The Cerebral Palsy Association of Johor is a long-established NGO, having been in Johor Bahru now for 52 years. Sukhjit Kaur (on the right of the photo above) is on the Board of Directors for rehabilitation services and has been organising and observing the benefits of Hippotherapy, or Riding for the Disabled, amongst her clients.
Hippotherapy is “a form of physical, occupational and speech therapy in which a therapist uses the characteristic movements of a horse to provide carefully graded motor and sensory input”. The benefits are:
* Modulating tone, strengthening the muscles of the child with cerebral palsy
* Improving balance and flexibility with better pelvic stability
* Increasing find motor control skills to help with everyday tasks
* Improving self confidence and emotional well-being
Children with a range of conditions, such as autism, cerebral palsy or Down’s Syndrome, are all helped by riding a horse. Something about the rhythm of the horse’s movement and the change in posture produced when riding a horse all work together to the benefit of the child. For children with muscular disorders, riding a horse automatically leads to pelvic exercise which in turn affects posture and can improve digestion by helping their ability to swallow efficiently. All this is in addition to the simple pleasure of being around animals in a safe and pleasant environment.
The current site for Riding for the Disabled closed down a few years ago, so Sukhjit, Lekha Nandey of the Malaysian Red Crescent (standing next to Sukhjit), the horsewoman Diane Barrans, and myself, visited the Horse Valley Riding Academy as they have offered to provide facilities to continue the Riding for the Disabled program. This riding school is located in a secluded part of Masai, just 10 mins from central Johor Bahru and close to Senibong Cove. It is a world away from the busy and hectic city centre, a calm oasis indeed.
The Riding for the Disabled program needs your help in a variety of ways, but mostly it needs some committed volunteers to help assist the riding instructors and coaches. The horses are selected based on their temperament and will be led around the paddock by a riding instructor trained to work with disabled children. We are looking for volunteers to walk either side of the horse and rider to help with the training process. All volunteers will get training themselves so that every attention is paid to make this activity work for the children.
The current plan is to have this activity on a Monday morning when the riding school is closed to the public. If you like horses and would like to consider becoming a volunteer for Riding for the Disabled, please contact Rasywan Taufiq of the Horse Valley Riding Academy on 017 773 2133 or send an email to contact@hvridingacademy.com.
For further information on the Cerebral Palsy Association of Johor and their Riding for the Disabled program, please contact Sukhjit Kaur at sukhjit@hotmail.co
As well as looking for volunteers, we are of course looking for donations to put this project on a firm foundation. Government funding for this project has been drastically cut, but Sukhjit is determined to continue her work as she knows how much of a positive effect horse riding has on disabled children. If you would like to raise funds for Riding for the Disabled, or consider sponsoring a child and/or horse, then please contact Lekha Nandey (lekha2760@yahoo.com) for further details. All monies will be processed via the Malaysian Red Cresent organization.
And if you would like to consider horse riding as a new activity for yourself and/or your children, please check out the Horse Valley Riding Academy’s website, or FB page. They can provide Riding Lessons, Beginner Courses, Joy Rides, House Boarding, Schooling, Dressage, and Showjumping. Their address is Horse vally Riding Academy, PTD 109057 Kampong Plentong Baru, Masai 81750.
From the city centre, take Route 35 (the JB East Coast Highway) to Permas Jaya and turn left immediately after the bridge over the Tebrau River. On your right you will see this striking derelict housing project. It appears to be stuck in the middle of nowhere, and one wonders why?
But this country lane does go somewhere, since in addition to the riding school there is a huge Chinese school hidden around the corner. You can see the school here at the back of the lake bordering the riding school. All in all, this is a very interesting piece of Johor Bahru.
If you would like to see more photos of horses, please click through on the photo below:
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