22 SIDELINES JANUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Caroline Jacob
Fifteen years ago my wonderful
trainer, Alison Sader Larson,
found me the cutest little Palomino
Quarter Horse named Shinee
Coin. Ten years ago I sold him to a
friend with the proviso that Shinee
be returned when she stopped
riding. So in September of 2011,
Shinee Coin came back home to
our farm. I was so excited because
our ages totaled 100 and thus, we
could do our Century Club Ride
with The Dressage Foundation. .
. never mind that Shinee couldn’t
hold a 20 meter trot circle and I
was in a wheelchair.
My groom/horsewoman wonder,
Sarah Singleton, started the ever-
patient task of getting Shinee back
fromhis retirement and into working
shape. However, I was diagnosed
with Parkinson’s disease (I limped
badly, couldn’t write and had a
great deal of pain and tremors).
Physical therapy - as well as the
marvels of modern medicine - was
prescribed for me with exercise,
exercise, more exercise and re-
learning to walk and talk.
In May of 2012, I had my frst
day back in the saddle since the
Parkinson’s diagnosis. It nearly
fnished me. The pain in my groin
and hips was excruciating. I could actually hear and feel the
calcium deposits break up as I had my leg pulled over the saddle.
At most I lasted two to fve minutes and it took two people to get
me on and off the wrong side of the horse.
Right then we set up a regime to get me back into riding. One
problem was that we were at the lake much of the summer with no
horse. Sarah kept her vigilance with Shinee and I took a saddle
and two wooden sawhorses up north. The sawhorses could be
moved apart to match Shinee’s girth. I rode my bicycle to town,
faithfully every day, and then sat on my saw horses several times
a week...starting with 5 to 10 minutes and working up to 30 to 40
minutes. This act required a cell phone, knitting and any other
time occupier. In the end, I could accomplish this all by myself
and Shinee and I became Century Club members on September
8, 2012.
After all the reading, stretching, and exercising, I have learned
that nothing mimics the walking gait of a horse – the individual
four steps, which stretch and exercise my hips and groin like no
machine can. The movement of the horse simulates walking for
the disabled rider. Having worked with Banbury Cross Therapeutic
Center for years, I “knew” these things. But what a surprise it was
to fnd out frst hand that they really work.
My two horses have adapted to my every need, from mounting
on the wrong side and lying fat on their back until I can slowly
straighten up (because of my back brace), to all verbal commands
with no legs. They are so cautious and concerned for my well
e
Caroline is all smiles as
she and Shinee Coin
become Century Club
members.
Photos courtesy of Caroline
Jacob
being that the hardest thing I have to do is to convince them
that it’s all right if we trot, or leg yield, or maybe even half pass.
When I laugh, they laugh. When I cry, they cry. When I sing, all
the tension leaves their backs. These horses have a quiet and
profound understanding of each situation that I fnd unequaled.
They are the true unsung heroes of this story and many others
like it.
Thank heaven for our ever-faithful, four-hoofed friends!
About the writer: Caroline is 73 years old and lives with her
husband, Ted, on Daisy Hill Farm in Washington, Michigan,
where they raise Hampshire Sheep and Boar Goats. They have
5 children and 18 grandchildren. Caroline is very active in the
Assistance League of Southeastern Michigan as well as the
Medal Equestrian Foundation.
Laughing, Crying, Riding with Parkinson’s
Riding and talking:
Caroline “practices”
on her sawhorses.