Working with horses can be a life-changing tool for kids with anxiety and ADHD
Evelyn was the kind of toddler for whom baby gates were no obstacle; she’d just climb over them. By the time she was seven months old, her mom Nicole had taught her to climb stairs.
“I just knew that I had to work with this child. There’s no holding her in. I need to meet her where she’s at, honour who she is, and just try to build the skills that she needs to be herself – but be herself safely,” says Nicole.
At around two or three years old, Evelyn’s mom started to notice difficulties with emotional regulation. Evelyn attended school for several years where these difficulties grew and eventually her severe anxiety and ADHD made being in the classroom too hard to maintain.
“We decided to homeschool, which basically meant that I had to put my career on hold,” Nicole says. “As a single mom, I had to make a really hard decision to find ways to support my family without being able to work because she needed full-time care.”
Now Nicole is figuring out how to re-integrate part-time work into their family’s life, while still homeschooling Evelyn. But it’s been a challenging season and paying for any kind of specialized support for Evelyn has been almost impossible.
Nicole applied to Variety to fund equine therapy for Evelyn, who loves animals of all kinds. During her first equine sessions at Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association, she was paired with an active horse named Suede who was new to the program. The two bonded quickly.
“There was something magical when they were together,” her mom says. “They were both calm. It was really the most interesting thing to watch.”
Therapeutic riding can contribute to cognitive, physical, emotional, and social well-being in many ways, including improving mobility, balance, and co-ordination, developing concentration and learning skills, and growing independence and self-confidence. As the horse responds based on Evelyn’s own reactions, it is teaching her to be more aware of herself.
Nicole says she’s so grateful, as she never could have paid for this experience for Evelyn on her own.
“She’s really empathetic and compassionate and so smart,” Nicole says of Evelyn. “And she’s creative. Gosh, I could go on. So there’s so much that’s wonderful about her and we really try to focus on those strengths.”