Kansas City Dressage Society

Pupette

Haflinger Mare

Pupette was donated to Heartland Therapeutic Riding.  She was euthanized July of 2002 following a brief severe mysterious illness.  Pupette had many foals for us, and was a special horse for the children at Heartlands. Peggy uses one of her offspring in her hippotherapy program.  

Della Go Go

January 12, 1972-January 17, 2002. 

Mike died on Februay 21, 2001 from Colic.  We drove to K-State to their Emergency Center in the middle of the night after an ice and snow storm to try to save him.  Many children and adults will miss him and remember the fun times he provided for all.

This article was written for the Haflinger Horse, the AHR Magazine.

FROM HITCH HORSE TO THERAPY HORSE

 In 1995 Peggy Keller of LMP Farm, Baldwin City, KS, saw a 5-year-old stallion getting ready to go into the sale ring at the Land of Lincoln Sale.  She thought to herself,  “he matches a horse at home!”  After looking at him briefly she and her father, Larry Parkin, decided Mike’s Marty FAH would be worth bringing home to be in their hitch. 

After bringing him home he was gelded and a match was found for him.  Peggy started working the pair for her show hitch the next year.  Peggy showed him in the two-pony hitch at the Missouri State Fair, as well as in the cart classes.  He worked well, but soon Peggy saw that Mike and his partner spent too much time in the pasture, and they needed to find another job on the farm, or may have to find a new home.

About that time, Peggy started to think about bringing a love of horses, and her work as an Occupational Therapist home.  She had been using the treatment of Hippotherapy at the well-established Heartland Therapeutic Riding Inc. in Stilwell, Kansas that is 45 minutes from her home.  Being tired of the drive and wanting to be closer to home for her 5 year old daughter she and her father started to find a way to start a program at LMP Farm. 

Peggy knew the clients would come, and the facility was ready to go, know it was time to find the perfect horse to help her.  That wasn’t as hard as it may seem as LMP farm raises Haflingers, and with thirty some to choose from, the perfect one wasn’t too far away.  She started to look for one with the patience, movement, and temperament to help her with her clients.  Mike started to look like a good candidate, as he was 9 years old now, very quiet, and was in need of a job. 

  They started him by leading him around with their daughter, and testing him to see if he could handle the different noises and movement on his back.  He passed the tests with flying colors.  Mike is now working almost daily with clients with cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and other rare genetic and neurological disorders.  Several local newspapers ran stories, and the Kansas City affiliate for CBS featured Mike, and Peggy on their 6:00 news.  Mike, along with several other Haflingers love their new jobs.  Several other horses have been recruited to help.  Marie Austria, a brood mare, started after loosing her colt this year in a freak accident, and at the sale in Columbia, MO a stallion, Martinez DAH, was purchased because of his size, disposition and movement.  He was brought home and gelded and is now being trained for the program.   Mike’s old hitch partner Mickey now can be seen in the Ayres and Easton hitches.

Peggy Keller is a Registered Occupational Therapist, has a Clinical Specialty in Hippotherapy is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor.   Peggy has been using Hippotherapy as a treatment tool since 1995, but has been involved in some form of riding for the handicapped since 1979.  Starting as a volunteer.  She received her OT degree in 1987 from The University of Kansas.  She has continued her education by taking courses which have enhanced her knowledge in Hippotherapy.   Horses have been part of her life since she was 14.  She started showing quarter horses and has shown in many disciplines including Western, English, and Reining. 

The term hippotherapy literally means “treatment with the help of the horse.” From the Greek word hippos which means horse.  Hippotherapy is used primarily with clients that have movement dysfunction, but it can also be appropriate in helping to achieve sensory processing, psychological, cognitive, behavioral and communication outcomes.  Hippotherapy is a treatment tool that uses the multi-dimensional movement of the horse and activities on the horse as a means of achieving measurable functional outcomes in clients.  It must be provided by licensed/credentialed health professionals that include physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists.  Hippotherapy provides a controlled environment and graded sensory input designed to elicit appropriate adaptive responses for clients.  It provides a foundation of improved neuromotor function and sensory processing that can be generalized to a wide range of activities outside of treatment.  

Haflinger’s are well suited for use in Hippotherapy because of their great disposition, size, and movement.  The fact that they have few lameness issues, and are easy keepers also makes them perfect for most Hippotherapy program.  You could have a great hippotherapy horse on your farm that a program is looking for.

For more information on Hippotherapy you can contact the American Hippotherapy Association,