For Sherri Briggs, seeing her students achieve even the smallest of goals is gratifying.
Briggs owns Seafra (means “God’s Peace” in Gaelic) Farm in Medford. She provides therapeutic horse riding for children with disabilities.
Briggs became a certified PATH instructor five years ago. The acronym stands for Professional Association for Therapeutic Horsemanship International.
She was introduced to therapeutic riding after someone showed her how to rehabilitate a leg she had broken in an accident.
Briggs also provides hippo therapy done with certified occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists. There is an occupational therapist on site.
A lot of her students have autism, some with cerebral palsy, physical injuries such as traumatic brain damage, and some are blind.
“It’s a big range of disabilities,” Briggs said.
She also said she thinks all clients succeed in one way or another, whether it is managing fear, managing stress, or being able to focus more.
“I can honestly say that every single child or adult who has gotten on a horse has had some success in therapeutic riding,” Briggs said.
However, sometimes people will come in and their child doesn’t connect with the horse.
The cost is $35 per half hour session with one or two students. It is $35 per 45 minute session with a bigger group.
“The ones that I’ve had are very, very dedicated,” Briggs said.
She said horses are good for autistic kids and kids with other special needs because they have a gait that emulates the human gait. If a person has a physical disability and they’re unable to walk, the horse actually moves their body similar to how it would be if they were walking.
“So all of a sudden there are muscles firing up that have been dead for years,” Briggs said, noting that because it’s fun clients do not see it as another form of therapy.
She said the horse also warms the rider’s muscles, helping them to move better.
Briggs said her greatest challenge is her desire to see riders achieve goals.
“I really want them to be successful,” she said.
The most satisfying thing is to see a rider talk for the first time or walk better after getting off the horse. She also said hearing a mother say “My child no longer needs a walker” is also rewarding.