A Horse, a Little Boy and a Big Difference for his Family

A letter from one of our Parents:
It has been a delight for us to be waking up every Saturday morning and driving up to stables where we've not only noticed marked improvement in our son's demeanor, when he sees and rides the horses, but also physically during and after sessions.
Though our son may be non-verbal and non-communicative, but the subtle signs he shows, such as relaxed breathing and non-tensing of muscles, tells us that the therapy sessions has been doing him well since we started back in January of this year. The biggest improvement we've seen to date is the ability of Ollie to be able to spread his legs at an angle further than he has ever been since he was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia last year. Nowadays, it's been much easier to perform certain daily activities with Oliver, such as changing his diapers or perineal care or simply getting him into his car seat, wherein before it would be such a task for us as Oliver tenses his legs and closes them up in anticipation of the activity.
Oliver was born a healthy “typical” boy. At 4 months old during his first week of daycare, he was rushed to the hospital due to SIDS where he was diagnosed with anoxic encephalopathy due to Cardiac Arrest. Oliver went over 20 minutes with no oxygen to the brain. Oliver was hospitalized for over a month, during this time his life was hanging at a balance and we were uncertain of his future. Today we feel extremely blessed and grateful that Oliver is still with us. We are learning to navigate life as a special needs family and are grateful to AHEAD With Horses for giving us the opportunity to provide a better quality of life for Oliver. Not only is he connecting with the horses/ instructors, working on his hip dysplasia, head control, posture, etc.. But it has given our family something to look forward to every weekend. It truly lifts our spirits and keeps us hopeful and excited to see what the years will bring for our little boy.