Special-needs children received a physical and emotional boost by riding horses courtesy of Nongprue Sub-district and the Paidi Institute.
The latest in a regular series of sessions, the “horse therapy” at the Nongprue Shooting Park was begun when sub-district Mayor Mai Chaiyanit and representatives from the Father Ray Center for Children with Special Needs and the Mitmaitee Clinic signed an agreement on April 30 last year to regularly operate the program. It was first run in June 2014.
Autistic children from schools around the Pattaya area and others with special needs enjoyed a day of drawing, coloring, trampolining, cone obstacles, stair climbing, ball and balance control, and pony rides in a day that mixed fun with constructive work on overcoming disabilities.
Free health checks also were administered.
Organizers previously noted that horses are ideal therapy assistants that provide benefits on both the physical and emotional level. Their natural motion mimics the feeling of walking, giving disabled children a chance to “walk” on their own.
Horses also are extremely empathetic animals and riders can learn to control their pulse and social behaviors, as the pony mirrors to the feelings of the child on its back.
