Testimonials
Charlene Thomas
In 2000, a turn in my life took place and a decision needed to be made. At the age of 52, I decided to leave real estate and general construction behind and work on my true passion and dream.
After a great deal of research and prayer, I decided to combine my love of horses, my education and my ranch into a premiere therapeutic riding facility. A place where children and adults who are mentally and physically challenged, can ride and benefit from the many talents a horse has to offer. My prayers were answered.
Cory and Cindy Sanders
My son Cory age 26 yrs. has been doing therapeutic riding at Glenoak Therapeutic Riding Center for the past 4 1/2 years.
This program has helped my son tremendously. Riding is his most favorite thing in this world to do. Cory is unable to communicate verbally but the smile he has on his face the entire time he is riding "says it all." As soon as we turn off the main road to go to the facility he recognizes where we are and he stars laughing and rocking in his seat. He can't wait to get on his horse.
read more...When he first gets on the horse you can see how tight his muscles are and the trouble he has with his balance. In just a matter of a few minutes you can see how his body starts relaxing and his balance improves and the biggest smile you have ever seen comes to his face. Not only does this program benefit my son physically it also provides tremendous joy for him.We are very grateful there is a program like this available to us and thank God for the wonderful dedicated people that run this program and all the caring volunteers.
Louise Wasson
My name is Ms. Louise Wasson I'm 49 this year. I have been riding in Charlene's program since 2003.
I was injured by drunk driver in 1994 when I was 33 and suffered a traumatic brain injury making movement of any kind difficult. After the hospitals I went to several rehabilitation places to help myself. Use to jump horses when a teenager so this program was a God send.
Riding the horse has helped my balance and is like a all over body massage.... I almost feel like I have no problems when I'm working on the horse. My personal trainer can always tell when I've ridden as my movements are so much more fluid! It helps my body move and I'm doing therapy that is outside and doesn't seem like work!
read more...Here is a picture of me on one of the horses in the program. I now usually ride Charlie or Girlfriend as they move best to help my movement. Different horses for different folks one of the great things of this program.
Stephen C.
Stephen C came to my attention last summer when I volunteered to become his Family Outreach mentor. He was grieving because he had lost his mother when she was suddenly and violently killed in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver. In a sense he also lost his father, because his father was that drunk driver. It was a felony drunk driving situation and his father when to the penitentiary for 25 years. Stephen and his 4 siblings went to live with their maternal grandparents. The entire family was grieving because the grandparents never had a chance to grieve the loss of their daughter before becoming responsible for raising 5 children.
read more...Stephen is 9 years old and a very quiet child. His grandmother told me that Stephen was the only child who did not get to go with another adult once a week. The girls got to go with a woman who was their mother's best friend and a person who had children of similar age. The other 2 boys got to go with various relatives.
Stephen started the Equine Sharing Program in the summer. He looked forward to the lessons and at first was so excited that he could not sleep the previous night. The program helped him as he learned the passive leadership skills of riding. I took pictures and he has shown the pictures to everyone at school. He has told me that, in a way, he can communicate spiritually with the horse. He can tell the horse when he is sad. This is a wonderful thing because Stephen does not tell me or his grandparents much about his feelings. But I can see benefits. There is been a decrease in his understandable anger at home and at school. He has made gifts for David and promised to show his school report card to David, who has shown an individual interest in him.
The program has been a lifeline for this 9 year old boy when other interventions were not reaching him.
Brooke
My name is Paula Eubanks, I'm the mother of Brooke Eubanks. Brooke was born three months premature, weighing in at 2lbs, 11oz. She had a rough start at the get-go.
We knew right away something was not right. The doctors started her in therapy at eight months of age. The child cried 24 hours around the clock. If only we had known that she had, sensory issues, we could have removed her cloth's to comfort her. We just had no clue. We would do anywhere from twenty to thirty hours a month of therapy with no progress in sight and none being made.
read more...Finally at the age of six years old my daughter was diagnosed with Aspergers Plus. The Plus, meaning severe sensory disorder. The Neurologist decided we needed to do therapy where her strength is. Would you believe, Horses?
