Therapeutic Riding For CP Treatment

In this uplifting article out of Indiana, 7-year-old Abigail Bieghler has benefited emotionally and physically from a horse riding program designed to help her with many of the challenges that arise from her spastic diplegia.

Abigail has to wear leg braces to keep her heels down off as she walks in a scissor-type movement off the horse, but while atop one of the horses at the Therapeion Therapeutic Riding Center, she moves swiftly and with confidence.

Just a few weeks into the start of the horse riding program that incorporates physical therapy in order to cater to children with disabilities, Abigail's exercises help her with stretching, posture, balance, coordination, body and space analysis, relaxation and range of motion. And she said she enjoys the riding much more than the physical therapy she does outside of the center.

Her mother said that she hopes the class will help Abigail's self-confidence, in addition to being a "fun alternative to therapy."

Abigail was not diagnosed with spastic diplegia this year, but according to Neurologist Scott Hoyer, cerebral palsy is the result of a static injury that happened during pregnancy or at the time of birth and the results are often not seen until the child really starts to grow and develop. If your child has cerebral palsy because of a birth injury, contact a Cerebral Palsy Attorney to see if you might have a case.