On Thursdays through May, students in the Multiple Disabilities program at Shaker Heights High School travel to Fieldstone Farm in Chagrin Falls for therapeutic riding sessions. This is the first year for the weekly field trip for High School students, thanks to Intervention Specialist Susie Rainier, who took her students from Mercer last year.
She says the biggest benefit of the experience for her students is the confidence they gain. “It is amazing to see the students go from being so scared of the horses and timid, then they become empowered,” Ms. Rainier says. Students with severe physical limitations also come to understand that their body position on the horse enables them to communicate-and this realization often leads to improved posture and a stronger grip. Students who are non-verbal learn that pulling on the reigns yields a response. “There are so many ways that the students can communicate and move that enables them to participate in something that most people would not think they could,” Ms. Rainier explains.
The program is supported by the generosity of the Shaker Schools Foundation and through funds the students themselves raise at monthly lunches they shop for and prepare for District and High School staff.