From the time she was a year old she always walked around with a model horse or a stuffed Breyer Horse in her arms. The only word she could say was "heese," we knew it meant horse. She finally started talking at the age of four. The only conversation she held was always about horses. Every time we would make a road trip, we always had to stop along the highway just to look at horses. Brooke always had to have every horse she would see in the store and still does to this day. She owns over 285 model horses. This is why the doctor knew we had to turn to Equine Therapy for help.
Three years ago when Brooke first started Equine Therapy here at Glenoak Therapeutic Riding Center, she could not handle her feet off the ground. She did not like anything on her head, so she would not wear a helmet that is required. She did not like movement in the air. She would not put shoes on her feet and she would not wear shorts or any type of pants.
Well, I'm here to tell you that miracles do happen, especially here at Glenoak Therapeutic Riding Center.
My child, Brooke, lives for Saturday morning. She can't wait to ride Charm or Jewell. If it was not for Glenoak, the horses and all the faithful volunteers, my daughter would not be where she is today.
Brooke still will not ride carnival rides, but she will ride a horse. She will now endure a helmet for the one hour of therapy. She will tolerate her feet covered by shoes during the one hour. She just started wearing shorts to school April 2008. I thought this would never happen.
So what they do require at therapy to ride is carrying over to her everyday life. In case you're wondering what she did wear, it was a dress and skirts everyday of the week. If it's not a hot day out at therapy, we will now wear a pair of jeans and boots. I'm praying that someday this will carry over as well.
It's not just the horses that have helped Brooke, it's her love of horses and the help from all the volunteers at Glenoak. My deepest gratitude and appreciation goes out to: Charlene Thomas and Donna Hamil. These two wonderful women have impacted my child's life to beyond words. She even wants to cut her hair like theirs.
In the Aspergers world only few and far between people are accepted, these two wonderful women are at the top of her list. Donna and Charlene both have a special way of working with Brooke.
When she is "melting down" because of her shoes on her feet, they immediately distract her with a soft tone of voice and out her on a horse right away. When she's "meltingdown" because of the heat, they know getting her on a horse right away makes it a little easier for her to except.
Glenoak is not just making my daughters life a little easier, they are making my life easier as well.
Once again my gratitude goes out to all of you at Glenoak Therapeutic Riding Center and to all of you who volunteer faithfully day after day. GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!!
Sincerely,
Paula Eubanks
Sean
Sean is a 10 year old child with several major handicapping conditions, including Autism and Cerebral Palsy.
When Sean entered the program about 2 years ago, his balance and muscle tone were very poor. He could not sit up straight on the horse by himself, much less ride along. He had to have someone ride behind him and he did not participate much because of his Autism.
The trained staff at, Glenoak Therapeutic, work tirelessly with Sean. Slowly things began to change. He now rides by himself with excellent balance. His muscle tone and trunk strength are greatly improve. He participates in basketball while on the horse, making about 90% of the baskets. How is that for improved coordination?! Sean has been able to bond with the horse he rides, a miracle for an Autistic child.
read more...The rewards from therapeutic riding are too numerous to count. They have spilled over into other areas of his life amazing his teachers and therapist. They are impressed with his increased focus, concentration and awareness. Sean's ability to follow directions has also improved.
Sean has gained more independence in and out of his wheelchair due to his increased strength and muscle tone. If I could provide Sean with only one therapy, this is what we would choose.
Respectfully submitted,
John and Linda Lahmeyer
Sean's Grandparents
Keifer
Keifer Gunn is 6 yrs old and has Cerebral Palsy. Keifer entered the Equine Sharing Program on a scholarship and his first session was on May 28, 2009. When I asked Keifer what this program has meant to him, he replied, “It means I get to ride Junior, well Junior’s not there anymore, but, I get to ride Shugs and I give her treats.”
Keifer looks at his session as a fun thing for him to do, not as a ‘work out’. When Keifer first started to ride, his legs were very stiff and he was unable to spread his legs to be placed on the saddle or put his feet into the stirrups. After a few trips around the arena his legs would loosen up and his feet would slip nicely into the stirrups. Keifer’s receiving a ‘work out’ with out looking at his session as a work out, it’s a time for fun on the back of a horse.
read more...When I asked Keifer how his horse therapy has helped him, he replied, “It’s helping my legs so I can walk!” As we have seen through the months of therapy and as you can tell by the photos, this IS helping him. We are most grateful to have him in this program!
Liz Johnson,
Keifer’s Grandmother
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