January 29, 2008

So, there I was happily snoozing in a patch of sun on Saturday morning when Marianne jostled me. "Come on, Parker. We're going on a field trip," she informed me. "We're going to go watch Stefanie ride a horse!"

We drove along with Stafanie, her CCI Skilled Companion Alette, and Carol-Ann, Stef's mom. Hours and hours later (well, maybe not, but it seemed like a long time) we arrived at the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center in Longmont. While we waited for Stefanie to get settled on her horse, I asked Alette some questions.

PARKER: This place smells great! How long have you and Stef been coming here?

ALETTE: A long time! Ever since I became her CCI Skilled Companion, about six years.

PARKER: So what do they do here?

ALETTE: They provide therapeutic riding services, including hippotherapy, to children and adults with disabilities.

PARKER: HUH? I thought hippos were funny-looking animals at the zoo. Is Stefanie going to ride a hippo today?

ALETTE: No, silly puppy. “Hippotherapy” comes from a Greek word “hippos,” which means horse. The animal you're thinking of is a hippopotamus (hippo = horse and potamos = river).

PARKER. Wow, I'm impressed! They teach you all kinds of stuff at CCI College. So hippotherapy means “treatment with the help of a horse?"

ALETTE: Brilliant deduction! Stefanie works with a licensed physical therapist. They work on the characteristics of the horse’s walk and how that movement can help Stefanie with things like balance, rotation, and flexibility.

PARKER: Hey, Stefanie is going outside! Let's go watch. She looks really happy. Why is the horse walking backwards?

ALETTE: That movement helps Stef with balance and working her core muscles. Pretty cool, huh?

PARKER: Yeah, very cool. Maybe if I graduate I'll be matched to someone who goes to a therapeutic riding center, too!

When Stefanie was done, we wandered over to a small corral. Imagine my surprise when Marianne told me the animals inside were horses! I thought all horses were really big, but these were my size, sort of. They were very friendly, and Marianne wanted to take one home with us. (Yeah, John would have been REAL excited about that.) I wanted to go into the corral and play with them, but Marianne said no. One even nibbled on my toes, which tickled. Check out my slide show!

Click this link (www.ctrcinc.org) if you want more information about the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center. It's a very cool place!

Chow for now!

Parker

Questions or comments for Parker? Send them to Call7ForHelp@TheDenverChannel.com.

Would you like more information about Canine Companions for Independence, or perhaps be a puppy raiser? Call 1-800-572-BARK or go to www.cci.org for details.