Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Marie Green (center) pats her horse's neck in praise during a hippotherapy session at Cloud Dancers of the Southwest. The organization offers recreational and therapeutic horseback riding for people with disabilities. Volunteers like McKinnon Carroll (left) and Ashleigh Grycner provide support for riders.

Photo by Michael J. GallegosTribune

Tribune

Instructor Karen Molony passes a horse brush to rider Marie Green at the start of a hippotherapy session. Riders learn the different types of brushes and how to use them as part of the program.

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Jessica Chavez rides her horse around traffic cones and colored wooden posts.

She stops by pulling on the reins when she sees an instructor flip the red side of a flash card.

Jessica, 14, is deaf and developmentally delayed. Riding a horse for her is more than a pastime - it's therapy.

Cloud Dancers of the Southwest, 608 Bledsoe Road N.W. in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, uses horses as a form of therapy for people with disabilities.

It allows them to care for the horses and puts them in control of situations, said June Storey, program coordinator for Cloud Dancers, a 25-year-old nonprofit organization.

Some of the participants Cloud Dancers deals with are deaf, while others have autism and other types of disabilities.

"The whole purpose of the program is working with people's abilities, not disabilities," said Storey. "There's a lot of things they're told they can't do and places they can't go. It's an opportunity for them to do something special."

Jessica's mom, Darlene Chavez, said Cloud Dancers has given her daughter that opportunity to really shine.

Chavez found out about hippotherapy from her daughter's case manager.

She and her daughter visited the program a couple of times and decided to try it.

"We thought it'd be good for her (Jessica)," Chavez said. "So far, she's liked it."

After three years at Cloud Dancers, Chavez said Jessica isn't the same girl she was when she first joined.

"She's more confident and not scared to get around the horses," she said. "I think she's improved so much, and now she's trotting."

Whether it's grooming, riding or cleaning the stalls, many people with disabilities benefit from the lessons, Storey said.

"It allows them to do things a lot of able-bodied people do," she said. "It helps with upper-arm strength. It kind of works with the body - especially in grooming, where they have to use their arms."

However, the therapy helps with more than the physical aspect.

"There's the socialization capabilities, and there's the sheer fun of riding," she said. "These children get to ride horses that possibly other children don't get to have access to."

Storey said Cloud Dancers relies strictly on volunteers. This session, the program has 63 volunteers. About three volunteers accompany each client during a lesson, Storey said.

Randi Phillips, a volunteer with Cloud Dancers, said she loves to work with horses and seeing how they help the kids is an added bonus.

"It's a lot of gratification to see how much pleasure it is for the kids and what it does for them," she said. "I'll do anything to be around horses."

Volunteering has also been worthwhile for Martha Cayne.

"I wanted to do something with horses," she said. "Working with kids was also an added plus. It's a good way to combine the two."

After Cayne retired, she said she wanted something to do to feel good about herself and help others.

"I wanted to do something that was helpful to the community and wasn't about me," she said. "It's been something that's added to my life. It's given me a way to focus my retirement time."

Cayne said it's very exciting to see how it benefits the participants.

"I like how excited the kids seem and the way their faces beam and the joy you see in their faces," she said.

That joy emanates from Jessica's face as she waves to her mom each time she passes.

Chavez said horse therapy has helped her daughter realize her ability and has helped her set goals in her life.

"She wants to be a horse groomer when she grows up," said Chavez.