Horse therapy transforms lives

GLENBURN – Magic happens when a child with disabilities rides horseback. Just watch Geneva Langevin, who has apraxia, a neurological disorder that affects her coordination and speech. Before she began equine-assisted therapy with Jessica Howe Treworgy at Weliwoni Ranch, the 9-year-old Bucksport girl couldn’t walk upstairs. Now she can fly.

Geneva’s mother has seen the changes – both physical and emotional – in just the few months her daughter has been riding. Since June, “Geneva has more confidence,” said Sherry Langevin. “She’s more relaxed.”

Jessica Treworgy, 42, and her husband, Dean Treworgy, have been together since 2002. They envisioned Weliwoni Ranch and the Bit O’ Hope therapeutic horse riding program as an “oasis of hope in a family-focused environment, where one will be given unconditional love and welcomed with the very cornerstone of our marriage vows: come as you are.”

You can find the ranch on a tree-lined road in Glenburn, five miles from the Broadway Shopping Center in Bangor. The bustling state-registered equestrian center boasts a regulation-size 66-by-132-foot arena ringed by a white-painted fence.

During a recent visit, musky horses nickered and a crimson-crowned rooster strutted while Treworgy’s son – and accomplished horseman – Dimitrje Poteet, 11, rushed to get a flake of hay for cinnamon-colored Candy, one of two trained therapy horses.

Long before she met Dean, Jessica’s yearning to be near horses led her to pony camp at Puckerbrush Farm in Newburgh, where for several summers she honed her skills in equine care, dressage and horse training. The wild freedom she experienced on horseback left her champing at the bit for adventures she could not find in her own backyard.

As soon as she graduated from Brewer High School, 18-year-old Jessica Howe left for Maryland, where horseback riding is a way of life. The young horsewoman shortly was invited to join the Potomac Fox Hunt Club and for years collected awards in world-class riding championships, while she also trained horses and riders of all ages.

But meeting a 5-year-old towheaded boy with autism at her riding stable “turned my life around,” she said, and inspired her to learn more about therapeutic horse riding. That meeting steered her toward a path she eventually followed back to Maine.

“Development, improvement and restoration of life quality are very attainable goals,” she said. Now Treworgy is one of a handful of specialists in Maine certified in therapeutic horse riding or hippotherapy.

Though its name conjures images of great creatures wallowing in an African river, hippotherapy actually takes its name from the Latin word for horse.

This type of equine-assisted therapy can benefit adults and children with varying degrees of physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. The therapy improves muscle tone, balance, posture, coordination and motor development as well as emotional well-being.

The program combines strategies used in occupational, speech and physical therapies, as well as those used by specialists in child behavior and development.

“This complementary therapy can benefit persons with just about any disabilities,” Treworgy said, “including autism and various physical disabilities [caused by] spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries.”

Why does it work?

The horse’s forward motion – with the hip and pelvis moving left to right, back and forth, and tilting forward and backward – is the same as how a human walks.

“The movement of the rider through the horse provides many types of stimulation and establishes a foundation to improve neurological function and sensory processing by organizing a rider’s nervous system and stimulating the body and the brain as a whole,” Treworgy explained.

So it doesn’t surprise the young woman when parents tell of their children’s progress, such as Geneva’s being able to climb stairs.

“During therapy, riders’ disabilities are transformed into abilities, and disorders become reordered as riders experience enhanced focus and attention span, better verbal communication, strength and endurance,” she added.

It’s also just plain fun.

During a recent session, Treworgy walked alongside Geneva Langevin and her mount while she instructed her pupil to slip her boots from Candy’s stirrups.

Then, the little brown-haired girl with the sparkling smile spread her arms wide – like a bird. The “flying” lesson aimed to boost Geneva’s sense of balance and coordination.

And though her “whoa” to Candy may sound different from that of most riders, the youngster can give the horse verbal and physical cues when she wants to stop.

“Riding also gives her something to look forward to and gives her a sense of well-being,” said Sherry Langevin, Geneva’s mother, “and it’s something she can share with her sister, Avalon.”

Nearly 30 years after her stint at Puckerbrush Farm, Treworgy has two specially trained therapy horses – Candy and the “kissing horse,” Sai Motoring – and 20 clients enrolled in her program.

“The magic is in seeing that the kids have gifts that are hidden,” she said. “Anything I can do with the animals that will help these kids, that’s what I want to do.”

For more information on the equine therapy program at Weliwoni Ranch, call 990-2697.

Melissa MacCrae is Jessica Treworgy’s sister.