile radius, is in high demand, said PATH Coordinator Sue Jacobson.
Though they have increased their program by 50 percent, Jacobson said there is still a waiting list for riders.
PATH is a program under the People-Pet Partnership of the College of
Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University.
The program provides therapeutic horseback riding for people with physical, mental and emotional disabilities.
It has been serving the Palouse region for 33 years. Dr. Leo K. Bustad, (1920-1998) Dean Emeritus of the college of Veterinary Medicine at WSU and founder of the People-Pet Partnership, conducted multiple research surveys revolving around animals, and discovered in the 1990s that many disabled people did not have access to animals. This discovery led him to start the People-Pet Partnership at WSU, according to a YouTube video on the WSU site.
Jacobson said riders are both children and adults. They are given horseback lessons once a week by certified instructors, with one to three volunteers assisting each rider.
Jacobson said the riders benefit from these lessons in multiple ways. Physically, riding provides exercise to build core muscles, improve balance and posture and also increases cognitive abilities. Many riders are not able to do other forms of exercise.
“It is gratifying to see that they have the opportunity to do something, and see their abilities greatly enhance,” Jacobson said.
The program also benefits the 180 people who volunteer every year.
“They are able to see them as real people, and appreciate what they (the riders and their families) go through,” Jacobson said. “It also makes the volunteers more comfortable around people with disabilities, and they get to work with horses.”
Volunteers are what help make PATH a success, and there are five five-week sessions per year that give people the opportunity to volunteer, Jacobson said. There are two sessions before Thanksgiving, two from mid-February to April, and one summer session from the middle of May to the middle of June.
Jacobson said no experience is necessary to be a volunteer. Applicants must be 14 years or older, attend the orientation and one training session that is put on by the program and commit to one class a week for a five-week period.
Though it is too late to volunteer for this fall, new volunteers can go to the orientation and training sessions for the spring sessions, which will be around the end of January, Jacobson said.
PATH also has other programs that branch off of it. One of them is PATH to Success — an after school program centered on youth development with equine assistance.
Another program allows parent and children to work together.
For more information about volunteering or riding, contact Jacobson at 509-335-7347, [email protected] or visit www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-pppp/PATH.asp.
Allison Griffith can be reached at arg-news.uidaho.edu