84 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 86
Shery (aka “Bear”) wanted
to share her love of horses
with her own daughter,
Emma. So many other
people asked how they
and their children could
“saddle up” that Shery
decided to start a 501 (c)
(3) non-profit organization
to help individuals with
special needs. The team
has grown over the years
and now includes PATH-
certified
therapeutic
riding instructors, trained/
certified personnel with
master’s degrees in social
work and psychology,
physical and occupational
therapists, speech and
language pathologists and
enthusiastic
volunteers.
Everyone is involved in
continuing education to
By Lauren R. Giannini
Carson Cline is doing really well – far better than anyone
imagined. Born 16 weeks premature, he suffered a severe brain
hemorrhage at the age of six days. Doctors warned his parents,
Jennifer and Chris Cline, that their son would have some form of
Cerebral Palsy, but they didn’t know how much or to what degree.
“The whole history is a bit of a blur,” admitted Jennifer. “We
didn’t think that Carson would survive. It was just a miracle that
he made it out of the hospital. He had three brain surgeries. We
prayed for his health and survival.”
Carson was 14 months old when specialists made the
definitive diagnosis. But science can’t always predict the power
of love mixed with old-fashioned prayer and parents willing to do
everything that might possibly help their child. Chris and Jennifer
weren’t horsey, but they are now, thanks to Carson, who started
equine-assisted therapy about 16 months ago at the SaddleUp!
Foundation in Colorado. Now six, Carson attends kindergarten
full-time and continues to ride once a week. His story spotlights
the benefits, unseen and long-term, of equine-assisted therapies.
“You can’t tell just by looking at Carson that he has Cerebral
Palsy,” Jennifer said. “He has done a lot of therapy – physical,
occupational, speech. We use our medical insurance to pay for
all the other therapies, but we pay out of pocket for SaddleUp!,
and we go once a week. Already Carson shows progress in new
neural pathways. His prognosis is good.”
Carson has Level 1, mild Cerebral Palsy. He’s hemiplegic on
the right side of his body, his arm and leg, but in his case it’s more
of a weakness than a partial paralysis. The condition affects his
handwriting, but he’s working on it. He can read a book, but he
takes a little longer to categorize things. He can ride a bicycle. He
can run and jump. He can’t hop on his right foot,
but hops on his left.
“His teachers and aides think he’s doing
great,” said Jennifer. “Carson loves school. He
attends all day, five days a week.”
Carson is a bit of a miracle.
Helping Others To SaddleUp!
Since its formal inception in 2002, the
SaddleUp! Foundation grew so much that
it had to move out of the Parker, Colorado
suburban “backyard” of founder and president,
Shery McDonald-Galbreath, to a bigger ranch
in Elizabeth. The new location provides a
rural family-friendly setting where children and
adults in all areas and levels of horsemanship
are welcomed warmly to a place where, as the
foundation’s motto says, “Hope Reins.”
Services
available
include
physical,
occupational and speech therapies, equine-
assisted activities and equine-facilitated
psychotherapy. The SaddleUp! Foundation
programs provide therapy for mentally,
emotionally and physically challenged children
and adults. There are also programs for the
able-bodied, although SaddleUp!’s focus is on
therapies for individuals with disabilities.
SaddleUp! Foundation was born because
e
Colorado – A Tribute To America
Carson performs a handstand on SaddleUp!’s Scooter, assisted by therapist
Debbie Mogor and volunteer sidewalker Henry Block, but he looks as if he’s really
flying. (out of frame, leading Scooter, is volunteer Donna Block)
Photo by Jennifer Cline
“Hope Reins” at SaddleUp!
Carson dances in
excitement before his
lesson at SaddleUp!
Photo by Jennifer Cline
